25 February—The fulsome cesspit known as Donald Trump didn’t disappoint last night. His gullible, clueless coprophagic fan base, as usual, eagerly gobbled up all the shit he disgorged, as usual, and the rest of us didn’t even bother counting all the lies that comprised the bulk of his protracted self-congratulatory and braggadocious, as usual, State of the Union farce. None of it was worth listening to. None of it is worth reading.

On the other hand, there’s Abigail Spanberger’s pretort, the new Virginia governor’s response to Trump’s bloviation prepared before—and presumably while—he bloviated. Here are Gov. Spanberger’s juiciest bits, with minor editing for style as well as bold italic editorial emphasis:

The United States was founded on the idea that ordinary people could reject the unacceptable excesses of poor leadership, band together to demand better of their government, and create a nation that would be an example for the world.

Tonight, as we watched our nation’s lawmakers gather for a joint session of Congress, we did not hear the truth from our president.

So, let’s speak plainly and honestly, and let me ask you 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?

Since this President took office last year, his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs.

Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered—some losing entire markets. Everyday Americans are paying the price.

And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done.

Meanwhile, the president is planning for new tariffs. Another massive tax hike on you and your family.

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.

So I’ll ask again: Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?

We all know the answer is no.

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.

And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability.

Our president told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children. Think about that.

Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed—not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.

As the president spoke of his perceived successes tonight, he continues to cede economic power and technological strength to China, bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran.

Here’s the truth: over the last year, through DOGE, 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.

So, I’ll ask again: Is the president working to keep Americans safe—both at home and abroad?

We all know the answer is no.

In his speech tonight, the President did what he always does: he lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted. He also offered no real solutions to our nation’s pressing challenges—so many of which he is actively making worse.

He tries to enrage us, to divide us, to pit us against one another. Neighbor against neighbor. And sometimes, he succeeds.

And so you have to ask: Who benefits from his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, and the short list of laws he’s pushed through this Republican Congress?

Somebody must be benefiting.

He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented.

There’s the cover-up of the Epstein files.

The crypto scams.

Cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms.

Putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation’s capital.

This is not what our founders envisioned.

So, I’ll ask again: Is the President working for you?

We all know the answer is no.

In his Farewell Address, George Washington warned us about the possibility of “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” rising to power.

But he also encouraged us—all Americans—to unite in “a common cause” to move this nation forward.

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.

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.