Trevor Wallace talks election at USF’s annual comedy show

*Students filled out the floor section of the Yuengling Center at Tuesday’s Round Up comedy show. ORACLE PHOTO/CAMILLE GRALL*

After a day of worrying about the presidential election’s results, students queued up for Trevor Wallace’s performance in the annual Roundup Comedy Show Tuesday at the Yuengling Center.

However, what they weren’t expecting was the election to be one of the performance’s main themes — along with dating, vaping, his relationship with his father and airport security.

Doors for the show opened at 7:30 p.m. and Wallace was on stage at around 9 p.m. for the hour-long performance.

Freshman mass communications major Tessa Davidson said she went to the show to get her mind off the stress of Election Day.

“One of the big reasons I’m going is so I can de-stress for a little bit and just chill out, and then I’ll go back into it,” she said.

Towards the beginning of the performance, Wallace asked the audience to “make noise” if they voted for Harris, then if they voted for Trump.

“The school told me not to get political, but I’m curious,” he said.

Wallace joked about “the girlies” making noise for Harris and then about those who cheered for Trump.

“Smells like small dicks in here,” he said.

He also joked about telling his kids and grandkids about the time he performed on Election Day.

“Where were you when World War III started?” he said. “Tampa, Florida.”

At one point in the performance, Wallace opened his laptop on stage to check the progress of vote counts in different states.

He asked the audience which states they were curious about and joked about the ones shouted back to him.

Davidson said she knew Wallace from TikTok and was most excited about his interactions with the crowd, which happened for most of the performance.

Freshman biomedical sciences major Mackenzie Wallace said she had only heard of Wallace recently but hoped it would be a fun time for everybody.

“I think seeing a comedy show would be really fun, and me and Trevor Wallace have the same last name,” she said. “I gotta support the other Wallace.”

She said it would help “lift the spirits” of students who, like her, spent most of the day stressing over the election’s possible results.

“I think that’ll be fun for everybody, take our mind off of it for a little bit,” she said. “We can get back to stressing later.”

Wallace also asked the crowd questions about other subjects and used their answers to make jokes. In most cases, the students he interacted with became part of his jokes throughout the show.

Junior biomedical sciences major Alexis Puccio started lining up as early as 4 p.m.

“They actually did not let me line up immediately,” she said. “They told me I couldn’t stand here, and I had to sit on the bench until more people got here. That’s how early I was.”

*Students lined up outside the Yuengling Center before doors opened to Trevor Wallace’s performance. ORACLE PHOTO/CAMILLE GRALL*

Wallace was paid $55,000 for his performance. In his contract, he requested a bottle of Casamigos Blanco and mixers — which USF denied because it cannot provide alcohol to performers.

This was not Wallace’s first time performing in Tampa. He told many jokes about previous experiences in Tampa and Miami, getting reactions from the crowd about the cities and their nightlife.

Freshman sports management major Bradan Hart said he was excited about seeing Wallace perform at USF.

“He was actually in Tampa a month or two ago, and I wanted to go, but I couldn’t,” he said. “So now that he’s here and it’s a free show, I’m pretty excited.”

Hart said he’s been following Wallace’s content since around 2021 and said the comedian has “pretty funny” content on social media platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube, in addition to his stand-up work.

Wallace has a stand-up special, “Pterodactyl,” that came out on Prime Video in 2023, and a podcast, “Stiff Socks,” with comedian Michael Blaustein.

Puccio said she was more excited for Wallace than Joe Gatto, last year’s Round Up Comedy Show performer.

“I love his comedy,” she said. “He’s really funny. And through college and everything, it just gave me a laugh and a little break from school.”

JOANA RIVA, STAFF WRITER

Joana Riva is the news staff writer for The Oracle. She’s a Mass Communications major with a Broadcast Program and Production concentration. She’s passionate about storytelling in all forms, from journalism to literature and film. She was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the U.S. in fall 2023. She joined The Oracle the same semester as a news correspondent, and became an intern and staff writer in fall 2024. Reach her at joanacastanheira@usf.edu.

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