Getty Gretchen Whitmer
Tonight, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be giving the Democrats’ official response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union 2020. You can watch the response on live stream (and later on a rewatchable full video) via the video below. This video is from C-SPAN, and will start out with Trump’s speech, followed immediately by the Democrats’ response. Trump’s speech will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern and is expected to last no longer than 90 minutes. The Democrats’ response will begin shortly after Trump’s speech ends. That means you should keep a close eye on this video sometime around 10 p.m. Eastern just so you don’t miss anything. The video will be fully replayable after the response ends.
The Democrats’ SOTU Response Will Begin Shortly After the SOTU Ends
The video above will show both Trump’s State of the Union and then the Democrats’ response.
The Democrats’ response is traditionally much shorter than the State of the Union itself. The SOTU could last up to 90 minutes, while the Democrats’ response is typically closer to 10 to 15 minutes in length.
Whitmer will speak from East Lansing High school, which is the school where her children are enrolled. Whitmer was elected governor in 2018. Whitmer’s will be the only official speech from the Democratic party, but others may also deliver speeches of their own, like Bernie Sanders who will be delivering one at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
Whitmer was elected as Michigan’s governor just 13 months ago, The New York Times reported. She’s relatively new on the political scene. Democrats often choose someone to deliver the response who is less in the spotlight, and they rarely choose a candidate who is currently running for President. Whitmer, 48, is more traditional in her beliefs and quite different from Trump. She supports gun control, abortion rights, but also advocates for bipartisan work. She was the first governor to ban flavored vaping products through an executive action, so she’s also viewed as controversial by some. Vox reported that Whitmer won the election with a popular slogan: “Fix the damn roads.” Her winning a Midwest state makes her a popular choice for Democrats, who are hoping to make more inroads in those states for the 2020 general election.
You can also watch the SOTU speech and her response in this Washington Post video below.
If you’re only interested in seeing Whitmer’s response, you can watch it in the video below. This is an official House Democrats video and it will only show Whitmer’s response, not the State of the Union.
Here’s a video that was shared when it was first announced that she would deliver the SOTU response.
And here’s another video about Whitmer getting ready for her big speech.
Last year, Stacey Abrams delivered the response. While you’re waiting on Whitmer, you can rewatch Abrams’ response below.
Many people are excited to hear what Whitmer is going to say tonight after Trump delivers his speech to the nation. Since Trump is still facing an impeachment removal vote tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if she touches on that at all in her message.
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