36.6 million Americans tuned in to hear President Trump lay out his agenda in 2025
Tuesday, he’ll stand before Congress again for the State of the Union.
“He’s going to emphasize some of his successes,” Dr. Director of Graduate Studies for Virginia Tech’s School of Communication Dr. Cayce Myers.
But right after the President, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivers her own address.
“Spanberger has been talked about as a national, or potential national politician,” Myers said.
Myers says it’s a weighted moment for the newly sworn-in governor.
“She also is a person who is off of a recent win, where she had a successful message - a centrist message that took on President Trump - but also talked about some of the issues that democrats say will be very important coming up in ’26 and ’28,” he said.
High visibility, but Myers says the rebuttal isn’t always high reward.
“These speeches have notoriously been places where there have been gaffs and poor presentation, so some people even say the speech is cursed,” he said.
“There’s kind of the grandeur of the president doing the State of the Union, and then you have the opposing party. Why is this speech so important?” 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman asked.
“Even with that challenge, they still do it because it is the ability to articulate their message, particularly in an election year like 2026,” Myers said.
He says democrats also want to build on momentum.
“She has come out of an election in 2025 where she outperformed expectations in a state that had a Republican governor. Typically in these midterm elections, the incumbent party does have a disadvantage just because it is a referendum on them,” he said.
Spanberger’s focus is likely on affordability and immigration
“She has really been able to - in her 2025 campaign - run on some of these more centrist messages, and also critique Trump and also appeal to a cross section of voters. And so, I think that’s probably why she was selected,” he said.
The speech also gives a potential glimpse at the future.
“Whether or not this means she is a potential candidate for 2028, there’s a lot of speculation around that. She does not have the same recognition and profile as we’ve seen of other democratic nominees, but who knows. This could be a launching pad,” he said.
You can watch NBC’s coverage of the State of the Union on WSLS starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24.