President Donald Trump began Tuesday's State of the Union address by snubbing the woman who has given him the most heartburn in the past five weeks.

In a speech designed to call for 'cooperation, compromise and the common good' instead of partisan bickering and 'the politics of revenge,' Trump struck an unlikely chord at a time when disunity holds Washington and the nation captive.

Trump called on Congress, including the Democrats' new House majority, to 'break decades of political stalemate' and put country over party.

He called for a law mandating nationwide paid family leave for new parents, a priority of his daughter Ivanka that drew cheers from both sides of the aisle.

But he angered half of Congress by demanding an end to laws permitting late-term abortions, and stung the far left by condemning trendy socialism.

And he gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, his official host for the annual speech, the cold shoulder.

It's traditional for the speaker to introduce the president before an address to a Joint Session of Congress. Instead, Trump walked behind the podium and began speaking right away.

A senior House Democratic aide acknowledged Tuesday night that Trump 'blew through the customary introduction by the speaker.'

But Pelosi brushed off the idea Trump snubbed her. 

'What do you mean? I introduced him,' Pelosi told reporters as she left the Capitol after the speech. 'I did introduce him. I said, 'Members of Congress, I present you the president of the United States.' There was no snub.'

'It went quickly, I guess.'

Trump began the evening on a hopeful, bipartisan note.

'I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans,' Trump began, describing Americans as 'hoping that we will govern not as two parties, but as one nation.'

+37

President Trump took the stage in front of Vice President Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to say the 'state of our union is strong' during his address 

+37

President Donald Trump greets House speaker Nancy Pelosi with a handshake on the podium before giving her the cold shoulder once he began the address

+37

President Trump faces lawmakers as he delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC