Watch President Obama Deliver Final State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, DC -- President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night, laying out a positive review of his administration’s accomplishments over the past seven years.

Obama said in an interview aired on NBC beforehand Tuesday morning that his final address will strive to “remind people” of his administration’s accomplishments and that Americans “got a lotta good things going for us.”

Pundits afterward noted that some of the speech jabbed away at some of the theme’s of GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign.

“And then, as frustration [with politics] grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into our respective tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background,” Obama said. “We can’t afford to go down that path. It won’t deliver the economy we want or the security we want, but most of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.”

In typical fashion, Trump shared his thoughts on Twitter Tuesday night: ”The State Of The Union speech was one of the most boring, rambling and non-substantive I have heard in a long time. New leadership fast!”

DC streets shut down around the U.S. Capitol two hours ahead of the speech and the Coast Guard had already begun patrolling waters around the nation’s capital Tuesday morning.

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The president delivered his speech at 9 p.m. ET, reflecting on the economy, climate change, foreign policy, health care and social progress. The speech was carried live across several broadcast and cable TV networks and also online.

Accompanying the president was first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden. Seated behind Obama was Biden and new Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin. (South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley delivered the Republican response to the president’s speech.)

The Sergeant at Arms announced the president’s arrival, shouting: ”Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States.” Members of Congress arrived early to stake out a spot along the aisle in order to shake the president’s hand as he arrived and be seen by constituents at home. Many also staked out spots afterward, pens in hand, asking the president to sign copies of his speech.

Some of the guests at the State of the Union included:
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◾Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy Among Michelle Obama’s Guests
◾Toms River Wounded Warrior To Be Guest At State of the Union
◾Father Who Lost Son to Opioid Overdose to Attend State of the Union

An empty seat this year in the first lady‘s guest box, the White House noted, symbolized the victims of gun violence “who no longer have a voice.“

Each year, one member of the president’s Cabinet is missing from the speech. Why? USA Today describes it this way: ”The Cabinet member who is picked to be the “designated survivor” has a grim task: Stay away from the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night, and be prepared to help run the government if a catastrophic event wipes out the government leaders attending the State of the Union speech.”

Tuesday night, it was Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, CBS News reported. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was also selected to be a designated survivor. As the President Pro Tempore, Hatch is the third in line to the succession of the presidency.

Last year, it was Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx who was absent.

Did anyone fall asleep this year? Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted that a little wine with dinner was the reason she took a little snooze last year during Obama’s speech, The Washington Post and other media outlets reported.

The White House released a video this week about the State of the Union, saying: ”We’ve come a long way these past seven years. Check out the progress we’ve made since President Obama’s first address to Congress in this preview of his final State of the Union address.”

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PHOTO: President Obama delivers State of the Union address Jan. 20, 2015; whitehouse.gov photo