WILLIAMSBURG — Gov. Abigail Spanberger gave the Democratic response to the State of the Union address from Colonial Williamsburg on Tuesday, speaking from where the Virginia colony began governing itself in the 1700s.
Spanberger delivered her remarks in the chambers of the House of Burgesses, the same place where Virginia revolutionaries such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry served as burgesses when Williamsburg was the colonial capital.
“Before there was a Declaration of Independence, a Constitution, or a Bill of Rights — there were people in this very room,” Spanberger said. “The people who served here ultimately dreamed of what a new nation — unlike anything the world had ever seen — could be.”
In speaking from the reconstructed Capitol building, the governor joined “a long line of civic leaders who have appeared on the historic grounds of Virginia’s 18th-century capital city,” The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said prior to her speech.
About 60 Virginians were in the audience during Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s remarks, including about two dozen William & Mary students and members of Williamsburg City Council. (Office of Governor Abigail Spanberger)
This year’s State of the Union fell during the semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was almost exactly 250 years ago, in Williamsburg, where Virginia’s lawmakers “voted after years of vigorous debate to propose independence for all 13 colonies to form a new nation,” said Cliff Fleet, president and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Spanberger said she could “think of no better place to speak to you as we reflect on the current state of our union.”
About 60 people were in the audience during Spanberger’s remarks, including about two dozen William & Mary students, members of the Williamsburg City Council and state Del. Jessica Anderson, who represents the area including Williamsburg and James City County.
Spanberger contrasted President Donald Trump’s description of a nation that he said was in a “golden age,” pointing out that Americans are still struggling with costs in areas such as housing, health care and food prices.
In Virginia, she said, “I am working with our state legislature to lower costs and make the commonwealth more affordable.”
As Americans, Spanberger said, “we know better than any nation what is possible when ordinary citizens — like those who once dreamed right here in this room — reject the unacceptable and demand more of their government.”
Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday in Colonial Williamsburg. (Mike Kropf/Getty Images)
Ahead of Tuesday, Fleet pointed out that civil discourse and debate were “the hallmarks of Williamsburg’s history.” Colonial Williamsburg, as an educational organization and living history museum, “proudly advances this American legacy by encouraging civic engagement and hosting leaders from all sides of the political spectrum.”
Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com