Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she did not arrive at the 2020 State of the Union intending to rip up President Donald Trump’s speech, calling the viral moment a spontaneous reaction to what she described as repeated falsehoods.
In an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Pelosi said her most memorable exchanges with Trump were never scripted. She recalled beginning to tear one page of the address because she believed it contained lies, then continued through the rest of the prepared remarks.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rips tears up her advanced copy of President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address before members of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol Feb. 4, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“I thought it was a manifesto of lies all throughout, so I better tear up the whole speech,” Pelosi said, adding that the heavy paper required several attempts. “I had no intention of doing that. I thought my staff was going to die.”
Pelosi also reflected on the widely shared 2019 image of her standing and pointing at Trump during a White House meeting with Cabinet officials. She said she still receives more autograph requests for that photo than anything else and described the moment as one of fed-up clarity. The White House released the image at the time and labeled Pelosi “crazy.” She said the release “did me a favor.”
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Pelosi announced in November that she will not seek re-election after her current term. Asked how she hopes to be remembered, she pointed to the Affordable Care Act as her signature legislative legacy, calling it transformative for working families’ health and finances.
