On three occasions, members of Congress stopped Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address not only with applause, but with the chant, “USA! USA! USA!” Though certainly not unprecedented in these assemblies, such chanting could seem ostensibly silly: after all, Madison designated Congress as a “group requiring greater extent of information and stability of character” (Federalist #62). So, should this group be averse to passionate outbursts akin to AYSO team cheers?

Regardless, the outbursts are telling: the cheers expose the inner instincts of congressmen and congresswomen, just like an implicit associations test. For purposes of the IAT, I will review instances only in which the USA chant was sounded, as general applause was frequent.

No. 1: Backlit by economic successes and promises of security, Trump announced, “America is again winning each and every day. Members of Congress: the State of our Union is strong.” No surprise here: the notion of winning struck a chord. Winning against whom, though? Surely more than MAGA sympathizers are in the lead. To be sure, celebrating a win against instigators of “decades of political stalemate” would be premature. All could celebrate the employment surge of minority groups. By an international standard, the US now is the top producer of natural gas and oil, and also maintains an obvious global hegemony courtesy our military; but, ironically, many in the room would feign to support those wins so quickly.

It appears the identity of the enemy mattered little. For all I know, the US could be winning against Charlie Sheen and still evoke the same congressional cheers. Given the longest shutdown in American history days behind him, Trump’s insistence that America is “winning” is similar to Syndrome’s scheme in The Incredibles: he sets the scene to be a superhero by fabricating a fake national tragedy, and then swoops in to save the day himself.

No. 2: Perhaps pandering to the left, practicing what he preached about bipartisanship—or perhaps in all sincerity—Trump announced steady progress for American women: more employment, more congressional representation, more overseas economic grants for women in developing nations. Whoops and hollers rolled well through Trump’s announcement that the national budget now includes paid family leave. It seems gut instincts have come a long way, and perhaps the political and economic surges of women are no longer controversial.

The cheers transitioned into a mute kerfuffle, though, when Trump lambasted prochoicers for lacking dignity, executing beautiful children who can feel pain. The dichotomy is fascinating: the same women who jumped for joy over their new-found maternity leaves silently slunked into their chairs, as if there were a significant difference between a late-term abortee and a newborn.

Yes, there has been progress in this sector—the women received their USA chant—but ethical questions clearly remain.

No. 3: After commenting on the Venezuelan scene, Trump called attention to socialist temptations at home: “We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence—and not government coercion, domination and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” The subtext refers to the far-left: if Trump is the clairvoyant he thinks he is (after all, we have him to thank for preventing a major war against North Korea, right?), then Bernie Sanders could theoretically be the next Nicolás Maduro.

Such rhetoric is powerful but polarizing. Said Jan-Werner Müller, “Put simply, populists do not claim ‘We are the 99 percent.’ What they imply instead is, ‘We are the 100 percent.’ For populists, this equation always works out: any remainder can be dismissed as immoral and not properly a part of the people at all” (What is Populism? pg. 3). In fact, Trump raises and dismisses moral issues as he chooses—and apparently, illegal immigration is now a moral issue. Trump commenced his speech with the hope that we can break partisanship, but he all but ensured gridlock’s survival by the end.

Results: what are our innate inclinations, what makes us cheer? Winning, women, and whatever emcompasses the warp and weft of the American ideal.