This week, Speaker of the Houe Nancy Pelosi became an internet meme, after making a gesture in which she tore up a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address in front of the cameras.
Pelosi's display of open defiance came after Trump made a speech praising his administration and first term, which clearly rankled her. At one point during Trump's speech, Pelosi could reportedly be seen mouthing: "not true."
However, now footage from the speech taken from a different angle has emerged online, which appears to show that the speech-ripping may have actually been staged beforehand.
Take a look at this news report showing Pelosi's brazen gesture:The video below appears to show Pelosi making a tear into her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address while he was still talking, to ensure that her speech-ripping moment could take place without any setbacks.
While Trump presented the Medal of Freedom to radio host Rush Limbaugh, some people believe that Pelosi could be seen taking pages of the address off the table, tearing them a tiny bit at the side, and then placing the pages back on the table.
Twitter user @BenjiRiversHQ tweeted out: "Nancy Pelosi did a pre rip test just to make sure her boney fingers could do the job. Planned from the start and so sad."
Speaking about her symbolic gesture in a later statement posted to Twitter, Pelosi wrote: "President Trump's address tonight gave no comfort to the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions or the families struggling to afford the prescription drugs they need."
Pelosi continued: "Once again, President Trump was not truthful about his actions in court to destroy pre-existing condition protections. Once again, President Trump pulled his punch on his promise to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices."
"The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people. The American people expect and deserve a President to have integrity and respect for the aspirations for their children."