Republicans Chant 'Four More Years' at Trump's State of the Union Address, Democrats Call it a 'Trump Rally'
Republican members of Congress chanted "four more years" as the impeached President Donald Trump stepped up to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, his last before the next election and a day before his likely acquittal in the Senate.
As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced him, loud cheers and applause erupted among the jubilant Republican side, which led into the chant calling for a second Trump term after the November election. Democrats branded the address a Trump rally.
During her introduction, Pelosi omitted the usual "I have the high privilege and distinct honor" words to present the president to Congress.
Moments earlier, Trump appeared to snub Pelosi's offer of a handshake. Once his address concluded, Pelosi stood behind the president and tore up a paper copy of the speech.
Walking out of Congress after the event, Pelosi said the ripped up the address "because it was a courteous thing to do considering the alternative. It was such a dirty speech," ABC News reported.
In a tweet, the White House highlighted some of the items in Trump's speech in its criticism of Pelosi: "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 California Democrat oversaw the president's impeachment for his alleged misconduct, but he is on the cusp of acquittal by the GOP-majority Senate.
The House impeached Trump with two articles: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump is accused of soliciting Ukraine's interference in the 2020 election to benefit his personal political campaign.
He allegedly conditioned the release of $391 million in military aid and a White House visit for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Kyiv announcing the opening of an unfounded corruption investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic 2020 candidate.
On Wednesday, the Senate is expected to acquit Trump of the two articles following a trial in which the Republican side blocked new witnesses and evidence, including testimony from the president's former national security adviser John Bolton, who claims to have new and relevant information.
During his State of the Union address, Trump claimed to have "shattered the mentality of American decline" and delivered Americans a "roaring economy."
The president also railed against sanctuary cities for undocumented migrants and socialism, and awarded the conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny," Trump said.
"We have totally rejected the downsizing. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never, ever going back."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, tweeted that Trump's address was "demagogic."
"President Trump's speech tonight was much more like a Trump rally than a speech a true leader would give. It was demagogic, undignified, highly partisan and in too many places, untruthful," Schumer wrote.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, called Trump's address "a disgrace."
"I should not have gone," tweeted Murphy. "It was a re-election pep rally from beginning to end, filled with political stunts and verifiable lie after verifiable lie. I get it - presidents use their last SOTU to make the case for re-election. But that crossed a line."
Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, also characterized Trump's State of the Union address as a political rally.
"Rather than taking this evening as an opportunity to attempt to unify a deeply divided nation, President Trump instead delivered a State of the Union address that seemed focused solely on rallying his own political supporters behind him," tweeted Warner.
