See below for video of Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger speaking with Politico a bit earlier this evening about her agenda, thoughts on dealing with Trump, etc.
Gov.-elect Spanberger: “Every aspect of governing is about bringing people together where you may not agree, building coalitions around ideas or goals, and sometimes you even may disagree about how to actually achieve that goal. And I think in Virginia, we recognize that we have an opportunity and a responsibility to continue to set a positive example for the rest of the country. And we we take some of our traditions very seriously and and they’re of great value…We’re the only state in the country that has a one-term governor. And it’s important that people know that, if they’ve engaged with Virginia, they might be bringing business or investment to Virginia, that when we invariably have that change every four years that there will be some level of continuity…importantly, we are building out the transition right now, making appointments and planning for the the first the first day and then the first hundred days and in particular our time with the General Assembly during session. And so we’ll be rolling out next week the affordability agenda and very specific bills in housing, healthcare, energy, and child care will have an impact on the lives of Virginiaians. And so, you know, day one, in addition to the legislation that we’ll be pursuing, I’ll be moving on some executive orders related to affordability…”
Gov.-elect Spanberger on working with Trump (or not): “So much of what he’s doing has a direct impact on Virginia. I get that. And so where there are places where his choices and his leadership is having a negative impact on Virginia, I will make clear that that’s harmful to Virginia. But conversely, where there are places where he might want to have some positive engagement with Virginia, I welcome it…And so where I can stand up for or work on behalf of Virginia or Virginians, I’ll do it. And if he wants to pursue policies that will be helpful to us, and to our economy, I look forward to that…I mean, he’s now started talking about affordability. If he has, you know, a real clear vision of what it is. I mean, recently he called it a hoax, but if he wants to actually get like clear-eyed on the fact that it’s not a hoax and it is a real challenge for people, you know, certainly again some of the impacts that we’re facing in Virginia are because of initiatives he’s pursuing as president or the bills that he’s pushed through the House of Representatives.”
Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on Trump giving himself an A++++ on the economy: “I would start by saying I have three daughters in school at the moment and there’s no such thing as an A+ plus plus plus…How many pluses? You know, you you can’t solve problems if you won’t admit that they’re there. You can’t address challenges if you won’t admit that they’re in front of you. And I think that the the important challenge that we face is we have a president who makes chaos and and a chaotic way of governing his his everyday choice. Everything from the trade policies um that he’s pursued to the the whiplash of DOGE that has impacted Virginia so so significantly….The reality is that I wouldn’t give him an A, let alone with however many pluses he may choose. But it’s the reality that we’re dealing with…And so, as the future governor of Virginia, my responsibility will be to try and mitigate some of the impacts and the harm and manage around it. And unfortunately, I wish he had a clearer vision of just how destructive some of his choices have been, but in the absence of that, I’ll have to plan around it and endeavor to try and mitigate that harm here on the ground in Virginia.”
Gov.-elect Spanberger on her mandate and what she needs to deliver: “I think that the mandate that I perceive having won with that significant of a margin is is to focus on the things that I talked about on the campaign trail. So, affordability, strengthening our public schools, the safety of our communities, and frankly, desire to see people actually getting things done, working together, calming the chaos…”
Gov.-elect Spanberger on Trump’s foreign policy: Says the scourge of drug cartels “is a real one, and I make no bones about that…the threats are real.” “And we also have a constitution that requires if you are going to basically declare war…you have to go through Congress…What I would tell this president is that there are tools…mechanisms…chief among them can be diplomacy. If he…cares about these real threats…he would not be dismantling the extraordinary partnerships we have had with the Colombians for decades…he wouldn’t be antagonizing our neighbors through tariffs…And he wouldn’t also be taking his eye off the threat that is..a rising China…to not see Russia as a threat…and to take it to Venezuela solely and singularly…can cause real harm to the United States…taking out one boat at a time..he’s pursuing a path that is losing us the moral authority but also the partnerships that we need in the region…and then he wouldn’t be freeing large-scale drug traffickers.”
Gov.-elect Spanberger on data centers: “I think it is about ensuring that localities that I mean that localities have the tools that they need to make good decisions. I think data centers are going to continue to be built somewhere. And frankly, if they go to another PJM state, they’re still going to pull from the same energy pool that that we utilize. But it’s about ensuring that, uh, Virginia communities have the tools and and and frankly, if those are the want to raise their hand and they want to welcome data centers that that some of the bigger companies that may be coming to Virginia know where to go. Because that that’s a key priority as well. But no, not stopping them or but but having a real a clear vision of what and supporting localities that might want to welcome them or that don’t.”
Gov.-elect Spanberger on what makes her most excited and what gives her some trepidation: “What makes me most excited is that eventually it it won’t be unique that to have women running for office or particularly for executive roles. The idea that there would be kids that only ever knew women governors, men governors, it’s all the same and it’s the norm for them. Because then all of them know that whatever they may want to do, whether it’s in government or any type of leadership, any type of job that once you you see people in those roles, then it becomes commonplace that you know you could do that too. You could potentially pursue that path. So that’s what I think is most exciting. And then what gives me trepidation is I just needed to do a really really good job. Which is what I intended to do anyway. But I know that there may be people who view my reactions, my policies, the things that I work on through the lens of the fact that I’m a woman. And so I recognize that and I just need to make sure that, you know, every single day I work tirelessly to do right by the people of Virginia and make sure that I’m always explaining why it is I’m doing what it is I’m doing and how it is that I endeavor to do right by the, you know, the people of our Commonwealth every single day. And yeah, so it’s I maybe it’s not actually trepidation. It’s just a recognition that when you ask people for the most extraordinary of privileges, when you ask people to put their trust in you, that you have a responsibility to deliver every single day and to take that responsibility seriously and, you know, to recognize that people are are watching.”
