WASHINGTON ― In the official Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams delivered a passionate speech about the need for economic and social justice in America and said even though she disagrees with Trump on virtually everything, she still wants him to succeed.

“My reason for running for governor was simple: I love our country and its promise of opportunity for all,” Abrams said, beaming against the blurred backdrop of a group of men and women of different races. “I stand here tonight because I hold fast to my father’s credo: Together, we are coming for America, for a better America.”

Abrams, who is the first black woman to give a Democratic response to the State of the Union, denounced the president’s policies on immigration, LGBTQ rights, gun safety, education and health care. She didn’t need to name the president directly when she urged Americans to hold people “in the very highest offices” accountable for racism. But she did call Trump out directly for shutting down the government last month, making federal workers go without pay for weeks in his push for border wall money.

“Making their livelihoods a pawn for political games is a disgrace,” said Abrams. “The shutdown was a stunt engineered by the president of the United States, one that defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people but our values.”

Still, Abrams extended an olive branch to Trump, urging him to consider how much Democrats and Republicans can accomplish by working together.

“Even as I am very disappointed by the president’s approach to our problems, I still don’t want him to fail,” she said. “But we need him to tell the truth, and to respect his duties and the extraordinary diversity that defines America.”