Abrams rebukes Trump in official Dem response

ATLANTA — Stacey Abrams delivered a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump in the official Democratic response to the State of the Union address Tuesday night, castigating Trump and the GOP over immigration, voting rights, health care and the economy, in a preview of the battle lines that could shape the 2020 election.

Abrams, the first African-american woman to give the official rebuttal, cast the recent government shutdown as a “stunt” by Trump. She dismissed the critique by Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., of a proposed voting overhaul from Democrats. And she accused the GOP of disregarding or failing to understand middle-class Americans.

“America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls,” Abrams said, referring to Trump’s determination to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

In a roughly 11-minute speech, Abrams sought to sharpen the contrast that Democrats are seeking with Trump and the GOP ahead of the next election, as well as to introduce herself to a broad audience ahead of a possible Senate run in Georgia, a potential 2020 battleground.

The excitement surrounding Abrams’ speech, which she gave from the Atlanta area, was hard to miss in recent days. Abrams, 45, has become a marquee figure in her party after nearly being elected the nation’s first black female governor in Georgia in November.

Abrams took aim at the recent government shutdown, which polls suggest was unpopular with the public and stemmed from the partisan dispute over a border wall. “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 said.

Abrams also addressed the recent comment by Mcconnell that a Democratic proposal to make Election Day a federal holiday, along with other voting overhaul measures, amounts to a “power grab.”

“We must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a ‘power grab,’ “said Abrams.

She also sought to distinguish her party from the GOP when it comes to the economy, arguing that “families’ hopes are being crushed by Republican leadership that ignores real life or just doesn’t understand it.” The GOP tax bill “rigged the system against working people,” she said.

And Abrams challenged Republicans to embrace stronger gun-control measures, declaring, “this White House responds timidly while first-graders practice active-shooter drills.”