Like most of us, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was “disgusted and insulted” after watching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rip up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union speech when he finished delivering his remarks on Tuesday.
“As Speaker of the House for four State of the Unions by a President of the other party I am disgusted and insulted by the viciously partisan action of Nancy Pelosi tearing up the speech,” Gingrich tweeted. “She isn’t clever or cute her childishness insults our American traditions – should be censured.”
As Speaker of the House for four State of the Unions by a President of the other party I am disgusted and insulted by the viciously partisan action of Nancy Pelosi tearing up the speech.She isn’t clever or cute her childishness insults our American traditions -should be censured.
— newtgingrich (@newtgingrich) February 5, 2020
Kellyanne Conway echoed Gingrich’s call for censure during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday morning.
GWU Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley also blasted Pelosi for her behavior. “Pelosi’s act dishonored the institution and destroyed even the pretense of civility and decorum in the House,” he tweeted. “If this is the Speaker’s ‘drop the mike’ moment, it is a disgrace that should never be celebrated or repeated. In a single act, she obliterated decades of tradition.”
Pelosi claims she ripped up the speech “because it was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives. I tore it up. I was trying to find one page with truth on it. I couldn’t.”
I wonder what the alternatives were.
The White House response to Pelosi’s act was epic:
Speaker Pelosi just ripped up:
One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
The survival of a child born at 21 weeks.
The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller.
A service member's reunion with his family.
That's her legacy.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2020
It is extremely unlikely Pelosi will face censure, considering Democrats control the House, and they all likely condone, if not celebrate her act of defiance.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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