Pelosi tears copy of speech\, a spurned handshake and more: The dramatic moments from Donald Trump’s SOTU address

Pelosi tears copy of speech, a spurned handshake and more: The dramatic moments from Donald Trump’s SOTU address

There were plenty of dramatic moments during US President Donald Trump's customary State of the Union speech that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing a copy of his speech, a protester disrupting his speech and more. Here's a list.

By: Express Web Desk | Published: February 5, 2020 12:03:35 pm
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) tears a copy of US President Donald Trump's speech Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rips up the speech of U.S. President Donald Trump after his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Reuters)

In his customary State of Union address Wednesday, Donald Trump presented himself as a big improvement over Democratic President Barack Obama, and talked about his achievements and slammed the opposition. But there was also plenty of drama with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping a copy of his speech right after he finished, a spurned handshake and more.

In a speech that was as much about his re-election as his tenure so far, the US President presented himself as a big improvement over Democratic President Barack Obama, whom he succeeded three years ago, saying he had bolstered US economic growth and increased jobs.

“In just three short years we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,” he said.

Here are all the dramatic asides from the speech that made headlines:

Pelosi rips up copy of President’s speech

On camera, behind Trump’s back as Vice-President Mike Pence applauded, Pelosi picked up Trump’s speech and tore it. As he stepped down, she ripped it again. Then a third time. And a fourth. If Trump knew about the American carnage going on behind him, he didn’t react as he left.

But Pelosi was on her turf, with a deep understanding of her audience, and she wasn’t finished. In case any confusion remained, Pelosi held up what remained of the address to her family in the gallery, in full view of reporters.

“It was the courteous thing to do,” Pelosi told reporters afterwards, “considering the alternative.”

The moment was a less joyful echo of last year’s State of the Union, when Pelosi stole the show with a smirk-and-clap, eye to eye with Trump.

Trump refuses to shake Pelosi’s hand

Trump was seeing Pelosi, the U.S. House of Representatives speaker, for the first time since she stormed out of a White House meeting four months ago. So when he gave her a paper copy of his remarks before starting to speak, Trump declined to shake her outstretched hand. A seemingly bemused Pelosi first gave him a look and then shrugged.

After the event, Pelosi tweeted a photo of her with her hand reaching out to Trump and said, “Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople. We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot. #SOTU”

No customary introduction for Trump

Taken aback by the refused handshake, Pelosi retorted by avoiding citing the customary “high privilege and distinct honor” that usually accompanies the Speaker’s introduction of the President to Congress.

“Members of Congress, the President of the United States” was all she said in introducing Trump.

Chants of ‘four more years’

As Trump began the speech, Republicans from both houses of Congress chanted “four more years” while he stood at the lectern in the chamber of the House. Democrats sat silently and some could be seen shaking their heads as Trump declared, “The state of our union is stronger than ever before.”

A soldier’s emotional homecoming

In a made-for-television moment, the military husband of one of Trump’s guests returned home from deployment and surprised his family.

Amy Williams, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was in attendance Tuesday night with her two children, 6-year-old Elliana and 3-year-old Rowan. Trump told the crowd that Williams works full time and volunteers helping military families. Over the past seven months, her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Townsend Williams has been deployed to Afghanistan, his fourth trip to the Middle East.

Trump thanked her, then told her he had a surprise: Her husband had returned from deployment and was at the Capitol. Sgt. Williams walked down the stairs in his uniform to greet a shocked Amy Williams, and he hugged his children. He then hugged his wife.

Tuskegee airman

In his speech, Trump introduced 13-year-old Iain Lanphier, an eighth-grader from Arizona, to promote the launch of Space Force, the first new military service in more than 70 years. Trump said Lanphier “has his eye on the Space Force” and noted that his hero, sitting next to him, was his great-grandfather, Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. They both received bipartisan applause.

Protester disrupts speech

A protester interrupted Trump’s speech by shouting at him to do something about gun violence. The protester was Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jamie, was among 17 people killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Guttenberg is a well-known visitor to Capitol Hill advocating for gun violence prevention. He interrupted a section of Trump’s speech about support for the Second Amendment, and he was removed from the House visitors’ gallery. Guttenberg was the guest of House Speaker Pelosi.

with inputs from AP