House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fired back at President Trump on Thursday morning as the two political titans clashed the day after the president’s historic acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial.
"You’re impeached forever, you are never getting rid of that scar,” Pelosi declared at a press conference, even as Trump took a series of victory laps.
Pelosi condemned Trump's State of Union address as appalling and called his behavior at Thursday's earlier National Prayer Breakfast inappropriate, reflecting a severely damaged relationship that leaves little opportunity for working together in the future.
“He shredded the truth with his speech. He’s shredding the Constitution with his conduct and I shredded his state of mind address," she said of famously ripping up his State of the Union address earlier this week.
She pointedly lashed out at Trump over claims in that address that he inherited failed economic policies from former President Barack Obama and reversed them to bring about a blue-collar boom.
TRUMP PROUDLY DISPLAYS 'ACQUITTED' HEADLINES, MERE FEET FROM PELOSI AT PRAYER BREAKFAST
“It was appalling to hear him try to take credit … and call what President Obama did a mess that he inherited,” Pelosi said.
And she cited his battle against ObamaCare in decrying his vow to protect patients with pre-existing conditions
“That misrepresentation was appalling and so clearly untrue,” she said, calling the address itself a “manifesto of mistruths.”
She accused Trump of using the House of Representatives for a "reality TV" show with surprise guests and an impromptu Medal of Freedom ceremony for conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
“Constant guests. That was not a State of the Union. That was his state of mind," Pelosi said.
“Do it in your own office. We don’t come in your office and do congressional business," she said of the medal for Limbaugh, who is battling cancer.
PELOSI THROWS SHADE AT TRUMP DURING STATE OF THE UNION, RIPS SPEECH
President Donald Trump holds up a newspaper with the headline that reads "ACQUITTED" at the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast, at the Washington Hilton, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Pelosi said she's been gracious to Trump and extended her hand of friendship at the start of the speech, though he didn't shake it. But after his behavior, Pelosi made clear that she's done with him.
"I feel very liberated," she said, and also predicting this will be his last State of the Union address.
“Next year, we will have a new president of the United States. It’s an absolute imperative for our country," she said.
The remarks are the latest in a theatric tit-for-tat amid a seminal week that included Trump’s acquittal on two impeachment articles, his defiant State of the Union address and the messy Iowa caucuses kicking off the Democratic race to take him on in November.
Pelosi ripped up Trump's State of the Union speech in dramatic fashion Tuesday night saying she couldn't find a word of truth on the pages, and she continued to rail against the address on Thursday.
On Thursday, she also defended her conduct saying she doesn't need "lessons" from Trump on "dignity" -- and tried to turn the tables on Republicans by chiding them for shouting "four more years."
She called their behavior a "serious breach" of conduct and dismissed the entire speech as "beneath the dignity of the White House."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., tears her copy of President Donald Trump's s State of the Union address after he delivered it to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Earlier Thursday, Trump held up two newspapers with blaring “Acquitted” headlines at the National Prayer Breakfast mere feet from Pelosi, D-Calif.
Trump first picked up a USA Today newspaper and presented it before the audience. He then put it down and picked up a copy of Thursday’s Washington Post, which had a similar headline.
He later addressed the audience and took some not-so-subtle swipes at Pelosi once more.
"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you' when you know that is not so," he said. Pelosi had publicly said during the impeachment process that she and fellow Democrats were "prayerful" and that she prays for the president.
"He’s talking about things he knows little about, faith and prayer," Pelosi shot back at her press conference.
Democrats have worried that Trump will be especially emboldened after he escaped two major efforts to curb his power: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and impeachment over his Ukraine dealings.
Trump is capitalizing on the moment, following his confident State of the Union performance Tuesday and growing approval ratings. He now wears the badge of honor of double vindication.
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"He’s the most exonerated president in history!" one Republican Party source told Fox News. "Mueller exonerated him in the Russia investigation, the Senate exonerated him vis a vis Ukraine— that’s a double exoneration— making him the most exonerated in history."
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Gillian Turner contributed to this report.
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