--- title: Trump Did Not Wait for Pelosi at State of the Union description: President Donald Trump jumped right into the State of the Union speech without a formal introduction from Nancy Pelosi. canonical: https://time.com/5522266/donald-trump-no-pelosi-introduction-state-of-the-union/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-06T02:46:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:52:29.116Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Did Not Wait for Pelosi to Introduce Him at the State of the Union og:description: The President broke from tradition with his quick start og:url: https://time.com/5522266/donald-trump-no-pelosi-introduction-state-of-the-union/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76ac336b918fbaf5/698944a38fd2ee0c6a35dbb4/david-butow-state-of-the-union-2019-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: david-butow-state-of-the-union-2019-1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Did Not Wait for Pelosi to Introduce Him at the State of the Union twitter:description: The President broke from tradition with his quick start twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76ac336b918fbaf5/698944a38fd2ee0c6a35dbb4/david-butow-state-of-the-union-2019-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Did Not Wait for Nancy Pelosi to Introduce Him During the State of the Union > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Feb 6, 2019 2:46 AM UTC  Vice President Mike Pence claps behind Donald Trump during the president's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2019. Vice President Mike Pence claps behind Donald Trump during the president's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2019.David Butow—Redux for TIME by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Feb 6, 2019 2:46 AM UTC President Donald Trump was eager to begin his [State of the Union address](http://time.com/5520715/state-union-donald-trump-fact-check/) on Tuesday night. So eager, in fact, that he jumped right into his speech without a formal introduction. When the president speaks in front of a joint session of Congress, it is customary for the Speaker of the House to introduce him. Last year, the introduction at the State of the Union was given by Republican Speaker Paul Ryan. But since Democrats won control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Democrat Nancy Pelosi now holds the job. Pelosi, [dressed in white](http://time.com/5518859/state-of-the-union-2019-white/) like many of her female Democratic colleagues, sat behind Trump during his speech on Tuesday. But after the President gave copies of his speech to her and Vice President Mike Pence, he turned around and began speaking without pausing for Pelosi to introduce him. This change in schedule left Pelosi looking slightly confused at first, but she soon transitioned into looking at the papers in front of her as the President talked. Pelosi and Trump have repeatedly clashed in recent weeks. She not only refused to meet the President’s demand of funding for his border wall during the government shutdown, but also uninvited him from delivering the State of the Union in the House chamber while the shutdown continued. 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