(CNSNews.com) – As President Trump completed his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slowly and deliberately tore in half what appeared to be her copy of the speech, before tossing the bits of paper onto the desk.
“The American age, the American epic, the American adventure has only just begun,” Trump said. “Our spirit is still young. The sun is still rising. God’s grace is still shining. My fellow Americans, the best is yet to come. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.”
Scarcely had the words left his mouth when Pelosi held up a sheaf of papers. She tore them in two, then – as seen from various camera angles – repeated the action three more times, before throwing down the stack of ripped pages.
Earlier, Pelosi could be seen following Trump’s speech on pages in front of her.
During the address, the divide between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber was starkly illustrated multiple times. Frequently, Republicans stood and applauded while Democrats sat in silence – not only when Trump made partisan points, but even at times when he announced positive developments such as those dealing with job creation or poverty reduction.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in December impeached the president for abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine, and for obstruction of Congress as it sought to investigate the matter. An impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to end in his acquittal on Wednesday.
Asked afterwards why she had torn up the copy of the speech, Pelosi replied, “because it was a manifesto of mistruths.”
She also issued a statement which said in part, “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.” The statement did not mention her ripping up the speech.
In reaction, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted that the Speaker had “had a tantrum, disgraced herself and dishonored the House. She is an embarrassment and unfit for office.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) tweeted, “I would have shredded it.”
Dalia al-Aqidi, an Iraqi-American who is campaigning to unseat Tlaib’s fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in November's election, thanked Pelosi “for giving us 4 more years.”
“These papers that you ripped, had names of real Americans who worked, fought, & sacrificed themselves for our country,” Aqidi wrote.