Nancy Pelosi Defends SOTU Behavior: I Felt ‘Liberated’ Ripping Trump’s Speech

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) holds up the ripp
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Hannah Knudsen

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) defended the behavior she displayed at the State of the Union during a closed meeting with Democrat colleagues on Wednesday, telling them that she felt “liberated” after ripping her copy of President Trump’s speech in half.

The speaker discussed her controversial actions during a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday and defended her decision to rip up the president’s speech to colleagues, telling them she felt “liberated,” according to Politico.

“He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech,” Pelosi reportedly told colleagues, calling the address a “disgrace.”

“She said that he disgraced the House of Representatives by using it as a backdrop for a reality show,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) said, according to the outlet.

The speaker, along with fellow caucus members, also took issue with Trump’s decision to honor conservative talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh, who is battling advanced-stage lung cancer, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the address.

“He dishonored the State of the Union as an institutional practice,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) said, according to Politico. “It was kind of outright pandering to his base. It was just a disgraceful display.”

As Breitbart News reported, Pelosi immediately ripped up the State of the Union address following Trump’s conclusion of the speech — an action that drew heavy criticism from the GOP:
White House

She later defended her decision as the “courteous thing to do considering the alternative,” although she did not specify what alternative she had in mind.

Pelosi can be seen seemingly ripping tiny tears into her copy of the president’s speech as the president turned attention to Limbaugh, suggesting that her viral moment was, to some degree, pre-planned:

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