Washington (CNN) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew emotional at a press conference Thursday when asked to describe her reaction to a shocking photo of a drowned father and daughter lying face down in the water of the Rio Grande, part of the US border with Mexico.

Before answering, Pelosi paused for nine seconds while staring down, with both hands on the podium. When she answered, she spoke softly at first, her voice appearing to waver slightly as she started to speak.

"Can you just imagine, the father put the little girl on the shore to go back to get the mother, and the little girl wanted to be with her father," Pelosi said, adding, "She got back in. And then he couldn't save her, and then he couldn't save himself. This is such a tragedy."

Pelosi, who's been to the southern border before, noted the power of the river, saying "the Rio Grande has personality. This is not just a little river that you swim across."

"I can just imagine how that happened and I, I just think it's such a shame for that to be the face of America around the world," Pelosi added.

Read More