President Donald Trump appeared to snub Nancy Pelosi’s request for a handshake during the start of his State of the Union address. At the speech’s conclusion, House speaker was seen tearing up her copy of the speech, later saying ‘it was the courteous thing to do’
The president approached the dais after greeting members of Congress and handed a binder with his prepared remarks to Vice President Pence and Pelosi. After taking the binder, Pelosi extended her hand apparently for a handshake, but Trump turned away without acknowledging it.
Trump did not shake Pence's hand either, though the vice president did not appear to extend his to greet the president.
With US President Trump's speech and snubbing of the handshake of the speaker (if intentional or not) , the media would have spend the next week trying to drum up ratings by pushing the narrative that Trump is somehow magically “winning.”
So instead Pelosi gave the media something nancy and juicier to chew on in a tit-for-tat action and reaction initiated by the president. The viral moment of tearing up the president's State of the Union address has definitely overshadow the Trump's events of the day, and for the week, it will. Even the contents of trump's speech undermined.
Pelosi acknowledged the handshake moment in a Twitter post after the speech.
"Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople," she tweeted alongside an image of the exchange. "We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot."
@SpeakerPelosi
Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople. We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot. #SOTU
The House last month impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This purported impeachment of the 45th US president has failed in the Senate if the impeachment hearing and partisan lines as seen both in the Democrats dominated House of Reps and Republican controlled Senate is anything to go by.
Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople. We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot. #SOTU
The House last month impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This purported impeachment of the 45th US president has failed in the Senate if the impeachment hearing and partisan lines as seen both in the Democrats dominated House of Reps and Republican controlled Senate is anything to go by.
However, Pelosi has called out Trump: "The manifesto of mistrusts presented in page after page of the address should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people."
Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday marked the first time he and Pelosi were in a room together since an acrimonious White House meeting on Syria in October in which he belittled her as a "third-rate" politician.
Trump has assailed Pelosi with insults since she first announced in September that the House would pursue an impeachment inquiry, deriding her as "nervous," "overrated" and questioning her mental acuity.
Pelosi has generally responded by saying she believes Trump is projecting his own insecurities, but has insisted she does not hate the president.
Pelosi and Trump had another viral moment in last year's State of the Union when the Speaker was captured clapping for the president calling for an end to "revenge politics."
The Senate will on Wednesday give its final vote in what is expected to be the last day of the impeachment trial. As a supermajority of 67 votes is required to remove Trump from office, his acquittal is considered all but certain.
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