Among the highlights from the annual State of the Union address involved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Following the news of President Donald Trump’s acquittal by the Senate, Pelosi had some things to say about the President at her weekly press conference.
During Pelosi’s weekly press conference, she condemned Trump and his speech during the annual event as well as defended her actions of ripping up her copy of his speech after he concluded his address. “What happened instead was the President using the Congress of the United States as the backdrop of a reality show, presenting a state of mind that had no contact with reality whatsoever,” said Pelosi. She continued to criticize some of the points he made during his speech, especially regarding healthcare programs, finding it “appalling” that Trump would come in and take credit for his predecessor’s work to protect coverage for preexisting conditions when he loudly voiced his support towards policies that would cut off funding for the same thing.
Pelosi was criticized by Republicans who were present for tearing up her copy of Trump’s State of the Union speech. She strongly defended her actions during the press conference and said that was the appropriate thing to do. “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths. It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, ‘This is not true. And this is how it affects you.’ And I don’t need any lessons from anyone, especially the President of the United States, about dignity,” said Pelosi.
She also brought up Trump’s comments during the National Prayer Breakfast, where he criticized both her and Republican Senator Mitt Romney, the sole Republican who voted to convict him during the trial. Pelosi took another jab at the President and said that his comments towards Romney were anything but classy while adding that his remarks during the prayer breakfast were very unnecessary, to begin with. “He’s talking about things he knows little about: Faith and prayer,” said Pelosi.
Trump was acquitted on both articles of impeachment by the Senate. During the State of the Union address, he also presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.