One of President Trump’s guests at the State of the Union called Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s tearing up a paper copy of the commander in chief’s speech “probably the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen in my life.”
“I don’t care how you feel about somebody. That was probably the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen in my life,” Jody Jones, the brother of a man killed by an illegal immigrant, told Fox News. “Because when she did that, it just tore us up. We couldn’t believe it.”
“Felt like she ripped our hearts out. All the guests. We couldn’t believe it,” he added.
Jones’s brother, Rocky Jones, was shot and killed at a California gas station by an illegal immigrant who had been arrested for drunk driving days before. Junior “Gustavo” Garcia-Ruiz had a history of violence and had been deported from the country twice before, according to the Fresno Bee.
“The criminal alien was arrested in December 2018 for the sixth time, but because of California’s sanctuary state policy, he was released from jail,” a White House statement said.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, was widely criticized for ripping up Trump’s speech upon the conclusion of his nearly 90-minute speech.
As @realDonaldTrump concludes his #SOTU address, @SpeakerPelosi rips up a copy of the speech he gave her before he began. pic.twitter.com/XpmULnEDz2
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 5, 2020
Vice President Mike Pence referred to her actions as a “new low” for the House.
“There’s always a basic decorum and a basic respect,” he said. “But to have her stand up and tear up that speech really dishonored the moment, and I really thought it was beneath the dignity of a joint session of Congress, and I think it will be remembered as such.”
Not everyone expressed outrage at Pelosi’s actions. The California Democrat received support from members of her own party, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who praised the move as “audacious.”
Pelosi said afterward that tearing up the “nasty speech” was a “courteous thing to do.”
