Reject politics of revenge, resistance, retribution, says Trump in State of the Union address

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for rejecting politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, but insisted on building a wall along the US-Mexico border as he appeared before a divided Congress for his annual State of the Union address.

His calls for reconciliation were met with mostly stone-faced silence from Democrats, who bitterly oppose his agenda and accuse him of hastening the decline in cross-party cooperation.

The president and the Democrats had a record 35-day standoff with the Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over his proposed controversial wall along the US-Mexico border, which shut down the government and postponed the address which was earlier scheduled on January 29.

"We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution," Trump told Congress near the beginning of his State of the Union address, claiming in his speech that he is putting forward "the agenda of the United States."