Footage of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacting to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday has gone viral on social media. The California Democrat at one point appeared distressed and clutched her stick during a section about transgender participation in women’s sport.
Pelosi, now aged 84, served as speaker for the second time between January 2019 and January 2023, overlapping with Trump’s first term in the White House.
During this time, she became a vocal critic of the Trump administration and attracted widespread attention after ripping up the president’s State of the Union address in Congress during February 2020.
On Tuesday, Trump delivered a wide-ranging and politically charged address to a joint session of Congress. During it, he said, “America is back,” while celebrating the flurry of executive orders he had signed since being inaugurated as president for the second time on January 20.
This included the order Trump signed on February 5, titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,’ which banned transgender athletes from competing against women and girls in educational institutions and grassroots sports.
During these remarks, a television camera briefly focused on Pelosi, who slowly moved her head from side-to-side while appearing crestfallen and holding a walking stick.
A 14-second clip of this was reshared on X, formerly Twitter, by Savanah Hernandez, a Turning Point USA contributor, and it went viral with over 2.2 million views and more than 29,000 likes.
Hernandez wrote: “Just so we’re all aware, this was Nancy Pelosi’s reaction as Trump was discussing men not being allowed to play in women’s sports.”
Just so we’re all aware, this was Nancy Pelosi’s reaction as Trump was discussing men not being allowed to play in women’s sports pic.twitter.com/8E4LKxjYpw
— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) March 5, 2025
The pro-Trump ‘MAGA Barbie’ X account, which has 58,000 followers, shared a briefer, five-second clip of Pelosi’s reaction, which received over 167,000 views.
The account’s post read: “Nancy Pelosi is so mad that men can’t beat the s*** out of women in sports.”
Heather Champion, an anti-abortion activist, shared a clip of Pelosi toying with her walking stick on X, adding: “Nancy Pelosi, who once was so hysterical as Speaker of the House that she ripped up President Trump’s SOTU [State of the Union] speech, is sitting with a cane talking to herself tonight.”
In April 2023, Pelosi opposed a Republican-backed House bill seeking to ban transgender athletes from female athletic programs. She said: “Trans kids are all God’s children, belong in sports, in schools, in books, in families and on teams.”
During Trump’s address, the president also vowed to take control of the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland “one way or another,” having previously refused to rule out the use of force to achieve this objective.
Responding to Trump’s address on X, Pelosi wrote: “Just like the last time he addressed the Congress, President Trump’s speech tonight was another manifesto of mistruths.
“Democrats will continue to lead the fight against President Trump’s bait-and-switch assault on America—while Republicans stand and applaud it.”
Pelosi also said: “He promised to bring down inflation on day one. He didn’t. He promised to bring down the cost of living on day one. He didn’t.
“Now his budget plan gives tax breaks to billionaires while ripping away health care from millions of Americans. Republicans voted for it with glee.”
Republicans have control over both chambers of Congress, as well as the White House, giving Trump the opportunity to radically reshape the American political landscape and government organization.
Pelosi secured reelection as representative of California’s 11th congressional district in November 2024. It is not yet known whether she will run for the seat again in 2026.
