Abigail Spanberger, in Democratic Response, Asks if Trump Is Working for Americans

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Spanberger, in Democratic Response, Asks ‘Is the President Working for You?’ “We all know the answer is no,” the Virginia governor argued in her rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union address. Listen to this article · 4:48 min Learn more Share full article By Reid J. Epstein Reporting from Washington Feb. 25, 2026, 12:41 a.m. ET Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia framed the Democratic Party’s rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union address around three questions: Is he making life more affordable? Is he keeping Americans safe? And is he working on Americans’ behalf? Ms. Spanberger, who took office last month, argued that on all three counts, the answer was no. “Is the president working for you?” she asked before a supportive crowd in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. “We all know the answer is no.” Ms. Spanberger’s speech — and the selection of her to deliver it — signaled how Democratic leaders want the party to be viewed in Mr. Trump’s second term: sober and serious officials who understand voters’ economic plight. A moderate woman who is coming off a landslide election victory in Virginia, Ms. Spanberger gave a safe speech that struck the political notes Democrats are aiming to press — that Mr. Trump has hurt the economy and sowed chaos with his policies. Ms. Spanberger, 46, is the second C.I.A. veteran in two years chosen to deliver the Democratic Party’s formal response to Mr. Trump. Last year, it was Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan , a fellow moderate who also first entered Congress in 2018 and had also just won a statewide election. While Ms. Slotkin warned last year that Mr. Trump would increase the cost of living, Ms. Spanberger made a broader case that his administration was working against the well-being of the American people. She called Mr. Trump’s tariffs a “massive tax hike on you and your family,” and argued that congressional Republicans were making life more ex...