Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to deliver the Democratic response to Trump's State of the Union

NBC News ^ | Feb. 19, 2026 | Jonathan Allen

[MinorityRepublican]

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Feb. 24.

The high-profile speaking slot has proved to be a mixed blessing in recent years, providing both a national platform for a rising star and the peril of being the follow-up act to a president who has just been wrapped in the trappings of a speech to a joint session of Congress.

Most of the response speeches, whether given from a quiet television studio in Washington, a Lousiana living room or a Kentucky diner, have been largely forgettable — or remembered for unflattering reasons.

But four presidents — Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden — were tapped by their parties, either solo or with colleagues, to rebut the State of the Union before they assumed the Oval Office. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was then a Republican senator from Florida, articulated the GOP's case against President Barack Obama in 2013 in both English and Spanish.

"We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history," Spanberger said in a Thursday statement. "Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring. Next week, I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them."

In Spanberger, Democrats are turning to a Virginian whose meteoric political rise has been something of a response to Trump in itself. Running in a district long held by Republicans in 2018, Spanberger won a narrow victory as part of a wave of Democrats who wrested control of the House for their party in that year's midterms.

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TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: 5thcolumonfr; abbyspankbarfer; abigailspanberger; cia; ciadomesticoperation; ciasedition; frtraitorslist; groomergovernor; minorityrepublican; multiplefrnicks; operationmockingbird; spankbarfer; virginia

[butlerweave]

BLAH BLAH BLAH and BLAH BLAH

[HYPOCRACY]

She should just read the Communist Manifesto.

[butlerweave]

Maybe Trump will add a side note about all the jobs Spanberger is driving from Virginia ,LOL

[shelterguy]

I found a copy of her speech;

Good evening,

ORANGE MAN BAD

Thank you.

[TexasFreeper2009]

honestly, I always think the responses are stupid on both sides.

[ClearCase_guy]

I hope she starts pounding the desk with her shoe. “We will bury you!!”

[Libloather]

"Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring."

They used to call it Brandonomics.

[escapefromboston]

I never bother watching them. It just seems kind of petty (no matter which party is doing the response)

[DIRTYSECRET]

Another paleface.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“a national platform for a rising star” — LOL...who can name just ONE of the rebutters?

If she were honest, she’d sing “The Internationale” and be done with it.

[wardamneagle]

C L I C K……..

[Jamestown1630]

She seems so simpleminded and duplicitous, it’s hard to understand how she made the CIA. I guess their standards were low...

[sauropod]

I can’t wait. /sarc

[usconservative]

"We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history," Spanberger said in a Thursday statement. "Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring. Next week, I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them."

Considering skyrocketing costs in Virginia thanks to every Spanberger EO the dingbat has signed and VA lawmakers are passing, there should be a MASSIVE crowd outside where ever she is, hooting, hollering, screaming, protesting 'n all that every second she's on the air.

[Gay State Conservative]

Oh boy...yet *another* Maoist seeking the 2028 Rat Party nomination.

[Danie_2023]

“”She seems so simpleminded and duplicitous, it’s hard to understand how she made the CIA. I guess their standards were low...””

***

And speaking of low standards... I’m pretty certain that she will be the leading candidate in 2028 for the left. They’ve got Mamdani in NY, Newscum in California, and they’re counting on having Spanberger in the WH. It’s a nightmarish future they have planned for the USA.

[Allegra]

Oh, goody…another commie. 🙄

[coloradan]

She’s ex-CIA, or maybe current CIA, so she will deliver the Deep State’s mendacious gaslighting pack of lies.

[unclebankster]

Snicker.

Spanberger for President 2028.

Democrats please run another woman for President, it’s worked out so well the last two times.