The State of The Union: A Battleground
On February 4th, the final few moments of the State of the Union Address garnered great attention from both the public and press as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up a paper copy of President Trump’s speech. What prompted Pelosi to engage in what many consider “impulsive” behavior—however justified—so contradictory to her usual prudence?[1] Maybe she was expressing her frustration at listening to President Trump pass off a “manifesto of mistruths,” ranging from inaccurate claims regarding Social Security to healthcare, as fact.[2] Maybe her actions were in response to the President’s snub at the beginning of the evening, when he decidedly rejected her outstretched hand, and, in doing so, perpetuated the ongoing hostility between Democrats and Republicans. Following the Address, Trump voiced his anger at Pelosi’s public display of disapproval of him and his speech by arguing that she “broke the law” through her damaging of government records.[3] Despite his immature retaliation, Pelosi is legally in the clear because the law Trump cited only applies to official government documents, not a copy of a presidential speech. Other Republican politicians supported the President as he embarked on a tirade attempting to convince the nation of Pelosi’s lack of “decorum”;[4] he even went as far as to post on social media a clearly edited video of her tearing up his speech in an effort to incite the American public against her.
The Pelosi-Trump feud extends far beyond the antics of the Address. Pelosi has spearheaded the impeachment proceedings against President Trump, which began with a formal inquiry announced in September of 2019. As the White House refused to comply with the inquiry, and as Pelosi and fellow democrats issued several subpoenas, tensions mounted between the opposing political parties and between Trump and Pelosi themselves. In December, the House voted in favor of two articles of impeachment regarding an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress;[5] the outcome was largely guided by party affiliation, with Democrats voting in favor of both articles, and Republicans voting against them. Most recently however, on February 5th, just one day after the rocky State of the Union Address, the Senate acquitted Trump of both impeachment charges. Through each step of the somber process, Pelosi has emphasized the gravity of the President’s actions, and her duty to hold him accountable for his wrongdoings. Her understanding of the ramifications of Trump’s impeachment were first highlighted by her resistance to initiate the proceedings many months ago, despite pressure from fellow liberals.
Pelosi’s heavy involvement in President Trump’s history-making impeachment, among several other more specific instances demonstrating the pair’s mutual animosity- namely their respective State of the Union behavior and the ensuing social media battle- have led to the House Speaker coming to represent different things to different people. To those who stand firmly stationed in the anti-Trump camp regardless of political affiliation, Pelosi and her continuous efforts are proof that the American justice system has not yet been rendered completely ineffectual by the inherent corruption and disregard for democratic institutions that the current administration possesses. Although the White House and sympathetic Republicans imposed roadblocks to hinder the impeachment proceedings ranging from more strategic attempts to block testimony potentially harmful to President Trump to outright refusals to participate in the proceedings, Pelosi did not allow the hearing to be derailed. For instance, she instituted a rule change that would allow a bipartisan advisory group to more efficiently process civil contempt charges in court.[6] To those supportive of Trump and his policies, however, Pelosi serves as a constant reminder that he is not invincible; she symbolizes his weakened grasp on Congress and the greater public, especially with the ushering-in of a new class of Democratic-dominated House Representatives.
Is Trump and Pelosi’s relationship representative of the broader relationship between Democrats and Republicans? In a social media post depicting Pelosi’s outstretched hand, she captioned the photo with, “Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople.”[7] While it is unfair to portray Republicans as the sole instigators of existing tension between the parties as Pelosi perhaps implies with her wording, it is also difficult to look past the sensationalist tendencies that Trump weaponizes to turn the public against his opposition, thereby diluting the strength of our political system. Are Trump and Pelosi too far beyond any possibility of reconciliation, and does this question apply to their respective political parties? Pelosi’s role as the face of the impeachment does not leave much hope of any future malleability in their relationship. Democrats and Republicans, however, must not allow these past few months to shape their every interaction moving forward if they are at all concerned with the functionality and effectiveness of our government.
Sources
Plank, Liz. “Nancy Pelosi Tears Up Trump's State of the Union Speech In Possible 2020 Tipping Point.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, February 5, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/nancy-pelosi-tears-trump-s-state-union-speech-possible-2020-ncna1130776.
Byrd, Haley. “Nancy Pelosi Defends Tearing up the State of the Union Address: 'I Don't Need Any Lessons' on Dignity.” CNN. Cable News Network, February 6, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/politics/nancy-pelosi-state-of-the-union-reaction/index.html.
Timm, Jane C. “Trump Falsely Claims Pelosi Did Something 'Very Illegal' by Ripping up His State of the Union Speech.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, February 7, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-falsely-claims-pelosi-did-something-very-illegal-ripping-his-n1132656.
Sargent, Greg. “Opinion | Pelosi Ripped up a Speech. Trump Is Ripping up Our Democracy.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 5, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/pelosi-ripped-up-speech-trump-is-ripping-up-our-democracy/.
Herb, Jeremy, and Manu Raju. “House of Representatives Impeaches President Donald Trump.” CNN. Cable News Network, December 19, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/house-impeachment-vote/index.html.
Rachael Bade, Tom Hamburger. “House Democrats Grapple with How to Respond to Trump's Refusal to Cooperate with Investigations.” The Washington Post. WP Company, April 25, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-democrats-grapple-with-how-to-respond-to-trumps-refusal-to-cooperate-with-investigations/2019/04/24/8ae694d4-66a6-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html.
Budryk, Zack. “Pelosi Tweets Photo Showing Her Extending Hand to Trump at Speech.” The Hill. The Hill, February 5, 2020. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/481554-pelosi-tweets-photo-showing-her-extending-hand-to-trump-at-speech.