What Photos Of Past Addresses Tell Us About Trump

In his first address to the joint session of Congress, Donald Trump called for bipartisanship and unity to push forward his plans to "make America great again." But looking at the audience, Congress' division was as clear as ever. Trump received standing ovations several times, but it was notable when the applause was only coming from the Republican side of the aisle. Anyone watching a presidential address to the joint session for the first time would be struck by the separation, but Democrats' and Republicans' show of partisan support through applause and standing ovations at these speeches is not new.

State of the Union addresses, which Trump's speech technically was not, always serve as a sort of pep rally. There, members of Congress and others in attendance can audibly and visually show how much they support a particular point the president is making, while opposition most likely is shown through silence, remaining seated, or even booing, as was heard during Trump's speech last night. Obama had to deal with it. Bush had to deal with it. Clinton had to deal with it.

And unless Trump suddenly changes almost everything about himself and his policy positions, he too will have to deal with it for the next four years. But overall, photos of differences across the aisle at Trump's first address are not fair indicators of more or less party division than in previous years.

Take a look.

1943

There are times when both sides are united in their seated silence and standing ovations. Take this photo from Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1943 SOTU address for example. Here, all are seated as Roosevelt shares updates on World War II at that time.

1962

And as the following photo of John F. Kennedy at his 1962 State of the Union address shows, not all applause grows into a standing ovation. Sometimes Congress is united in seated applause.

1969

Usually, all of Congress stands and applauds as the president is introduced, as shown in this 1969 photo of Lyndon B. Johnson beginning his State of the Union address.

1980

This 1980 photo shows all of Congress seated for a moment of Jimmy Carter's State of the Union address.

1999

While this 1999 photo taken during Bill Clinton's State of the Union address clearly shows division in Congress, but not so clearly across party lines. There are folks on both sides of the aisle that are standing and seated.

2002

This photo from George Bush's 2002 address may have come at the very beginning or very end of a moment of applause. If you look closely, you can see some people on one side with their hands together while most everyone else seems to be still.

2006

That mix is even more pronounced in this photo from Bush's 2006 State of the Union address. Some people are giving a standing ovation, while others are still seated. The image could show division, but it could also show the end of the ovation where some people who were standing may have sat down before the others.

2007

The importance of timing when it comes to taking photos of ovations is clearer in the following photo from Bush's 2007 address, where there could be division, or just many Republicans are shown standing and blurs on the Democrat side seem to show some people in the process of standing up.

2008

But this 2008 photo shows a time where Bush said something to appeal to all in attendance. Most people, though not all, are giving him a standing ovation.

2010

Obama knew congressional division all too well during his time in office. In this photo from 2010, several Democrats are clearly standing and clapping while the GOP is united in sitting and withholding their applause.

2014

While in this photo from 2014, all are giving the president a standing ovation with the exception of a few, some of whom look to be in the process of standing up.

2015

This photo from 2015 shows the opposite of what many viewers of Trump's first speech to Congress saw. Many Democrats are giving the president a standing ovation while nearly all of the Republicans are not.

2017

This photo from Trump's address to the joint session of Congress showed a clearly divided country.

2017 Again

But again, context is key. In this photo, nearly everyone is standing and applauding, though the direction they are looking indicates it may have been a tribute to someone in the crowd.

These photos just go to show that standing ovations, divided and united across party lines and not, is a tradition when it comes to presidents addressing joint sessions of Congress. And photos of half of Congress standing and half of Congress seated from almost any year can be used as evidence of the nation's division. But only when they are put in context of the time period, the content of the speeches, and the exact point the photo was taken can they really tell a story of the unity, or lack thereof, of the country at the time.

The U.S. is certainly divided under Trump, but that doesn't mean it wasn't divided before.