Virginia Governor Spanberger Accuses Trump of Forcing Families to Pay Over $1,700 in Tariffs and Detaining Americans
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday night accused President Donald Trump of raising costs through tariffs, backing legislation she said is stripping healthcare from millions, and pursuing immigration enforcement actions she called harmful, delivering the Democrats’ response to his State of the Union address.
Speaking from the House of Burgesses Chambers in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, Spanberger stated: “Tonight, as we watched our nation’s lawmakers gather for a joint session of Congress, we did not hear the truth from our president.”
She framed her remarks around three 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?”
On economic policy, Spanberger noted that since Trump took office last year, his trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs. She added: “The president is planning for new tariffs. Another massive tax hike on you and your family.”
Spanberger also criticized Republicans in Congress: “They remain unwilling to assert their constitutional authority to stop him. They’re making your life harder. They’re making your life more expensive. They’re even making it more difficult to see a doctor.”
She specifically targeted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, stating rural health clinics in Virginia have already closed due to legislation championed by Trump and Republicans. “This law threatens rural hospitals, strips healthcare from millions of Americans, drives up costs in energy and housing, all while cutting food programs for hungry kids,” she said.
After again asking whether Trump is working to make life more affordable, Spanberger declared: “We all know the answer is no.”
Turning to immigration enforcement and public safety, Spanberger condemned: “Our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans — and they have done it without a warrant. They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies, they have sent children — a little boy in a blue bunny hat — to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens on our streets.”
She added: “Our president told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children. Think about that.”
On foreign policy, Spanberger stated Trump “continues to cede economic power and technological strength to China, bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran.”
She further noted: “Over the last year, through DOGE [the Department of Government Efficiency], mass firings, and the appointment of deeply unserious people to our nation’s most serious positions, our president has endangered the long and storied history of the United States of America being a force for good.”
Spanberger accused Trump of self-enrichment: “He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented.” She cited “the cover-up of the Epstein files,” “the crypto scams,” and “cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms.”
Closing her remarks, Spanberger quoted George Washington’s Farewell Address warning of “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” and urged Americans to unite in “a common cause.”
