WASHINGTON – Stacey Abrams slammed President Trump in her Democratic State of the Union response for the record-breaking government shutdown that left federal workers without pay for 35 days and forced some to turn to food banks.
“Making the livelihoods of our federal workers a pawn for political games is a disgrace,” Abrams said.
“The shutdown was a stunt engineered by the President of the United States, one that defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people – but our values.”
Abrams, 45, made history as the first black woman to deliver the official State of the Union rebuttal. Her selection is a nod to the young and diverse crop of females that helped Democrats reclaim the House – many of whom were clad in suffragette white for Trump’s address.
Since narrowly losing her bid to become the nation’s first black female governor, for which she faulted voting irregularities, Abrams has focused her efforts on expanding voting rights and even starred in a 30-second Super Bowl ad to promote fair elections.
She’s also emblematic of the new majority’s first marquee bill– H.R. 1 – that aims to expand voting rights and overhaul campaign finance and executive ethics rules.
“Let’s be clear: voter suppression is real,” Abrams said. “From making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful ballots, we can no longer ignore these threats to democracy.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has rejected the House bill as a “power grab” by Democrats. The house measure would make Election Day a federal holiday, create automatic voter registration and expand early and absentee voting.
In the wake a blackface scandal in Virginia, Abrams denounced racism and said elected leaders must be held accountable for their “racist words and deeds.” She called for action on climate change, gun safety measures and compassionate treatment at the border that doesn’t “cage children and tear families apart.”
“America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants – not walls,” Abrams said from Atlanta — in reference to Trump’s demand for a border barrier that sparked the shutdown.
Tuesday’s national stage could propel Abrams to higher office. Her near-win in 2018 for governor in red-state Georgia makes her a top recruit for Senate in 2020 to run against Republican Sen. David Perdue – a strong Trump ally. She said she’ll decide by the end of March.
The State of the Union response has been a curse for rising political stars. In 2009, then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was panned for his wooden and uncharismatic response to President Obama. His GOP presidential hopes were short-lived.
In 2013, Sen. Marco Rubio’s awkward water bottle drinking turned into an unwanted iconic moment and fodder for late-night comedians. And last year, Rep. Joe Kennedy III’s copious application of lip balm made the young Democrat appear to be drooling on camera.
Kennedy offered some advice for Abrams for the big speech: “Misplace your chapstick.”
But Abrams held her own and challenged Trump to do better.
“Even as I am very disappointed by the president’s approach to our problems – I still don’t want him to fail,” she said. “But we need him to tell the truth, and to respect his duties and the extraordinary diversity that defines America.”
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