KEY POINTS

  • Nancy Pelosi shows her anger at Trump by tearing-up a copy of his SOTU speech for the world to see
  • Trump had spent the better part of his speech bragging about his accomplishments and slamming Barack Obama
  • Trump began the fracas by refusing to shake Pelosi's hand

House majority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, stole the show from president Donald Trump and his State of the Union (SOTU) speech Tuesday by tearing-up her copy of Trump's speech immediately after the President finished delivering his address praising himself and blaming Democrats for many of America's ills.

Pelosi’s unprecedented and scene-stealing act of defiance quickly went viral on social media and was witnessed by millions of TV viewers watching the live coverage from the House of Representatives. Twitter erupted.

A visibly disgusted and angry Pelosi, who sat for over an hour listening to Trump slam Democrats and those who disagreed with him, left the stage after ripping the speech. Paul Kane, a Washington Post congressional reporter, later tweeted, "Pelosi walked off the podium to Dem side. She took the torn-up speech and waved it to her family and friends up in the suite reserved for the Speaker's VIPs. Never seen a SOTU like this one."

Trump had set the stage for this clash by haughtily refusing to shake Pelosi's hand as he stepped up to the stage. To loud applause from Republicans and resounding "Boos!" from Democrats, Trump then began bragging about his accomplishments while slamming Democrats and his predecessor, Barack Obama, for their alleged failings.

Trump again took credit for some of Obama’s accomplishments such as low unemployment that were made possible by Obama’s policies that saw America get through the Great Recession of 2008.

Kane tweeted: "Dems loudly groaned when Trump discussed how he 'reversed' things from Obama admin."

Trump then went on to bash Democrats, claiming: "If we hadn't reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration the world would not now be witnessing this great economic success." He was loudly booed by Democrats upset at his uncalled for attack on the Obama administration.

Democrats again booed loudly when Trump compared his administration’s records to that of Obama's. Trump wasted no time in disparaging Medicare-for-all, a cherished goal for Democrat Progressives saying:

"One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our healthcare system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million Americans. To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!"

Trump also assailed Democrats for endorsing plans to provide healthcare for illegal immigrants, "forcing taxpayers to subsidize free care for anyone in the world who unlawfully crosses our borders." He then hit Democrats for supporting sanctuary cities. He claims that in these cities “local officials order police to release dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public, instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed.”

Mike Pence Donald Trump Nancy Pelosi State of the Union
US Vice President Mike Pence claps as Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appears to rip a copy of US President Donald Trump speech after he delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images