Moments later, Cheney fist-bumped Biden as he walked down the aisle to the dais.
The contrast between Biden and his more polarizing predecessor could not be more stark. At the State of the Union address just a year ago, Pelosi was so furious with what she called the “manifesto of mistruths” she ripped up a copy of Trump’s speech as he stood a few feet away.
If he did anything during his speech, Biden lowered the temperature in the Capitol and in Washington. At one poignant moment, the president personally thanked McConnell for naming a cancer research bill after his son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle applauded the line.