Trump’s State of the Union: Democrats Accuse President of “Lies” and “Hate”

Governor Spanberger was chosen to deliver the official response to the president’s address, doing so from the historic House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, where the first American legislative assembly met in 1705, shortly after Trump concluded his speech.

“He tries to divide us, to enrage us, and to turn us against each other, neighbor against neighbor. And sometimes he succeeds,” the 46-year-ancient governor said, having been elected Virginia’s first female governor in November and previously serving in Congress and as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer.

Spanberger began her remarks by posing three questions to Americans: Is the president working to create life more affordable? Is he working to keep the U.S. Safe, both at home and abroad? And is he working for them?

After asserting the answer to all three questions was “no,” the governor accused the president of looking out only for himself and his allies.

“He is enriching himself, his family, his friends,” she said.

Meanwhile, inside the Capitol, some lawmakers directly challenged the president’s claims.

“Liar,” Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali-American elected to Congress, shouted at the president after he accused members of the Somali community of participating in a corruption scheme during the pandemic.

The governor likewise criticized recent ICE raids targeting cities led by Democrats.

“Our president has sent poorly trained federal agents to our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people aspiring to be Americans,” Spanberger said.

“And they have done so without a warrant,” she added.

“They have separated breastfeeding mothers from their babies, sent children to detention centers far away, and killed American citizens in our streets. And they have done it all with their faces covered, without accountability,” she continued.

In January, federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both U.S. Citizens, during immigration operations in Minneapolis.

While the administration initially accused the victims of being “domestic terrorists” for obstructing immigration agents, it later replaced the official leading the operation and withdrew some officers from the city following widespread protests and outrage over the deaths.

During his speech, Trump touted his success in securing the border.

“After 4 years in which millions and millions of illegal immigrants crossed our borders with no control or verification, we now have the strongest and most secure border in the history of the U.S.,” he asserted.

“In the last 9 months, zero illegal immigrants have been admitted,” he added.

Spanberger’s criticisms were echoed by Senator Alex Padilla, who denounced the “weaponization” of immigration agencies.

“Our union does not perceive strong… when armed and masked federal agents terrorize our communities by targeting people based on their skin color or because they speak Spanish, including legal immigrants and citizens,” he said in a YouTube video speaking in both English and Spanish.

Spanberger also criticized the rising costs of housing and healthcare.

And she denounced his tariff policy as “reckless,” arguing that the tariffs imposed on trading partners have cost each American family about $1,700.

“Small businesses have suffered, farmers too, and some have lost entire markets. Every day, Americans are paying the price,” she said.

Although the Supreme Court ruled against the president’s tariff policy, Spanberger said “the damage to the American people is already done.”

And she accused Republicans in Congress of being complicit in the situation by failing to oppose the current administration’s policies.

“They are making your life harder. They are making your life more expensive,” the governor said.

But the Democrats’ responses weren’t limited to statements and speeches, and included street actions.

Dozens of opposition lawmakers participated in the so-called “People’s State of the Union,” a gathering that took place at the doors of the Capitol in Washington, just as Trump presented his report, according to PBS, the American public television network.

“Trump is leading the U.S. Toward fascism, and I refuse to normalize his destruction of our Constitution and democracy,” Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote on X.

“The true State of the Union is this: this Union is in crisis right now. Our cities are being attacked by out-of-control law enforcement. Our democracy is being weakened under the relentless attack of a president who aspires to be a despot,” Senator Chris Murphy asserted.

Several of the hundreds gathered carried signs demanding more funding for healthcare and less for ICE.

Actor Robert De Niro, a staunch critic of the Republican president, also participated in the parallel event.

Trump began his lengthy speech asserting that 12 months ago he inherited inflation “at record levels” and that today it is at its lowest.

“The price of eggs has come down 60%. The cost of chicken, butter, fruit, hotels, cars, and rent is lower today than when I took office, and even beef is starting to come down. And soon, you will see numbers that few people thought were possible to achieve,” he said.

The BBC Verify team examined the claim and found that prices rose significantly during the first two years of former President Joe Biden’s term, reaching a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Yet, this figure is not a historic high, as claimed by Trump, falling short of the 23.7% recorded in 1920.

And while the pace of inflation has slowed since Trump took office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices rose 2.4% in January 2026—down from 3% in January 2025—that figure remains above the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve.

Another questionable claim by the president relates to who is paying the tariffs he has imposed on international trading partners.

“Tariffs paid by foreign countries will substantially replace the modern income tax system, relieving a great financial burden from the people I love,” he said.

However, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Recent York suggests that the cost of increased tariffs has been passed on to American businesses and households, not absorbed by other countries or foreign companies.

The Verify team recalled that the Congressional Budget Office projected last year that tariffs would bring in about $250 billion a year on average over the next decade if they remained in place.

In contrast, the federal government collected $2.66 trillion in income tax alone in 2025, ten times the projected annual tariff revenue.