The State of the Union as President Biden appeared before a divided Congress on Thursday night was tumultuous.
Mr. Biden delivered an intense, loud, confrontational speech. Republicans jeered when he challenged them on immigration and the economy, and he seemed to enjoy, even encourage, the off-script back-and-forth as he made his official address on Capitol Hill.
Democrats cheered loudly and often in support of his policies, giving the impression of a party thoroughly behind—and even excited for—its aging presidential candidate. The only glimmers of democratic dissent came from a few progressives who sat on a rock and held signs demanding a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas during parts of the speech.
It all unfolded as former Rep. George Santos of New York, the serial storyteller who was kicked out of Congress by his own colleagues in December, returned to the House floor he had vowed just months ago never to visit again. Mr. Santos, dressed in a crystal collar and sparkly shoes, even made his own news during Mr. Biden’s speech. He announced on social media that he planned to make another run for Congress, this time from New York’s First Congressional District.
It was, in short, a raucous night for a typically solid Washington tradition.
Speaker Mike Johnson, presiding over the first State of the Union since his improbable elevation last fall, couldn’t decide what to do with his face, alternating his lips, smiling, frowning, wiggling his eyebrows and shaking his head. it saddens him. the president spoke.
Some Republicans sat in the room looking and acting like they were attending a rally for former President Donald J. Trump instead of a joint session of Congress. Representative Troy Nels, the Texas Republican who earlier this year floated the idea of electing Mr. Trump as speaker, came wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Mr. Trump’s mug.
As he made his way to the podium, Mr. Biden gasped and appeared surprised by Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, the far-right Republican from Georgia, who had dressed as a one-woman political protest. She wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat and a T-shirt with the name of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who was allegedly killed by a Venezuelan immigrant, a horror story that Republicans have used as a hook against Mr. Biden .
“This is Laken Riley!” she later shouted from her seat during the portion of Mr. Biden’s speech devoted to the U.S.-Mexico border, where Mr. Biden blamed his “predecessor” (as he referred to Mr. Trump throughout the night) for bipartisan border security. bill.
Ms. Green saw her moment, interrupting the president to call the suspect in Ms. Riley’s murder an “illegal.” Authorities have filed charges against a Venezuelan immigrant who crossed into the United States illegally and was later released on parole. “Say her name!” cried Mrs. Green.
In response, Mr. Biden did, in fact, say her name, though he made it difficult to pronounce, so it sounded more like “Lincoln Riley.” The president referred to her as “an innocent young woman killed by an outlaw — that’s right.”
“But how many of the thousands of people are killed by the lawmen?” he said.
(For years, studies have shown that undocumented immigrants have much lower crime rates than U.S.-born citizens and legal immigrants for a variety of offenses, including violent crimes, drug crimes, and property crimes.)
He added: “To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand.”
The president’s off-script use of the term “illegal” drew immediate backlash from progressives. “No human being is illegal,” Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Illinois, posted on social media shortly after she said the word.
Still, the showdown with Republican critics appeared to energize Mr. Biden and Democrats in the audience.
From their chants of “four more years!” as Mr. Biden entered the room, to constant chants of “that’s right!” marking his speech, Democrats quickly rose for applause and cheered wildly for their party leader.
There were few exceptions. Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts held signs reading “permanent ceasefire now” and “stop sending bombs” as Mr Biden discussed the war on Israel.
“More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them non-Hamas,” he said. “Thousands and thousands of innocents, women and children. Both girls and boys were orphaned. Nearly two million more Palestinians are being bombed or displaced.”
As Mr. Biden walked through the rubble in Gaza, Ms. Tlaib, the only member of Congress of Palestinian descent, wiped tears from her eyes and was comforted by her colleagues.
On the other side of the room, Mr. Santos was greeted more warmly than he ever was when he was a member of Congress, when his colleagues wanted nothing to do with him. Before the speech, he sat and laughed with Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida. Even members who have publicly criticized him in the past, such as Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York, stopped to take his photo, while others made a beeline to greet him.
It was fair to say that Mr. Santos, who is scheduled to stand trial in September on federal fraud charges that include allegations that he stole money from campaign donors for personal expenses, had his court.
He appeared to pick up a seat near the aisle where Mr. Biden was due to enter the chamber, positioning himself to be close enough to reach out for a presidential handshake. But minutes before Mr. Biden’s entrance, without a seat to spare, Mr. Santos moved to the back and out of sight.
It was Mr. Biden who stayed in the eye until the bitter end. Long after he finished his speech and after most lawmakers, cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices had left the room, the president closed the joint, sticking with a few revelers to shake hands and chat for about 30 minutes yet.
“You fired us all!” Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, told him.
