Have you heard the one about Donald Trump’s awkward State of the Union Address?
Politics
No, this is not the launch of a limerick — but it is the beginning of a very bad joke. On Tuesday night, ‘The Donald’ appeared on Capitol Hill and delivered an extremely awkward State of the Union Address that was, well, rather awkward.
Before the evening even began, the air was already thick with tension. Donald Trump had to go to the US House of Representatives and speak inside the very chamber where he was impeached only a few short weeks ago. He also had to delete chunks of his remarks in which he planned to stick out his tongue, blare “Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah” to the Democratic congressmen and women who impeached him, and basically gloat over his “innocence.” Regrettably (for him), the US Senate won’t vote until later today to acquit Trump and permit him to continue to rule America like an unfettered dictator. So, Trump was robbed of the victory lap he so desperately desired to take inside the House chamber.
When Donald Trump made his entrance for the awkward State of the Union Address, all usual decorum immediately went out the window. Members of both parties traditionally stand whenever a sitting POTUS arrives to deliver his yearly remarks before Congress. However, some Democrats remained in their seats as ‘The Donald’ made his way down the aisle, others waited until he arrived and then they walked out, while several Democrats chose not to attend at all.
Upon his arrival at the podium, Trump made the traditional gesture of handing a copy of his speech to the Speaker of the House. However, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi extended her hand to shake his, Trump turned away and refused to be cordial.
Awkward!
Next, Speaker Pelosi was slated to formally introduce and welcome Trump to the House chamber. Traditionally, that introduction includes the words “It is my distinct privilege and honor to welcome the President of the United States.” However, Pelosi edited her welcome by simply saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
Awkward!
As Trump spoke, the partisan tension only appeared to thicken. Democrats remained seated and rarely applauded throughout the majority of his remarks, while Republicans seized a moment to turn this awkward State of the Union Address into a Trump rally by chanting “Four More Years!”
However, the crown jewel of the night came at the end of Trump’s speech.
At the conclusion of his remarks and while Republicans were standing and cheering their King, Speaker Pelosi stood up behind Trump, grabbed his typed speech out of the binder he handed her at the beginning of the evening, then ripped it to pieces for all to see and tossed it aside, before walking off the dais.
“It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives,” Pelosi later told reporters.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is how Donald Trump’s awkward State of the Union Address came and went!
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