Trump to be opening act for Stacey Abrams' State of the Union response

Democrats have chosen Georgia’s Stacey Abrams to give the official party response to Trump’s upcoming State of the Union speech.

“At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response,” Abrams wrote.

Abrams is well positioned to run for Georgia’s Senate seat in 2020 with a 52 percent approval rating in a recent poll from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The same poll finds Trump currently with 38 percent approval in the state, which he won in 2016. Back then, he received 51 percent of the vote.

“She is just a great spokesperson. She’s an incredible leader. She has led the charge for voting rights which is at the root of just about everything else,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (NY) said upon making the announcement.

Abrams narrowly lost her gubernatorial election against Brian Kemp, who was Trump’s choice in the race and who used voter rights scare tactics to secure his victory. Kemp’s margin of victory was merely 1.4 points.

She is considering running for the Senate seat in Georgia currently held by a Republican, Sen. David Perdue. Perdue has an approval of 45.4 percent, above Trump but below Abrams.

Trump had the State of the Union taken away by Speaker Nancy Pelosi until he gave in to her and reopened the federal government.

Now, in his weakened political condition, he will have his speech responded to by an up-and-coming Democrat who could snatch control of her red state from Republican hands.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.