Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a first-term Democrat from Michigan, delivered a brief message on Tuesday night as her party’s official response to President Trump’s long speech to a long, long meeting session.
New from his victory in a competitive race in a critical state, Slotkin, 48, did the difficult task of giving the opposition answers to his annual Congress speech at a moment when Democrats struggle to find effective messages and messengers to push back the president’s detention.
In Trump’s speech, some Democrats engulfed him, others retained signs of protest, and one Texas lawmaker, Al Green, was taken out of the room for Tillard, who waving a wand that Trump cried out that he had “not been ordered” for his agenda and refused to retreat.
In contrast, Slotkin hit a gentle, cheerful tone with her brief remarks, appealing not only to Democrats but also to Republicans by introducing herself through her national security credentials. (She said she has toured three times in Iraq, where she works for the CIA under Republican and Democrat presidents.)
Slotkin chose to address the public from Windot, Michigan. While Trump’s speech was the longest presidential speech in history, Slotkin ignored most of what he said, focusing on her debate that the president’s actions and his agenda would make American life more expensive.
“Your premiums and prescriptions cost more because it won’t work unless the maths about his proposals follow your health care,” she said. She said, “Elon Musk just called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.”
Slotkin said he agreed with the government’s idea of reducing waste. “I’ll help you do that,” she said. “But the change doesn’t have to be confusing or keep us safe.”
Twice during her speech, she approved the former Republican president, criticizing Trump. “I’m grateful that it was Reagan who wasn’t Trump in the office in the 1990s,” she said.
Slotkin said Trump “evidently doesn’t think we should lead the world.”
She also had a message for democrats who had lost their morale. “Don’t tune it, it’s easy to get tired,” she said, warning that democracy itself is at risk.
“I’ve seen democracy flicker,” she said. “When government is equipped, I have seen what life is like. You can’t open a business without paying back corrupt staff. You can’t criticize the person in charge without knocking on the door in the middle of the night.”
Slotkin urged Democrats who felt lost to select an issue they care about and then choose one issue that specifically involves it. “Doukkralls don’t count,” she said.
Slotkin, a Democrat who leaned towards the center where she worked as a CIA analyst and worked in the national security positions of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s white family, defined her entire political career in opposition to Trump. She first won a house seat in 2018 as part of a close group of Democrat women with military or intelligence backgrounds employed to run as presidential counterweights.
The work of the aired reaction was often seen as a stepping stone for politicians to raise their profiles, and Slotkin reached out to viewers who may not know her. But speaking slots are also an appreciative role. This is now considered largely cursed, as it was failed by many promising elected officials on both parties.
Slotkin avoided notable failures, opting for simple delivery and a simple message proofed to be widely appealing. But she didn’t take the thunderous tone of resistance that many Democrats were chosen amid backlash from core supporters who hoped they would become even stronger in opposing Trump.
