In the face of dismal approval ratings, Donald Trump doubled down on his favourite topics while avoiding the issues that have made him so unpopular.
And in doing so, the US president gave the longest State of the Union address in history.
Over an hour and 47 minutes, Trump railed against crime and immigration and touted the stock market and the military.
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But his speech only briefly touched on issues of affordability, and made no mention of controversial agency ICE.
The other topic that didn't get a mention in his speech was notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – his longtime friend.
But the president served up hefty helpings of red meat to his base.
Crime
A large section of the speech has been dedicated to describing in graphic detail high-profile crimes.
As Trump described the murders, relatives of the victims sat in the audience.
Among those is Erika Kirk, the widow of political commentator Charlie Kirk.
The mother of alleged murder victim Iryna Zarutska was in tears as Trump described her daughter's death.
"Last summer, 23-year-old Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body," Trump said.
"No one will forget the expression of terror on Iryna's face as she looked at her attacker in the last seconds of her life."
Trump called on members to stand if they agreed with him.
"If you agree with the statement, then stand up and show your support," he said.
"The duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens."
As Democrats remained seated, he told them they should be ashamed of themselves.
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Tariffs
Trump took the unusual step of directly criticising the Supreme Court after it ruled his tariffs were illegal.
"Just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the US Supreme Court just came down," Trump said.
But he said he had found a way to retain the tariffs.
"It will remain in place under alternative legal statutes they've been tested for a long time, they're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better," he said.
He reiterated the falsehood that tariffs were paid by foreign countries instead of American importers.
Trump said his tariffs would "substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax".
Several of the justices who voted against his tariffs were in the audience.
The economy
The president also made the dubious claim that prices are coming down significantly.
"The cost of chicken, automobiles, rent, is lower than when I took office by a lot," Trump said.
"And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly."
Honouring guests
Donald Trump gave the Congressional Medal of Honour to a helicopter pilot badly wounded in the raid of Venezuela leading to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
The president described in gruesome detail how the pilot Eric Slover was struck by enemy machine gun fire.
"He was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle," he said.
"Eric manoeuvred his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat."
In a particularly touching moment, another aviator was given the Medal of Honour.
Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams was given the award more than 70 years after a daring mission in the Korean War.
The 100-year-old was loudly applauded by the crowd.
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But Trump couldn't help but make a comment which was likely not in his prepared remarks.
"I've always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honour, but I was informed I'm not allowed to give it myself," the president said.
"I don't know why I'd be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday."
The Medal of Honour is given for extraordinary courage in war. Trump has never served in uniform.
In a moment of rare theatre at the State of the Union, Trump introduced the USA men's ice hockey team.
While typically everyone is already seated at the event, the gold medal-winning team entered the room to chants of "U-S-A".
Trump also announced he would give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
The medal is the highest civilian honour in the USA.
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Democratic response
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger criticised the president for not addressing issues of affordability.
"Is the president working to make life more affordable to you and your family? We all know the answer is no," she said.
"The president is planning for new tariffs – another massive tax hike on you and your family."
She decried alleged rampant corruption in the administration.
"He's enriching himself, his family, his friends," she said.
"The scale of his corruption is unprecedented.
"This is not what our founders envisaged? Not by a long shot."
A less formal Democratic response came from Representative Al Green.
Minutes into Trump's speech, Green was ushered out of the chamber for heckling the president.
He was holding a sign reading: "Black people aren't apes".
It's the second time in two years Green has done so.
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