{"id":2573317,"date":"2026-02-25T01:16:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T01:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:17:58","slug":"abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Abigail Spanberger Is Playing Blindfolded Darts With Her Lame SOTU Response"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fabigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573317&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This Federalist piece by Chris Bray analyzes Abigail Spanberger&#8217;s televised response to the State of the Union, arguing that she depicts Trump as corrupt and dangerous while delivering the message with a forced, almost cheerful smile. Bray contends her doom-and-gloom rhetoric\u2014cataloging supposed policy harms to small businesses, farmers, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >healthcare\u2014lacks authentic emotion<\/a> and suggests Democrats lack a positive vision. He contrasts moments in which she quotes George Washington about dangerous leaders with her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embracing-womanhood-has-made-billie-eilish-happier-than-ever\/\" title=\"Embracing Womanhood Has Made Billie Eilish Happier Than Ever\">cheerful demeanor<\/a>,calling the combination deceptive and implying she is \u201cpretending\u201d rather than genuinely frightened or outraged. The article includes Bray\u2019s bio and links to watch the clip, his Substack, and related author and topic tags.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kpflgbk_Y_U\">PBS NewsHour\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Abigail%20Spanberger%20Is%20Playing%20Blindfolded%20Darts%20With%20Her%20Lame%20SOTU%20Response&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Abigail%20Spanberger%20Is%20Playing%20Blindfolded%20Darts%20With%20Her%20Lame%20SOTU%20Response&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Abigail%20Spanberger%20Is%20Playing%20Blindfolded%20Darts%20With%20Her%20Lame%20SOTU%20Response&amp;body=As%20she%20finishes%20this%20dark,%20threatening%20message,%20she's%20smiling%20again.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/abigail-spanberger-is-playing-blindfolded-darts-with-her-lame-sotu-response\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>After two hours of Donald Trump saying that America&rsquo;s great and he wants to make it greater so that everybody can have a great life and by the way here are some amazing heroes, former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger appeared on television to I don&rsquo;t know what. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kpflgbk_Y_U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">watch it here<\/a>, if you want to see an illustration of the metaphor about someone being &ldquo;lost at sea.&rdquo; Hit pause right at the 11:34 mark, because I want to say something about that moment before you watch it.<\/p>\n<p>Spanberger said that Trump is corrupt, and that he&rsquo;s destroying America, and that everything is horrible. If you don&rsquo;t hate how horrible everything is right now, just wait: America will become more dark and cruel and miserable and rotten. It was a sad trombone sound effect come to life. Here&rsquo;s something bad, and here&rsquo;s something else bad, and also, here&rsquo;s some more bad things. Trump equals darkness, a message she pounded home with roughly the subtlety of Creed doing that halftime show.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-215529623\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;His reckless trade policies.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Small businesses have suffered, farmers have suffered.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re making your life harder. They&rsquo;re making your life more expensive. They&rsquo;re even making it more difficult to see a doctor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Doom, doom, doom.<\/p>\n<p>Also, as she laid out this catalog of darkness and horror, she smiled a lot. This starts to give you some hints about the substance of the message.<\/p>\n<p>Now, did you hit pause right at 11:34? Go play that part. She tells us that George Washington <em>warned us<\/em> &mdash; this is another dark moment, a thing that&rsquo;s meant to convey threat &mdash; about &ldquo;cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men rising to power.&rdquo; As she finishes this dark, threatening message, she&rsquo;s smiling again. Hit pause at 11:40 and stare at that image. I&rsquo;ve used it to illustrate this post. <\/p>\n<p>Scary message \/ happy face. As I <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/gavin-newsom-is-playing-a-trump-character-he-doesnt-understand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">just said<\/a> about Gavin Newsom&rsquo;s new campaign trail, Andrew Dice Clay character, Spanberger is <em>pretending<\/em>. She&rsquo;s not righteously angry or scared and speaking about her deeply felt sense of threat. She&rsquo;s <em>casting around<\/em> for something to hit an opponent with. Her demeanor doesn&rsquo;t match her words, because she doesn&rsquo;t mean any of it.<\/p>\n<p>You could hate Donald Trump and see this point: Democrats are guessing, because they have no idea. They don&rsquo;t know who they are, they don&rsquo;t have a positive vision, they don&rsquo;t have a message. They have doom, they have some more doom, and then they have some more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-not-happy-after-city-water-officials-release-their-own-music-video\/\" title=\"Public Displeased by City Water Officials&#039; Music Video Release\">scary doom<\/a>. And, uh, big smile?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army, and has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/doom-and-gloom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Doom And Gloom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Gavin Newsom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/george-washington\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">George Washington<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sociopathy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">sociopathy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/state-of-the-union\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">State of the Union<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Virginia<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The piece portrays Abigail Spanberger\u2019s TV appearance about Donald Trump as theatrically grim: after Trump extols America, she presents a bleak warning that Trump is corrupt and destroying the country, listing a string of harms\u2014ruinous trade policies, suffering for small businesses and farmers, higher costs, and barriers to seeing a doctor. All the while, she smiles, which the author treats as evidence of performative emotion rather than genuine anger or fear. The piece notes she invokes George Washington\u2019s warning about \u201ccunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men\u201d rising to power, and then smiles again, suggesting a fearsome message delivered with a smile. The author argues Spanberger\u2019s demeanor doesn\u2019t match her words, implying she\u2019s merely searching for a weapon to use against Trump rather than speaking from conviction. It\u2019s suggested that Democrats, lacking a clear positive vision, rely on doom and gloom, punctuated by a big smile. The article also introduces Chris Bray, a former Army infantry sergeant and history PhD, who writes on Substack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2573318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/all-smiles.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[52927,74526,27281,69388,17782],"class_list":["post-2573317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-abigail-spanberger","tag-blindfolded-darts","tag-critique","tag-political-commentary-2","tag-sotu"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/all-smiles.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573321,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573317\/revisions\/2573321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}