Abigail Spanberger’s SOTU Rebuttal Was Just Plain Weird – RedState
After watching Democrats put themselves forward during the State of the Union address, Abigail Spanberger, Virginia’s new governor, clearly nervous and agitated, had the unenviable task of trying to put a positive spin on her party’s disastrous and decidedly unpatriotic behavior. Like all Democrats, when confronted with the idea that her party’s policies help ordinary Americans, she simply resorted to attacking President Trump. It was all quite bizarre.
Spanberger had several reasons to be nervous. It followed Trump’s speech, which saw the president celebrate the best of America while calling out Democrats for their skewed priorities, particularly when it comes to prioritizing illegal immigration over the safety of American citizens.
Second, she was criticized by the left for choosing to deliver the official Democratic response from Colonial Williamsburg…because slavery? She knows who put her in the Governor’s House, so perhaps she felt the piercing eyes of the radical left on her as she spoke from the House of Burgesses.
Counter-SOTU from Abigail Spanberger of Williamsburg, Virginia is going off. pic.twitter.com/CwBGqdtzI5
-Tim Carney (@TPCarney) February 24, 2026
As expected, the central theme of Spanberger’s speech was hammering the president on “affordability.” The woman currently leading the way on new taxes on Virginians — including taxes on Uber rides, mattress recycling and DoorDash deliveries — said, “The president’s reckless policies are making life more expensive for American families. However, Republicans in Congress still do not want to stand up to him. The American people deserve better.
Virginians too.
(It’s also worth noting that big businesses, perhaps sensing a looming affordability crisis in Democratic-controlled Virginia, are already moving out of the Commonwealth.)
SEE ALSO: It Begins: Major Defense Contractor Gives Up on Virginia Barely a Month into Spanberger’s Term
Hot Points: SOTU Features Democratic Bitterness and Tantrums as Trump Levels Them With Facts
Spanberger also praised “courageous Minnesotans” for foolishly putting lives at risk to prevent federal immigration agents from removing violent illegal immigrants from their communities. This was not at all surprising since his first act in office was to neutralize Virginia’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The White House had some thoughts on this.
Abigail Spanberger can spare us this sanctimonious bullshit.
For Spanberger, illegal criminals > Americans.
FACT: Within weeks of becoming governor, she quickly terminated Virginia’s agreement with ICE, effectively ending cooperation between state and federal law enforcement on immigration matters —…
– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 25, 2026
Abigail Spanberger can spare us this sanctimonious bullshit.
For Spanberger, illegal criminals > Americans.
FACT: Within weeks of becoming governor, she quickly terminated Virginia’s agreement with ICE, ending cooperation between state and federal law enforcement on immigration matters, giving illegal alien killers, rapists, and gangbangers a free pass.
FACT: During her tenure in Congress, she repeatedly undermined border security by voting against the Border Security Act, supporting access to citizenship for more than two million illegal aliens, co-sponsoring an amnesty bill for millions of illegal aliens, and twice voting to end President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.
Overall, what was most notable about Spanberger’s response was how strange it all was, especially the stilted applause from the crowd. It was as if every moment was scheduled down to the second to keep her on track.
Most SOTU responses are failures; however, the 3-second applause limit placed on Abigail Spanberger’s speech was just plain wrong.
– Kevin McKeever (@bankofkev) February 25, 2026
As RedState previously reported, the choice of Spanberger to rebut the State of the Union was intended to introduce her to a national audience. Democrats see her as a rising star who will have a big impact on the 2026 and 2028 elections — possibly as a candidate in the latter.
Cue the awkward clapping.
Editor’s note: With President Trump returning to the White House, the state of our Union is strong again.
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