When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up President Donald Trump’s speech at the end of the State of the Union last night she knew the image it would create: As Trump acknowledged the applause of the chamber, she stood up behind him, and with a fleeting look of disgust on her face, ostentatiously ripped in half the sheaf of paper he had handed her when he first came to the dais.

Pelosi was hailed as a “queen” across social media by Democratic partisans for shredding Trump’s speech, even while #PelosiTantrum trended on Twitter. It’s not an ideal position for the third most powerful official in the government to be in. Until now, Pelosi’s strength in dealing with Trump has been acting as the adult in the room. Regardless of what you think of her politics, her strategy for handling a volatile president (until impeachment, that is) has been largely effective and has allowed her to claim a sliver more of the moral high ground from Trump and the Republicans with regard to civility. She squandered that last night.