President Donald Trump has hailed the “great American comeback” in a speech to Congress on the eve of his expected acquittal in his impeachment trial.

At his annual State of the Union address, Mr Trump struck a tone of optimism as he set out his case for another four years in office.

He said his tenure had “shattered the mentality of American decline”.

Mr Trump refrained from lashing out directly at the lawmakers who have attempted to remove him from office.

The Republican president delivered Tuesday night’s nationally televised speech in the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives, where he was impeached in December.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Republican-led Senate is all but certain on Wednesday to clear the president of corruption charges in a party-line vote.

Republican lawmakers chanted “four more years” as Mr Trump prepared to speak, urging him on for November’s White House election.

How did Trump provoke Pelosi?

Before Mr Trump began speaking at the podium in the well of the House, he appeared to ignore a handshake from the chamber’s Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mrs Pelosi, the president’s implacable political foe and the most powerful elected Democrat, was sitting behind him at the dias.

When Mr Trump told the chamber that Democrats plan to force “American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to illegal aliens”, Mrs Pelosi was observed twice mouthing: “Not true.”

But she did rise to applaud when the president promoted his pet project of infrastructure investment, an area of bipartisan co-operation.

What else did the president say?

With an upbeat note that contrasted sharply with his lament of “American carnage” in his 2017 inaugural presidential address, Mr Trump told his audience: “The years of economic decay are over.

“The days of our country being used, taken advantage of, and even scorned by other nations are long behind us.

“Gone too are the broken promises, jobless recoveries, tired platitudes, and constant excuses for the depletion of American wealth, power, and prestige.”

Mr Trump repeatedly jabbed at liberal Democrats, including left-wing candidates such as Bernie Sanders who are vying to challenge him for the White House.

“Socialism destroys nations,” said the president. “But always remember, freedom unifies the soul.”

Who were Trump’s guests?

The president invited several special guests to the address, including Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, two military veterans and the brother of a man killed by an undocumented immigrant.

In a move certain to infuriate liberal critics, Mr Trump announced he would award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour, to firebrand conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who revealed this week he has lung cancer.

First Lady Melania Trump bestowed the honour on an emotional Mr Limbaugh as the president spoke.

How did Democrats respond?

As they did last year, many female Democrats – including Mrs Pelosi – wore white as tribute to the suffragettes who won the vote for US women in 1920.

Several liberal Democratic lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Maxine Waters of California, boycotted Mr Trump’s address.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she would “not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution”.

A Democratic rebuttal to Mr Trump’s speech will be delivered afterwards by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas will follow in Spanish.

Who was the designated survivor?

As is traditional during the State of the Union, one member of the president’s cabinet does not attend the address.

He or she remains at a secret location to make sure the government can continue should disaster befall the nation’s president, vice-president and other top leaders.

That person, who is known as the designated survivor, was Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Tuesday night.

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