Students gathered in USC’s Center for the Political Future, making space for their folding chairs, packed tightly in the hot little room, on Tuesday. On the big TV, the prelude to the State of the Union address — the night’s main event — played muted as hungry audience members navigated through the crowd towards the open pizza boxes stowed away in a separate room.
President Donald Trump began his State of the Union address with one simple phrase: “Ladies and gentlemen, America is back.”
This was the tone that dictated the next hour and 48 minutes of the longest State of the Union address ever delivered, as Trump detailed everything he believes has improved under his administration.
Trump recalled feats such as “ending eight wars,” making the U.S. Border “the most secure it’s ever been,” and bringing inflation down to “the lowest level in more than five years.” These claims are heavily disputed, with NPR noting that, while he did broker a ceasefire in Gaza, there has been no change in the other ongoing conflicts he campaigned on ending, such as the Russia-Ukraine War. Inflation currently sits at 2.4%, the lowest rate since 2020.
After discussing his successes, he formally announced a new, more accessible retirement plan for “forgotten American workers,” while touching upon the successes of his previous Trump account and Trump RX programs.
As each student walked into the event, organizers handed them bingo cards filled with remarks and issues one could reasonably expect the president to make in the next hour. Nearly an hour and 50 minutes later, with bingo already long past won, students in the audience felt more tired than anything else.
“Honestly, I feel tired. [Trump] wasn’t talking about much, in my opinion. A lot of stories to make the administration look good, but not much politically,” said Amirah Tillman, a freshman studying International Relations.
“I feel tired, even though it’s only 8 p.m. I feel like I kind of just ran in a circle, like it wasn’t really anything special,” said E.J Kovacs-Morgan, a first-year International Relations major. “Everything that was covered had already been out there. I think stuff that really stuck out to me was President Trump’s guests that he brought out.”
The guests were by far the part of the address that the audience found most memorable.
“They’re heartfelt stories that pull on the strings of both sides,” Tillman said, “So I understand what he’s doing, especially when it comes to, like, the bipartisan point of view, but I would have liked to see more political action.”
The watch party was hosted by USC CPF study group leaders Yemisi Egbewole, the former Chief of Staff to the White House Press Office under the Biden administration, and Garrett Graves, a former Louisiana senator. They planned the event to provide students with an accessible, welcoming environment to watch the State of the Union address, surrounded by peers and experts.
“We were talking, and we knew back when we were in college, we’d do anything for free pizza,” Graves said, “and that might help to bring you all in.”
In addition, the event gave students a taste of what it’s like to watch the address from the White House staff’s perspective, as Egbewole described.
“When I was a staffer in the Senate, we’d all sit in the office and order pizza and ... drink… and we’d make a bingo sheet and play bingo,” she said.
The atmosphere was constructive, with the speakers explaining each detail as if everyone in the audience were their little sibling, pointing out notable faces that came onscreen as the nation’s leaders flooded into the House chamber.
“There’s Federman, and he’s sitting by himself … see the seats aren’t assigned so you can kinda group yourself … it’s kinda like high school,” Egbewole said, prompting scattered laughter from the audience.
When the TV was turned off mute, so was the audience. The first Bingo square to be crossed off was “Democrat women in white suits.” The crowd pointed at the screen in recognition when Rep. Al Green was once again escorted out of the building, as if seeing a callback in a Marvel movie.
“No!” one person shouted in disbelief, murmuring and laughter following as Connor Heybuck, goalie of the U.S. men’s hockey team, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Six awards were presented during the address, including Medals of Honor to 100-year-old World War II veteran Royce Williams, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, and Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover for actions during America’s recent operations in Venezuela.
The sixth Bingo square to finally be crossed off was “tariffs,” followed immediately by “criticizes the Supreme Court.” Laughter erupted across the room as Trump cited “the Supreme Court’s unfortunate ruling,” prompting the cameras to cut to the justices staring stoically at the president.
Before 7 p.m., over half of the students watching had left: some for class, most for club meetings. It would be said 30 minutes later that they missed “the good part.”
Trump spoke at great length about immigration action in Minnesota. He accused “Somali pirates” and “members of the Somali community” of “massive fraud,” promising to deport every “illegal alien criminal.” The camera cut to Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, of Somali descent, who was attacked in office on Jan. 27 as a result of similar rhetoric.
The eighth Bingo square to be crossed off was “30+ second applause,” which came at Trump’s promise of deportation, this time for Somalians. Only one half of the chamber clapped; the Democratic side remained silent and seated.
Trump accused the Democrats of putting the needs of undocumented immigrants over America, saying to those who remained seated, “You should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up.”
Omar, along with many other Democrats in the chamber, responded, and students in the audience tried their best to read her lips.
“What’s she saying?” one student asked.
“I think it’s ‘You are killing Americans,” Egbewole said.
Despite feeling exhausted by the address itself, students felt that watching the speech in a group had made their experience more positive.
“I think that being around so many professionals, [Egbewole and Graves], who know the ins and outs of what’s going on … really shows that partisan politics isn’t all there is and we can come together and be professionals,” said Tyreis Morris, a freshman studying Philosophy, Politics and Law.
Many students in the crowd felt the same.
“It was nice to be surrounded by political individuals and individuals who are interested in politics and what’s going on,” Tillman said.