Donald Trump Gave a Terrible State of the Union Speech. Nancy Pelosi Ripped It Up.

Patrick Semansky/AP

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When President Donald Trump wrapped up his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, it was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unprecedented, unspoken reaction that stole the show.

As rapturous Republicans applauded, a stony-faced Pelosi stood behind the president, shuffled printed copies of his speech, and then ripped them in half. She tossed the torn pages in front of her, completing a made-for-GIF sequence that will no doubt dominate cable television postmortems of the president’s big night—an instant meme that rivals her sly sarcasm-clap at the last State of the Union.

Before he began his annual address to Congress tonight, the president appeared to snub Pelosi’s offer of a handshake, as he handed over a folder containing his speech.

Watch:

A NBC producer tweeted out Pelosi’s words soon after. Asked why she tore up the speech, Pelosi said, “It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.”

And here’s the GIF:

 

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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