Stacey Abrams became the first black woman and the first Georgian to give the response to the State of the Union speech Tuesday night.
She spoke for about 10 minutes after President Donald Trump highlighting bipartisan efforts in Georgia to overhaul the criminal justice system and slammed the federal government shutdown.
But long before her speech began she was already getting advice about what to say.
After the November election, Abrams ended her campaign for Georgia governor against Republican Brian Kemp, but she did not concede the election, and said she planned to launch a voting rights group to file "major" litigation challenging election policies instead.
But for Abrams supporters the night was her time to shine. Many of them claimed to boycott Trump’s speech or waited impatiently for hers.
For the biggest speech of her political career, the voting rights group she started shortly after her defeat – Fair Fight Action— organized watch parties around the country.
Abrams deliverd her remarks from the HQ of the IBEW labor union in downtown Atlanta, and started her speech with a nod to the Lunar New Year and a story about her working-class parents.
Abrams didn’t mention any plans for her political future, but plenty of people had thoughts on her next steps.
But not everyone was ready for that.
And they recalled some issues of her Georgia run for governor.
Abrams was dinged during the governor’s race for giving money to her campaign, instead of using that money to pay off her debts.
Abrams acknowledged her debts, but she has said she was not shirking her obligation to pay them — just doing it through a payment plan.
WATCH | Stacey Abrams discusses her debt
A prominent Georgia conservative graded Abrams’ speech.
The visuals were a big topic.
A political reporter wondered if the speech was a missed opportunity.
And even Uncle Joe got in on the tweets
