Sen. Elissa Slotkin says more unites Americans than divides after Trump's speech

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin acknowledged what she called a "fraught election season" as she delivered the Democrats' rebuttal to President Trump's first address in his second term to a joint session of Congress.

"I won't take it personally if you've never heard of me," the first term senator said at the start of her 10-minute speech.

"America wants change, but there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way," Slotkin said.

After spending three terms in the House, Slotkin's Senate win in November was a rare bright spot for Democrats. During her speech, she described how she was inspired to make a life in national security after being in New York City on 9/11.

"I was recruited by the CIA and did three tours in Iraq alongside the military," she said. "In between, I worked at the White House under President Bush and President Obama — two very different leaders who both believed that America is exceptional."

She highlighted themes of bipartisanship, describing growing up in a split-party household.

"My dad was a lifelong Republican, my mom a lifelong Democrat – but it was never a big deal, because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party," she said.

Throughout her speech, which she made from Wyandotte, Mich. — a place both she and President Trump won in November — Slotkin stressed the importance of a strong middle class, national security and the value of democracy, calling those the "three core beliefs" that most Americans value.

Slotkin made the case that despite campaigning on the economy, the president has not taken steps to address lowering consumer costs and argued his tariffs on Mexico and Canada will cause prices to go up.

"Premiums and prescriptions will cost more because the math on his proposals doesn't work without going after your health care," she said.

House Republicans recently passed a budget resolution aimed at implementing much of Trump's agenda. To pay for it, they'll need large cuts, a big chunk of which is expected to come from Medicaid, something that has already raised concerns from some GOP members.

Slotkin said popular government programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security could be on the chopping block — a theme congressional Democrats are expected to continue hammering in the coming weeks.

Slotkin also referenced unease over Elon Musk's role in the slash-and-burn remake of the federal government with concerns over limited oversight.

"We need a more efficient government," she said. "You want to cut waste? I'll help you do it. But change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe."

"The mindless firing of people who work to protect our nuclear weapons, keep our planes from crashing, and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer – only to rehire them two days later, no CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired."

'Reagan must be rolling in his grave'

Slotkin spent time talking about former President Ronald Reagan – someone Trump himself is fond of quoting. She pointed to the contentious meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a sign of failed diplomacy.

Saying it "wasn't just a bad episode of reality TV," Slotkin said the scene in the Oval Office showed Trump's approach to American leadership is "a series of real estate transactions."

Slotkin's speech comes at a time when Democratic voters and grassroots supporters have been clamoring for the party in the minority to do more to combat the Trump administration.

She instructed those watching to find issues they care about and get involved.

"Hold your elected officials, including me, accountable," she said. "Watch how they're voting. Go to town halls to demand they take action."

The challenges of the rebuttal speech

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) rehearses the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025 in Wyandotte, Mich.

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The rebuttal speech is a way for the minority party to highlight someone it sees as a rising star, according to Matt Grossman, a political scientist at Michigan State University.

Grossman cautioned ahead of the speech that there's some risk that it could come across "as strained or small next to the pomp of the presidency."

It's a problem every speaker who's taken on this task has faced. Plus, Grossman says, Democrats who are ready for a fight with Trump likely don't want to hear talk of reaching across the aisle.

"Slotkin won an open seat in a [state Trump won]. From the beginning, she ran as someone who worked with presidents of both parties and put national security before party. But the Democratic base is looking for signs of aggressive fighting," he said. "It will be a difficult line to tread."
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