Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger stepped into the original historic House of Burgesses at the head of Colonial Williamsburg's Duke of Gloucester Street to deliver the official Democratic response to the State of the Union, and the irony of the setting was apparently lost on her.
The new governor, elected in November to succeed conservative Gov. Glenn Youngkin, used her national platform to hammer President Trump on tariffs and costs while her own blue legislature back in Richmond moves to enact or raise new taxes in multiple forms. She asked Americans whether the president is "working to make life more affordable" for their families. Virginians watching at home might have the same question for her.
Spanberger structured her response around a simple frame: costs. She blamed Trump's tariff policies for increasing prices on "housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare," warning they would "make your life more expensive," Fox News reported.
Then she offered herself as the contrast:
"But here in Virginia, I am working with our state legislature to lower costs and make the Commonwealth more affordable."
She went further, claiming the effort extends beyond the Old Dominion:
"And it's not just me. Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation's capital and in state capitals and communities across America."
Laser-focused. On affordability. While supporting the legislative Democrat majority's slew of taxes, from new sales taxes to a levy on fantasy football operators. Virginia Democrats are pushing scores of new taxes, and their governor chose this moment to lecture the country about costs.
That is the kind of contradiction that doesn't need a punchline. It is the punchline.
Spanberger also slammed Trump over his mass deportation operations, a line that tracks perfectly with the Democrat playbook of treating immigration enforcement as something to apologize for rather than execute. The new governor has already drawn criticism from Republicans on immigration policy, with former RNC chairman Reince Priebus among those publicly criticizing her approach.
This is the familiar two-step: oppose enforcement, then blame the consequences of non-enforcement on someone else. Spanberger recounted her 2025 election season traveling around Virginia, apparently hearing concerns about costs and safety, then delivered a response that offered no serious answer on either front beyond blaming the sitting president.
The speech leaned heavily on setting and symbolism. Spanberger invoked the House of Burgesses, where in 1705 the colony first gathered with what she called the "extraordinary task of governing themselves." She referenced George Washington's Farewell Address, quoting his warning about "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men" rising to power.
The implication was not subtle.
She also borrowed Washington's language about uniting in "a common cause," pivoting to a call for collective action:
"That is our charge once more. And that is what we are seeing across the country. It is deeply American and patriotic to do so, and it is how we ensure that the State of our Union remains strong, not just this year but for the next 250 years as well."
Meanwhile, inside the actual Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson wielded George Washington's gavel for the first time in State of the Union history. One leader used Washington as a rhetorical device. The other brought his gavel into the room. Draw your own conclusions about who treated the moment with more substance.
In a detail that will likely live online longer than any policy point she attempted, Spanberger appeared to briefly lose her place on the teleprompter during the address. It was a small stumble on a big stage, and while it shouldn't overshadow policy substance, it doesn't inspire confidence from a governor trying to introduce herself as the face of Democratic opposition.
Strip the Colonial Williamsburg backdrop, the Washington quotes, and the rhetorical flourishes, and the speech reduces to a familiar formula: Trump is making things expensive, Democrats care about your wallet, trust us.
The problem is the receipts. Virginia's Democrat legislature isn't cutting costs. It's piling on new taxes. Spanberger isn't vetoing them. She isn't fighting them. She's "working with" the same lawmakers who are reaching deeper into Virginians' pockets while she stands at a national podium and talks about affordability.
Spanberger closed with a lofty appeal:
"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 of our nation."
Virginians might start by demanding more of their governor. Specifically, they might demand that the woman lecturing the country about affordability explain why her own state government is making their lives more expensive.
The House of Burgesses was built for self-governance. What it got Tuesday night was a campaign speech dressed in colonial linen.
