Donald Trump uses State of Union to campaign; Nancy Pelosi rips up speech

WASHINGTON: Standing before a Congress and a nation sharply divided by impeachment, President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to extol a “Great American Comeback” on his watch, just three years after he took office decrying a land of “American carnage” under his predecessor.

The partisan discord was on vivid display on Tuesday as the first president to campaign for reelection while facing impeachment made his case for another term: Republican legislators chanted “Four More Years”. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech as he ended his address.

While he tweets daily assailing his impeachment, Trump never mentioned the “i-word'' in his 78-minute speech. That followed the lead of Bill Clinton, who did not reference his recent impeachment when he delivered his State of the Union in 1999.


Trump spoke from the House of Representatives, on the opposite side of the Capitol from where the Senate one day later was expected to acquit him largely along party lines.

Pelosi, a frequent thorn in Trump’s side, created a viral image with her seemingly sarcastic applause of the president a year ago. This time, she was even more explicit with her very textripping rebuke.

Trump appeared no more cordial. When he climbed to the House rostrum, he did not take her outstretched hand though it was not clear he had seen her gesture. Later, as Republicans often cheered, she remained in her seat, at times shaking her head at his remarks.

When Pelosi left, she told reporters that tearing up the speech was “the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.“ Republicans denounced her action as disrespectful.