Sawt Falasteen - Trump's addresses a tense Congress on partisan night

Trump entered the chamber to cheers from Republicans and took a languid stroll down the center aisle to the podium, taking his time and pressing flesh along the way.

As he passed Democrat Melanie Stansbury, the New Mexico congresswoman held up a sheet of paper reading "This is not normal."

A Republican politician snatched the sign out of her hands -- a harbinger of the tensions to come.

The ultra-Trumpist Marjorie Taylor Greene, always a politician to wear her support on her sleeve, sported a red "Trump was right about everything" cap -- in violation of a ban on headwear introduced almost two centuries ago.

When Trump arrived at the podium, the Republican half of the chamber chanted "USA! USA!" their jubilation evident in their broad grins.

On the other side of the room, the Democratic members remain seated and stony-faced.

The only (presumed) Republican who might have bested the president on the applause-o-meter: his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who waved to acknowledge the raucous applause as she took her place, wearing a charcoal gray suit.

"To my fellow citizens, America is back!" Trump enthused as he began his address, whose theme was "Renewal of the American Dream."

- Yellow and blue -

Minutes later, Democrat congressman Al Green stood up and yelled at the president: "You don't have a mandate."

His protest was drowned out by the uproarious Republicans, who ordered him to take a seat as they dived into another stirring round of patriotic chants.

Green refused to sit down, and was quickly escorted out of the chamber, as he was jeered by his political opponents on the Republican side.

When Trump called predecessor Joe Biden the "worst president" in history, there were whistles from a few triggered Democrats, some of whom denounced the "lies."

Many were wearing scarves, striped ties, or lapel ribbons in the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag, as a sign of solidarity for a war-torn ally they consider the Trump administration to have betrayed.

Indeed, the speech came just after Trump had ordered a pause in American military aid to Kyiv, and the atmosphere was markedly different from Biden's March 2022 address to Congress, five days after the start of the Russian invasion.

On that occasion marked a demonstration of unity from both sides of Congress, and both chambers, as Democrat and Republican alike rose at Biden's beckoning to offer solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

That unanimity is decidedly a thing of the past in the Washington of the "America First" movement which has Trump as its standard-bearer.

In addition to Ukrainian yellow and blue, a number of Democrats came in pink outfits to protest against what they see as the Trump administration's anti-women policies.

Some of the House Democrats left the chamber before Trump had even got into his stride and Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett removed her jacket to reveal a t-shirt with the word "Resist" emblazoned on the back.

- Musk the spectator -

Some traditions hold, even in the norm-breaking Trump era, and the usual bevy of Supreme Court justices could be found in the front row, enjoying the pomp and circumstance.

With many of the Trump administration's decisions already the subject of legal challenges, the judicial panel -- with its strong conservative tilt -- is likely to have its hands full in the weeks and months ahead.

But if Trump was expecting a sold-out speech, he will have been disappointed.

A number of Democrats, such as left-winger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had previously announced that they would be giving the event a wide berth.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man and Trump's point man on drastically downsizing the federal government, watched from the galleries, a spectator to the drama for once.

Yet, even from the sidelines, he still managed to command the attention of the TV cameras as Trump invited applause for a man whose millions helped get the Republican elected.

A few hours before Trump's arrival, a dozen protesters outside the US Capitol waved signs reading "Stand up to tyranny" and "Musk must go."

Trump seemed to provide a direct retort during his speech, as he warned: "We're just getting started."

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST