She joined in several standing ovations when Trump spoke of bipartisan initiatives and introduced honoured guests, such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin and World War II-era veterans. But she appeared to smirk, chuckle, shake her head or roll her eyes several times, including when Trump called for an end to "ridiculous partisan investigations" and when he spoke about the MS-13 gang traversing the southern border. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Her subtle expressions of disapproval provided a stark contrast to Vice-President Mike Pence, who often is mocked by Democrats for his almost adoring gazes at Trump. At the same time, however, Pelosi made sure that her caucus did not go too far in displaying its opposition to Trump. When rank-and-file Democrats began to loudly groan at some of Trump's immigration rhetoric, at least twice she lifted her hand to shush them.

Trump paid homage to the record wave of newly-elected female lawmakers, which prompted one of the biggest bipartisan applause lines of the evening. "All Americans can be proud that ... exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before," he said. Nancy Pelosi raises her hand in a gesture to quiet the Democrats. Credit:AP But Trump refrained from congratulating Pelosi on her second ascension to speaker, as President George W. Bush did in the 2007 State of the Union when he said it was his "honour" to be the first president to address "Madam Speaker". Similarly President Barack Obama in 2010 offered an olive branch to GOP Speaker John A. Boehner by praising Boehner's hard-working father, a Cincinnati bar owner. When Trump arrived at the lectern, he blew through the moment at which Pelosi was to introduce him to the chamber, as is customary. Trump and Pelosi have a complicated relationship that defines divided government. It was Pelosi who delayed the president's originally scheduled State of the Union address for one week during the record-long government shutdown, and she continues to deny him the taxpayer funding he wants for a southern border wall.

Trump spoke of unity and bipartisanship, including pursuing an infrastructure plan and protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions. But he also accused Democrats of stalling his judicial nominees and blocking funding for the wall. Loading In the Democrats' official response, Stacey Abrams, the defeated Georgia gubernatorial candidate, said Democrats would use their new power in the House to help middle-class voters and to rebuff's Trump's policies. "Families' hopes are being crushed by Republican leadership that ignores real life or just doesn't understand it," she said. "This is the next battle for our democracy, one where all eligible citizens can have their say about the vision we want for our country." Among the lawmakers in the chamber were 100 freshmen attending their first address by the president in their new workplace. Many are young, rebellious and progressive, raising concerns they might shout out or boo.

Lawmakers largely stuck to the time-honoured script for such events. Republicans applauded and stood at the party lines and Democrats listened while sitting on their hands most of the time. The most dramatic break from decorum was when Congress sang happy birthday to one of Trump's guests. Loading Democratic female lawmakers wore white, in an homage to the suffragettes. Pelosi packed the gallery with some of Trump's sharpest critics, including Dr Leana Wen, the head of Planned Parenthood; chef Jose Andres, who has become a vocal critic of the administration's immigration policies; and five labor leaders. A handful of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the speech altogether. Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson said he would "rather be somewhere else than listening to (Trump) come onto our floor & start talking about groups of people, particularly Latinos, and disparaging them as a people," he wrote on Twitter. But the vast majority of Democrats were there. Several brought federal workers who didn't get paid during the shutdown, including contractors who won't get back pay.