Stacey Abrams destroys Trump in response to State of the Union over LGBT+ rights and the government shutdown

Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams offered a sharp rebuke to Trump's State of the Union address when she delivered the Democratic rebuttal during a speech in Atlanta, Georgia.

Abrams, who is being wooed to run for Senate after she narrowly missed out on winning the Georgia gubernatorial race, also made history with the speech as the first ever black woman to offer the Democratic response to the State of the Union.

In her wide-ranging rebuttal, she started by introducing herself to the nation, before systematically slapping back at many of the president's ideas, including gun control, the border wall and subsequent government shutdown, immigration reform, and climate change.

Addressing the wall, she said:

America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls.

And in relation to the government shutdown, she added:

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, who lost her gubernatorial campaign amidst allegations of voter suppression scandal, made voter rights one of her signature campaign issues, as well as starting a non-profit to fight for her cause:

This is the next battle for our democracy, one where all eligible citizens can have their say about the vision we want for our country.

We must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a 'power grab'.

Another key aspect she discussed is the country's ongoing battle with racism, saying:

We continue to confront racism from our past and our present, which is why we must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is -- wrong

She also mentioned the Trump administration's shameful history when it comes to LGBT+ rights:

We affirmed marriage equality, and yet, the LGBTQ community remains under attack.

Finally, she ended her rebuttal on a hopeful note:

With a renewed commitment to social and economic justice, we will create a stronger America, together.

Because America wins by fighting for our shared values against all enemies: foreign and domestic.

That is who we are – and when we do so, never wavering – the state of our union will always be strong.

Many people, including politicians, took to Twitter to express their support for Abrams' speech.

HT Daily Mail

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