You don’t have to understand politics to catch the serious tension President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shared at the State of the Union address held on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.
Trump stepped foot in the House Chamber; just one day before the Senate was expected to acquit him in the impeachment trial. The crowd cheered on “four more years” as he walked in shaking hands with his colleagues and fellow congressmen.
Pelosi attempted to reach out for a handshake and he completely rejected her. She was clearly taken back projecting an uncomfortable smile and a shock of unexpected surprise as she adjusted back in her seat. This would set the tone for the night ahead.
Throughout Trump’s address Pelosi noticeably could not keep her hands from fidgeting through a copy of the speech. It looked as if she had a hard time keeping a straight face by constantly glancing down during certain boasting comments made by the president.
The position in which she was placed, right behind Trump and the camera’s view, may not have been intentional but the focus strongly seemed to be zeroed in on her reactions. The crowd would stop to applaud Trump and Nancy would not partake unless it directly addressed those being honored in his speech.
There was a moment where Vice President Mike Pence rose to take a standing ovation with the crowd and Pelosi did not get out of her seat once. She made no attempt to show interest in Trump’s speech.
Trump finished up and immediately after you can see Pelosi rip up the documents she had been speed reading through making it clear how she felt about the whole event.
“He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech,” she told House Democrats during a closed-door caucus meeting, according to sources in the room.
