President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress was broadly well-received by Americans who watched it, according to multiple polls after the speech.
CNN found that 69% of watchers had a positive reaction to the speech, with a plurality, 44%, having a “very positive” reaction. A survey from CBS News and YouGov found a similar result, with 76% of watchers reporting having a positive response.
🚨 CNN: 69% of Americans had a positive reaction to President Trump’s speech. Nice! pic.twitter.com/SZ3fZy9G24
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2025
In addition to viewers having a positive reaction, most speech watchers, 63%, reported to CBS News/YouGov that Trump spent time on issues important to each viewer. The speech also elicited feelings of hope (68%) and pride (54%).
Trump himself came off as “presidential” and “entertaining” to 74% of viewers, “inspiring” to 71%, and “unifying” to 62%. Forty-six percent said that Trump appeared “divisive.”
The party breakdown of speech watchers was majority Republican, though even universal Republican support would not account for Trump’s strong numbers coming away from the speech. CBS News/YouGov found that 51% of viewers identified as GOP, 20% as Democrats, and 27% as independents.
One of the most eventful moments of the night came when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas removed from the House chamber for breaking decorum. Green refused to sit down and stop shouting at the dias about Medicaid, after which Johnson directed the sergeant-at-arms to escort Green from the chamber.
“Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant-at-arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber,” Johnson said.
Roughly three in four viewers agreed with Johnson’s decision to have Green booted from the address, CBS News/YouGov found.
One of Trump’s big announcements of the night was the capture of a terrorist behind the attack on the Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The president announced that ISIS operative Mohammad Sharifullah had been captured.
“Three-and-a-half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew,” Trump said. “Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. Tonight I’m pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”
