Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D) slammed the start of President Trump’s second term in office in the Democratic response to his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
In a roughly 10-minute speech, Slotkin laid out her view that most Americans share three main beliefs: the middle class is the “engine” of the country, strong national security keeps the country safe and the country’s democracy is worth fighting for, “no matter how messy.”
Slotkin went on the attack against Trump, arguing that he is prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy at the cost of the middle class, ignoring national security interests and rejecting democratic norms and institutions.
“Donald Trump’s actions suggest that in his heart, he doesn’t believe we’re an exceptional nation,” she said. “He clearly doesn’t think we should lead the world. Look, America is not perfect, but I stand with the majority of Americans who believe we are still exceptional, unparalleled.”
Slotkin noted that she represents a state that voted for Trump for president and her for Senate at the same time.
“It might not seem like it, but plenty of places like this still exist across the United States, places where people believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should do well and your kids should do better,” she said.
She said the country made clear that prices are too high but Trump has taken a “reckless” approach to enacting the change that the country wants.
Slotkin accused Trump of wanting to give an “unprecedented giveaway” to his “billionaire friends” as he tries to cut the size of the government.
“He’s on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America, and to do that, he’s going to make you pay in every part of your life,” she said. “Grocery and home prices are going up, not down, and he hasn’t laid out a credible plan to deal with either those.”
Trump has made cutting the size of government a key pillar of his administration as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency pushes for cuts.
She also warned that Trump may go after retirement accounts to fund tax cuts for the wealthy despite the president saying he won’t, citing Musk calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.”
Trump has repeatedly said he wouldn’t cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, but the approved House budget resolution directs the Energy and Commerce Committee to make large spending cuts that some say would be difficult to achieve without cutting into programs like Medicaid.
Slotkin attacked Trump’s tariff policy as likely to raise prices on energy, lumber and cars and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturers and farmers. Trump, who implemented significant tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China on Tuesday, has argued the tariffs are necessary for the U.S. to be treated fairly in trade.
Slotkin also slammed Trump’s tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, during which the two leaders confronted each other over the future of U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
She argued that former President Reagan must be “rolling over in his grave” over the tense confrontation in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelensky.
She mentioned that Trump often expresses his ideology as achieving “peace through strength,” which was Reagan’s saying, but that he would differ significantly from Trump’s foreign policy.
“After the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave,” she said.
“We all want an end to the war in Ukraine, but Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic life with moral clarity, and that scene in the Oval Office wasn’t just a bad episode of reality TV,” Slotkin continued. “It summed up Trump’s whole approach to the world.”
She said the American system of government is “at risk when the president decides you can pick and choose what rules you want to follow, when he ignores court orders and the Constitution itself, or when elected leaders stand by and just let it happen.”
Trump and his allies have slammed various judges who have issued rulings blocking his policies from taking effect, with some House Republicans moving to impeach them.
Slotkin said democracy is also threatened when Trump “pits Americans against each other” and “demonizes those who are different.”
She called on the public not to “tune out” even as many are exhausted with politics recently.
“It’s easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever,” she said.
“Thank you tonight for caring about your country. Just by watching you qualify as engaged citizens, and I promise that I and fellow Democrats will do everything in our power to be the principal leaders that you deserve,” she concluded.
