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WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger offered a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s depiction of the nation as being in a “golden age” during his State of the Union, arguing in her Democratic rebuttal that costs remain high for many Americans more than a year into his second term.
Her message, that families are still struggling under Trump’s policies, is one Democrats plan to carry nationwide ahead of the midterm elections. Party leaders point to Spanberger’s double-digit victory in Virginia last November as validation of a disciplined, cost-focused campaign they now hope to replicate across the country.
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” said Spanberger. “In the most innovative and exceptional nation in the history of the world, Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”
Spanberger was flanked by American flags as she delivered the speech from Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum with restored 18th-century buildings, as she invoked the site’s role at the heart of Virginia’s early opposition to British rule.
“As we celebrate 250 years since America declared our independence from tyranny, I can think of no better place to speak to you,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger said she wanted to “plainly and honestly” speak to people watching at home. She structured her speech around a series of direct questions: “Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? Is the president working to keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad? Is the president working for you?”
She contrasted those questions with what she described as the reality under Trump, saying he “has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans.” She added that Trump seeks to “pit us against one another” while “enriching himself, his family, his friends.”
Spanberger had far less time than the Republican president to make her case, speaking for around 13 minutes. Trump’s address to Congress stretched for just over an hour and 48 minutes, during which he described a nation with lower costs than when he took office, declaring, “This is the golden age of America.”
He also goaded the Democratic side of the House chambers throughout the speech for not standing, increasing his insults throughout the speech and calling them “crazy.” But Democrats inside the chamber largely didn’t react, sitting silently. Texas Rep. Al Green was removed from the chamber barely two minutes into the president’s address after holding a protest sign reading “Black People Aren’t Apes!”
As viewership tends to drop the longer the speech runs, the response has become one of the more perilous assignments in politics. Now–Secretary of State Marco Rubio was widely mocked for reaching for a water bottle during the GOP response in 2013. Other rebuttals have quickly faded from memory.
Even with the time disadvantage, Democrats argue the political winds are shifting in their favor. Spanberger’s win in Virginia was followed by other high-profile Democratic victories, including a special election earlier this month in Texas, where a Democrat flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district that Trump carried by 17 percentage points in 2024.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California delivered the party’s Spanish-language response. In June, Padilla was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles as he tried to speak up about immigration raids,
“They may have knocked me down for a moment, but I got right back up,” Padilla said in his speech. “As our parents taught us: if you fall seven times, get up eight. I am still here. Standing. Still fighting.”
Padilla described the nation as “living a nightmare that divides and destroys our communities,” and urged those watching to “prepare, starting today, for your voice to reverberate this November.”
Some Democrats chose to make their point by skipping Trump’s address. Counterprogramming events are planned, including a “State of the Swamp” featuring Democratic lawmakers alongside state and local leaders and celebrities.
Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press
