Democratic governor responds to Trump’s State of the Union address

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan gave the Democratic Party’s response to President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address. 

Jake Webster

Touting policy initiatives undertaken by Democratic governors across the nation, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address late Tuesday.

“Democrats across the country are getting things done,” Whitmer said. “Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolf is expanding the right to overtime pay, Michigan is too. Because if you’re on the clock, you deserve to get paid. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper are working to give hardworking teachers a raise.”

Whitmer’s speech came fewer than 10 minutes after Trump’s address.

The president achieved an all-time high approval rating in the Gallup poll, in a survey released early Tuesday.

The poll found 49 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, and 63 percent approve of his handling of the economy.

Trump’s reelection campaign press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, released a statement following the president’s address highlighting the performance of the economy during the Trump presidency.

“President Trump’s State of the Union address illustrated unmistakably that he has led the great American comeback, overseeing an unprecedented blue collar boom that would be reversed by the socialist government takeover policies of 2020 Democrats,” McEnany said in the statement. “President Trump’s free-market, low-tax policies have caused paychecks to grow fastest for low- and middle-income workers, lifted millions of Americans out of poverty, taken median household income to the highest level ever recorded, and brought unemployment to historic lows.”

Whitmer seemingly responded to the economic figures in her speech. She spoke of several people who have to raise funds to pay for health care.

“No one should have to crowdsource their health care, not in America,” Whitmer said. “But the reality is, not everyone in America has a job with health care and benefits, in fact many have jobs that don’t even pay enough to cover their monthly expenses. It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market. What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by.”

The upcoming November election was addressed in Whitmer’s response, she called 2020 a “big year.”

“It’s the year my daughter Sherry will graduate from high school. It’s also the year she’ll cast her first ballot, along with millions of young Americans,” Whitmer said. “The two things are connected, because walking across a graduation stage is as important as walking in the voting booth the first time.”