Dana Perino: Pelosi ripping up Trump's speech may be her 'final act' as House Speaker
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"The Five" hosts responded Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's dramatic display of disdain for President Trump after she ripped up her copy of the State of the Union address hours before the Senate voted to acquit him of both articles of impeachment.
"I think it was a perfect ending," co-host Greg Gutfeld said. "It's like the climax of a movie where the villain gets beaten and she throws her hat on the ground."
PELOSI THROWS SHADE AT TRUMP THROUGHOUT SOTU ADDRESS, RIPS UP SPEECH
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The tension between Trump and Pelosi was visible during his third State of the Union address Tuesday night, starting with Trump appearing to ignore an offer for a handshake from the speaker. As the president concluded his address, Pelosi stood and ripped up the pages of his speech, sparking questions of whether the meltdown was planned or simply her emotional reaction to the president's words.
"Nancy Pelosi and Trump have not spoken since October ... so that relationship is quite broken, and I think that is part of it," co-host Dana Perino said.
"If she did it spontaneously," Perino continued, "it's like, sometimes you do get so mad and frustrated you want to rip something, ... or it was planned all along and she knew she was going to do it and she did it on purpose...she wanted to make a statement."
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Jesse Watters echoed Perino's theory, adding that he believes it was Pelosi's attempt to gain "street cred" among the progressive members of her party.
"My theory was that she wanted to show AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and that wing that she hated Trump just as much as they did and she wanted a little street cred and to say, 'I'm one of you."'
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"I think she knows that this is probably her last State of the Union where she sits there."
Gutfeld applauded the president for his speech but said he underestimated the effect it would have on the House Speaker.
"For me, personally, it affected me in that it made me realize the speech was way better and more powerful than I thought because you could see the frustration build up in her and I thought, 'It was a pretty good speech...' and then I go, 'Maybe it really hit her where it hurts. '"
BEN SHAPIRO MOCKS PELOSI, RIPS UP DEM TALKING POINTS
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Katie Pavlich criticized Pelosi for remaining seated as Trump touted the country's economy, saying "she essentially wrote a campaign ad for him and for every single Republican running in the House to take back the power."
Juan Williams differed from the opinions of his co-hosts, calling Pelosi's reaction a "successful gesture" that garnered a "standing ovation from her Democratic base."
"I think she knows that this is probably her last State of the Union where she sits there," Perino responded.
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"Her final act as Speaker at the State of the Union was to rip up the president's speech. I think this will be the second paragraph in all the literature that is written about her in the future."