On Tuesday night, Donald Trump gave another State of the Union speech, an event at which famously bigoted and hateful radio host Rush Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was just kind of the vibe: grand gestures on behalf of terrible people. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was there, of course, and when Trump arrived she offered him her hand for a polite handshake. Which he swerved.
Nancy Pelosi went in for the handshake aaaaand….Trump ignored it. pic.twitter.com/c8kFSP3kQr
— Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) February 5, 2020
For the most part, Pelosi was still clapping right along with the crowd as Trump rambled on. He rambled on a little less than usual because most of his speech was written down, but when it finally ended, Nancy Pelosi took her revenge.
If Trump was going to symbolically ignore her handshake, Pelosi had another symbolic gesture for him. She ripped the State of the Union speech to shreds right behind his head:
Pelosi RIPS the state of the union copy right after President Trump finishes pic.twitter.com/9Uw6yROcRi
— Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) February 5, 2020
While it’s clearly deliberate, she’s more moderate than many others might be. She only tore it into one piece for example. But Pelosi is clearly aware that all the cameras are on her, and that people are looking for another Pelosi meme, ever since her petty clap at his State of the Union address in February of 2019 went viral:
#waybackwednesday – oh yes that clap took me back to the teen years. She knows. And she knows that you know. And frankly she’s disappointed that you thought this would work. But here’s a clap. #youtriedit pic.twitter.com/vUCX2uAUvv
— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) February 6, 2019
YYYAASSS QUEEN to Pelosi ripping his speech in half and tossing it on the table like garbage.
— Stephanie Land (@stepville) February 5, 2020
According to Buzzfeed News, Pelosi did comment on the tearing gesture, telling reporters that it was “a courteous thing to do considering the alternative.” Was she…was she gonna poop on it?
The White House is enraged by Pelosi’s gesture and is trying to spin the tear as being about the good people Trump mentioned in his speech rather than about Trump himself.
Speaker Pelosi just ripped up:
One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
The survival of a child born at 21 weeks.
The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller.
A service member's reunion with his family.
That's her legacy.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2020
They even have Kellyanne Conway on the case:
Kellyanne Conway is (supposedly) *outraged* about Pelosi ripping up some paper: "It's very disappointing for people to literally watch … Pelosi shredding the memory of Kayla Mueller, shredding Tuskegee Airmen … what is wrong with her? … I think she should be censured." pic.twitter.com/IvdwftRt78
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 5, 2020
While the Trump administration may be taking the opportunity to be mad, most people are taking the opportunity to make jokes or mock Trump. And here are some of their tweets:
1.
Nancy Pelosi is the saltiest, pettiest bitch I’ve ever seen.
— Blaire White (@MsBlaireWhite) February 5, 2020
2.
Would’ve been nice if Nancy Pelosi ripped up Trump’s military budget
— Justin Jackson (@J_ManPrime21) February 5, 2020
3.
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1224901102879023105
4.
https://twitter.com/karinawesome/status/1224897527994093570
5.
Me tearing up the chore list my mom would leave me during summer break
— KenzO (@koshiz) February 5, 2020
6.
Me ripping up the study guide after failing the test: pic.twitter.com/HVPXObzpGG
— Josh Silverman (@JoshMSilverman) February 5, 2020
7.
Nancy Pelosi passively aggressively flipping through papers pic.twitter.com/xlA6XQWvVf
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 5, 2020
8.
Omg Nancy pelosi tearing the papers up behind trump pic.twitter.com/watgo7XcX4
— Jeremy (@jermyjpg) February 5, 2020
9.
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) February 5, 2020
This is incredible.
Not b/c the SoS tweeted a cartoon sitcom to criticize Nancy Pelosi—but b/c this scene is about Lisa ripping up her own speech after seeing corrupt DC politicians usurp justice literally w/quid pro quo bribery.
This post is in fact trolling 45, not Pelosi.????????♂️ pic.twitter.com/CSieupZGEG
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) February 5, 2020
10.
The guy who says all the horrible racist stuff is very triggered by the lady behind him ripping up his dumb speech.
— Molly Jong-Fast???? (@MollyJongFast) February 5, 2020
11.
Last night, Trump gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a man who once said slavery “had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark." But, sure, let’s keep talking about how Pelosi ripping up pieces of paper undermined the dignity of her office etc.
— John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) February 5, 2020
12.
Outrage over Pelosi ripping the speech up isn’t real. They understand that faux disgust is a powerful weapon because it feeds their base and preys on the media’s obsession with symbolic objectivity. You don’t have to point out their hypocrisy. They know what they’re doing.
— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) February 5, 2020
13.
Actually her legacy is impeaching a criminal but ripping that shit ass speech was pretty cool also. https://t.co/8dRRQfd6LT
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) February 5, 2020
14.
… the state of our union is wild. pic.twitter.com/jaZX3SVssL
— fake nick ramsey @ ???? (@nick_ramsey) February 5, 2020
15.
https://twitter.com/bessbell/status/1224904578245611521
16.
Pelosi shredding the speech right now is some real time shade. Wow.
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) February 5, 2020
17.
It’s over. There is no moment in reality TV that will now ever top Nancy Pelosi ripping up the words of the reality TV President.
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) February 5, 2020
