After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of President Trump’s State of the Union speech, Sen. Lindsey Graham tore into her.
“You can tear up the speech, but you can’t tear up the accomplishments,” Graham said after leaving the House chamber Tuesday night. “And that’s what this race is going to be about in 2020.”
As Trump concluded his speech, which was more than an hour long, Pelosi stood and applauded with the rest of the lawmakers gathered in the House chamber. She then picked up a copy of Trump’s speech from the dais in front of her and ripped it into pieces. She later called the address “dirty” and said tearing it apart was “the courteous thing to do.”
During his speech, Trump touted a strong American economy, honored war heroes, and presented an ally in conservative media the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He vowed to protect private health insurance, fight off the threat of socialism to the American economy, and win reelection in 2020.
“From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the U.S. economy — slashing a record number of job-killing regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements,” Trump said. “If we hadn’t reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witnessing this great economic success.”
When Trump delivered a copy of the speech to Pelosi before he began, she extended her hand to him for a handshake. He turned his back on her and snubbed her offer.
“The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people,” Pelosi tweeted.
[Also read: AOC, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib cheer on Pelosi’s State of the Union speech shredding]
The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people. #SOTU https://t.co/7rUFbhWDDQ
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) February 5, 2020
The House impeached Trump late last year, alleging he abused his power by pressuring a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election. The Republican-led Senate is expected to vote to acquit Trump, who made no mention of impeachment during the State of the Union, on Wednesday.
“The American people are going to win when we acquit,” Graham said. “Who in their right mind would fire Donald Trump after his accomplishments in his first term?”
