Selfies, handshakes and hugs: Biden sticks around after the final call
President Biden gave the speech. He survived the speech. He made a few jokes, laughed a bit and gave stirring economic commentary about the availability of Snickers bars and chips.
Then came the fun part.
“No one is going to talk about cognitive impairment now!” Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, the president said after the speechciting any concerns about Mr. Biden’s age and his ability to meet the demands of the job.
“I sometimes wish I had a cognitive disability,” Mr. Biden responded, perhaps referring to the speech he had just given. Or the stress of his job. Or Republicans in the House of Representatives.
At least 25 minutes after wrapping up his State of the Union address on Thursday, Mr. Biden lingered with well-wishers who had gathered to praise a speech that was energetic and more political than in previous years.
The president seemed happy to be done walking his tightrope, and for a while it looked like he would never leave. Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris chatted idly behind Mr. Biden as he walked around.
Finally, a House protocol official told Mr. Biden that many in the room could not leave until he did.
“Are they Democrats or Republicans?” the president joked backsaid a reporter who saw the interaction.
Finally, Mr. Johnson closed the session even with Mr. Biden still in the room.
The moment was a homecoming of sorts for Mr. Biden, who commuted to Capitol Hill as a Democratic senator from Delaware for 36 years. He seemed to long for the praise. Before the speech, his allies had said he longed for interaction with people outside the gilded cage of the White House.
“As president, he never gets the opportunity to just come by and talk to people,” Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware and an ally of Mr. Biden, said in an interview this week. The presidency, Mr. Coons said, had made it “harder than ever for him to just casually connect with people.”
That is exactly what Mr. Biden did when the House chamber emptied and he was left behind. He shook hands with several members of the House of Representatives, including Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
“I want you to bring that energy that you brought tonight,” Rep. Nikema Williams, Democrat of Georgia, told him.
“I have too much energy,” the president replied. “That is the problem.”
Finally, nearly half an hour after the speech ended, Mr. Biden left a largely empty room and went home. He spent some time at the White House greeting supporters before finally entering just before midnight.