President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE delivered his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday evening — his first such speech since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives.

What were the main takeaways?

Trump lashed out at investigations

The White House had previewed Trump’s speech as an attempt to reach across the aisle and encourage “comity” — a term that senior counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwaySpecial counsel investigating DeVos for potential Hatch Act violation: report George and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE literally spelled out to reporters on Monday.

But there was no evidence of that in the most striking moment of the night — a strong jab by the president at investigations of him and his 2016 campaign, which he implied risked hurting the American economy and the nation at large.

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“An economic miracle is taking place in the United States — and the only things that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations,” he said, drawing what looked like a wince from Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiTrump puts Supreme Court fight at center of Ohio rally CDC causes new storm by pulling coronavirus guidance Overnight Health Care: CDC pulls revised guidance on coronavirus | Government watchdog finds supply shortages are harming US response | As virus pummels US, Europe sees its own spike MORE (D-Calif.), sitting directly behind him.

Trump went on to contend that “if there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way!”

Trump’s refrain that the investigations into him are a “witch hunt” is commonplace in his tweets and interviews. But he had not mentioned the topic at all in last year’s State of the Union address.

His approach this time seemed as much a reaction to the investigations House Democrats are pursuing as it was to special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s probe.

Either way, the president seems intent on all-out confrontation.

Some reaching out, some red meat

The suggestion from senior administration officials that Trump would adopt a conciliatory tone were not wholly untrue — but those efforts were counterbalanced by frequent slabs of red meat thrown to his base.

Toward the start of his speech, Trump insisted, “We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good.”

He also extolled his achievement in accomplishing a measure of criminal justice reform — a signature project of his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE, who was in attendance.

But there was plenty of rhetoric that cut the other way.

Trump delivered a fiery attack on abortion, calling on lawmakers to pass a ban on late-term terminations and, more broadly, “build a culture that cherishes innocent life.”

He stuck to his hard line on illegal immigration, too, insisting “walls work and walls save lives.”

In an embrace of the populism that got him elected, he cast his stance on immigration in stark class terms.

“Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. Meanwhile, working class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal migration,” he said.

Some observers will see the hand of senior advisor Stephen Miller in those lines. But they may also reflect the president’s own wishes.

The New York Times had reported earlier on Tuesday that Trump had been displeased by early drafts of the speech, which he considered too soft on Democrats.

Trump and Democratic women tangle in viral moment

One of the most visually compelling — and hard to interpret — moments of the speech saw Trump and female Democratic lawmakers engage.

The vignette began with Trump talking about women being the main beneficiaries of the nation’s strong economy.

Female Democratic lawmakers, many dressed in white in tribute to the suffragette movement, got to their feet in celebration of their own election and were also applauded by many of their male party colleagues.

“You weren’t supposed to do that,” Trump said.

He went on to note the increased female share of the workforce and, in apparent good humor, said, “Don’t sit yet, you’re going to like this,” before adding that there were more female lawmakers than ever before.

At that point, the raucousness of the Democratic response seemed to take Trump aback. With left-leaning members including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezThe Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight Ocasio-Cortez hits back at Marjorie Taylor Greene over 'dumb blonde' joke on Twitter Ocasio-Cortez to voters: Tell McConnell 'he is playing with fire' with Ginsburg's seat MORE (D-N.Y.) celebrating and chants of “USA!” breaking out, Trump said more drily, “Congratulations. That’s great.”

Trump’s reaction left room for interpretation as to whether he was genuinely riled or enjoying the jousting.

But it is a moment that is certain to get a lot of cable news play on Wednesday.

No acknowledgement of Pelosi

Much speculation before the address had focused on the likely dynamics between Trump and Pelosi, who has just begun her second stretch as Speaker.

When Pelosi first took the gavel, in early 2007, then-President George W. Bush made a point of congratulating her — she was the first female Speaker ever — at the beginning of his State of the Union address.

Trump offered no such congratulations, nor did he even pause for the Speaker to introduce him, as is the custom at State of the Union addresses.

Pelosi did applaud at some of the less contentious parts of Trump’s speech — she got to her feet when he urged a renewed focus on infrastructure investment, for example. But at other times, she smirked or shook her head, making her disagreement plain.

Notably, Trump did not refer at all to the 35-day partial government shutdown, where he faced off against Pelosi — and is almost universally seen as having lost.

2020 Democrats compete to show their disdain

Trump’s speech was given before a number of Democrats who are already running to replace him, or who might yet do so.

Sens. Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility Democratic lawmakers call for an investigation into allegations of medical neglect at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten GillibrandSunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Suburban moms are going to decide the 2020 election Jon Stewart urges Congress to help veterans exposed to burn pits MORE (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisJoe Biden looks to expand election battleground into Trump country Fox's Napolitano: Supreme Court confirmation hearings will be 'World War III of political battles' Rush Limbaugh encourages Senate to skip hearings for Trump's SCOTUS nominee MORE (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenJudd Gregg: The Kamala threat — the Californiaization of America GOP set to release controversial Biden report Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? MORE (D-Mass.) are already running. Others, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy KlobucharBattle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates Klobuchar: GOP can't use 'raw political power right in middle of an election' MORE (D-Minn.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersJacobin editor: Primarying Schumer would force him to fight Trump's SCOTUS nominee Trump campaign plays up Biden's skills ahead of Cleveland debate: 'He's actually quite good' Young voters backing Biden by 2:1 margin: poll MORE (I-Vt.), could get in soon — Klobuchar has said she will make a “big announcement” on Sunday.

Harris gave a “prebuttal” to the speech on Facebook that mostly stuck to conventional ground, predicting “not a speech that will seek to draw us together as Americans but one that seeks to score political points by driving us apart.”

Sanders gave his own response after the speech, but fears that he would upstage former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams — the choice to give the official Democratic response — proved unfounded. Abrams was met with near-universal acclaim for her performance at a famously difficult task.

During Trump’s speech itself, the likely 2020 contenders sometimes seemed to be competing with each other for who could show the most obvious disdain for Trump in their facial expressions.

Harris at one point shook her head during some of the president’s remarks on immigration. Warren seemed to watch much of the speech in stone-faced silence, Gillibrand went one better, fundraising off a C-SPAN clip where she was seen rolling her eyes.

A divided nation before and after

For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds State of the Union addresses, it is hard to think of even a single one that has fundamentally shifted the political dynamics of the moment.

In 2019, with the most polarizing president of recent times in the Oval Office and the nation’s divisions deeply entrenched, that pattern will surely not be broken.

The stark political divisions were dramatized on Tuesday night at the many points when Republicans leapt to their feet to applaud the president while Democrats remained seated and still.

It was a reminder, if one was needed, that it will soon be back to business as usual in Washington, where a yawning gulf separates the president and the opposition party.