In a video posted to X on Thursday, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger brought residents up to speed on some of the major progress she says the state has made under her administration. The Democrat said she was “so proud” of the policies her office has initiated to make life more affordable in Virginia, though many netizens argued that everyday residents were not seeing the benefits she described.
Accomplishments Spanberger listed in the video included a $15 minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, expanded worker protections, and making healthcare more affordable, including capping insulin prices. The governor promised that more policies were still to come.
“Over the next few weeks, I’m working with legislators and traveling across our Commonwealth to share exciting news for reproductive health care rights, housing development, energy costs, and voting rights. I’ll bring you along every step of the way as we bring the Affordable Virginia Agenda to life,” Spanberger stated.
However, public reactions to the post appeared to be overwhelmingly negative. “We? Nobody is happy with you,” one person commented. Another claimed, “You’re the only one who’s proud. The rest of the state hates your guts.”
A third wrote, “Virginians have rejected you. You and northern Virginia do not speak for the rest of the state.” A fourth added, “You’ve destroyed Virginia and I’m proud you have become the worst governor in Virginia history! We need to get you a medal!”
Many people opposed the governor’s claims that Virginia was moving in the right direction. “All you did Karen was raise our taxes! No benefits are paid by any government,” one comment read. Someone else said, “Say what???? You have doubled tax burden on working families to give benefits to people that don’t work.”
On Wednesday, Spanberger visited the VCU Health Child Care Center at Northside and signed two major bills into law aimed at making child care more affordable for working parents while helping small business owners retain staff who might otherwise leave the workforce due to rising costs.
