State of the Union Rebuttal Demands a Political High-Wire Act

Feb. 20, 2026, 9:40 PM UTC

Marco Rubio, Katie Britt, Bobby Jindal—ask any of them and they can attest to the pitfalls that come with the opportunity of rebutting the president’s State of the Union speech.

All took hits for their responses to the president’s address. Rubio, then a Florida senator, was lampooned for pausing to drink water. Britt’s (R-Ala.) kitchen-table speech was roasted by Scarlett Johansson in a “Saturday Night Live” skit. And then Louisiana Gov. Jindal (R) got poor reviews for an uneven delivery.

The choice of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to formally respond to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next ...

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