'He blew through that custom': Trump skips Pelosi introduction at State of the Union
President Donald Trump began Tuesday's State of the Union address without an introduction from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a break from tradition according to the Speaker's office.
The president is usually introduced two times before the State of the Union address: Once by the sergeant-at-arms and once by the Speaker of the House, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"It appears he blew through that custom," a spokesman for Pelosi told the publication.
Last year, when Republicans controlled the House, Trump paused at the beginning of his speech for an introduction from then-Speaker Paul Ryan.
This year's break from tradition was reported by the New York Times' Nicholas Fandos: "Trump was evidently ready to get going tonight. The House speaker customarily introduces the president to the joint session of Congress before he begins to speak. Instead, Trump took the lectern and just dove right in, leaving Pelosi a little confused."
Numerous social media commentators also noticed:
Very strange --
Trump did not wait for the Speaker to introduce him to the Congress, which is the protocol ...
Pelosi looked surprised that Trump began without waiting for her to introduce him.— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) February 6, 2019
I'm told Speaker Pelosi was planning to introduce the president before his #SOTU address (just like Paul Ryan did in 2018.)
But Trump blew right through it.— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) February 6, 2019
Why didn’t Pelosi intro potus? Why was there no mention of new Congress? Who’s going to tell potus his tie is crooked? #sotu #protocolbroken
— Doug Currin (@DougCurrin) February 6, 2019
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'He blew through that custom': Trump skips Pelosi introduction at State of the Union