Party leaders opted for a soberly delivered, centrist counter to the president’s speech, but the dominant image of Democratic pushback was a liberal congressman waving his cane in protest.

The freshman senator from a swing state, a former CIA analyst, scrutinized Donald Trump’s handling of Russia’s war on Ukraine, saying that he “would have lost us the Cold War.”

It was a stark contrast to the president’s first joint address to Congress in 2017, in which he signaled unity.

Democrats once dreamed that demographic change would guarantee political dominance; instead it could be a nightmare. After any major loss, political parties often go through a warring-factions period.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) delivered the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s congressional speech on March 4.