In his rebuttal from Democrats, Spanberger accuses Trump of driving up costs and chaos

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered a pointed Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s 107-minute State of the Union address on Tuesday night, just weeks after she was sworn in as the commonwealth’s 75th governor, accusing him of driving up the cost of housing, health care, energy and food, unleashing chaos in American communities and exacerbating instability abroad – all while enriching himself and his allies.

Spanberger spoke from the historic Colonial Williamsburg area and asked three questions to viewers across the country in her 12-minute speech.

“Is the President working to make life more affordable for you and your family? Is the President working to keep Americans safe – at home and abroad? Is the President working for you? We all know the answer is no,” she said.

Congressional Democrats announced on Thursday that Spanberger, 46, would provide the party’s answer and elevate the first woman to serve as governor of Virginia onto a national stage ahead of the midterm elections.

She is the first Democratic governor of Virginia to present a rebuttal since then-Gov. Tim Kaine in 2006. The following year, U.S. Senator Jim Webb delivered the Democratic response to President George W. Bush’s address. In 2010, Republican Governor Bob McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union.

The White House criticized Spanberger’s rebuttal in a prepared statement released Tuesday afternoon.

“Spanberger, like the rest of the radical left-wing lunatics in her party, is completely opposed to President Trump’s agenda to cut costs, restart manufacturing and secure our borders – instead advocating a return to the Biden-era carnage that she ‘proudly’ supported,” the statement said.

trump, Speech to a joint session of Congress For the second time since taking office last year, he declared the country to be “strong,” highlighting job gains, rising incomes and a booming stock market even as many voters continue to express economic fears.

He defended his administration’s record on border security and immigration, called for stricter election rules and limits on mail-in ballots and emphasized efforts to rein in federal spending.

The president also unveiled what he called a “ratepayer protection plan” aimed at addressing rising electricity costs associated with data centers.

But Spanberger said the president’s economic message does not reflect what she heard from Virginians during her campaign.

“When I ran for governor last year, I traveled to every corner of Virginia and heard the same urgent concern: The costs are too high,” she said. “In housing, healthcare, energy and child care. And I know the same conversations are happening across the country.”

She argued that Trump’s trade policies have increased household spending.

“Because since this president took office last year, his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs,” she said. “Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered, some have lost entire markets. Every day Americans pay the price.”

Although the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs days ago, she added, “The damage to us, the American people, has already been done.”

And Republicans in Congress remain unwilling to utilize their constitutional authority to stop the president. “They make your life harder. They make your life more expensive. They even make it harder to see a doctor.”

Spanberger pointed to the consequences of the reconciliation law that Congress passed last year.

“Rural health clinics in Virginia are already closing their doors thanks to the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ championed by the President and Republicans in Congress,” she said.

“And tonight the President celebrated this law – the law that threatens rural hospitals, deprives millions of Americans of health care, and drives up the cost of energy and housing. All while cutting food programs for hungry children.”

She then turned her attention to what she described as corruption at the highest levels of government.

“He enriches himself, his family, his friends. The level of corruption is unprecedented,” Spanberger said, pointing to “the cover-up of the Epstein files,” “the crypto scams,” “befriending foreign princes for planes and billionaires for ballrooms,” and “placing his name and face on buildings all over our nation’s capital.”

“This is not what our founders envisioned,” she said.

Drawing on her background as a former federal law enforcement officer and CIA case officer, Spanberger argued that the Trump administration’s actions have compromised the safety of Americans.

“I began my career by following in my father’s footsteps and working money laundering and drug cases as a federal agent. I worked side-by-side with local and state law enforcement to ensure the safety of our communities and to uphold and enforce the law,” she said.

“And yet our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people seeking to become Americans – without a warrant,” she said.

Spanberger added that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “have taken nursing mothers away from their babies, they have sent children – a little boy in a blue bunny hat – to far-flung detention centers, and they have killed American citizens on our streets. And they have done it all with masked faces to avoid accountability.”

On foreign policy, the governor said Trump was weakening America’s standing in the world.

“As the president spoke tonight about his supposed successes, he continues to cede economic power and technological strength to China, bow to a Russian dictator and make plans for war with Iran,” she said.

“Here is the truth: Over the last year, through DOGE, mass layoffs, and the appointment of deeply untrustworthy people to our country’s most serious positions, our president has endangered the long and storied history of the United States of America as a force for good.”

When Spanberger chose colonial Williamsburg as his setting, he was referencing the location’s role in the founding of the nation.

There, in 1776, delegates voted to direct Virginia representatives to propose independence and later adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which helped shape the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

On Tuesday, Spanberger linked this legacy with today’s civic engagement.

“But here’s the thing about America: On our 250th anniversary, we know better than any other nation what is possible when ordinary citizens – like those who once dreamed here in this room – reject the unacceptable and demand more from their government,” she said.

“And Americans across the country are taking action. They are going to the ballot box to reject this chaos. With their votes, they are writing a new history. A more hopeful history.”

Spanberger concluded by quoting George Washington’s warning against “cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men” and urged Americans to “unite in a ‘common cause’ to advance this nation.”

“Because ‘We the People’ have the power to make change, the power to stand up for what is right and the power to demand more from our nation,” she said.