WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered remarks at the Brookings Institution’s Knight forum on Geopolitics. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and a former national security professional, Slotkin focused on President Trump’s use of the military, use of force, his authoritarian playbook and how this all impacts our democracy.
Slotkin warned that amidst domestic deployments of the National Guard in American cities and strikes against unnamed terrorist groups in the Caribbean, President Trump is using a clear authoritarian playbook that could potentially include lethal force on Americans domestically, using every lever of government to go after his perceived enemies and opponents and undermining our ability to hold competitive and fair elections.
Watch and download her full speech
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
- Slotkin, herself a CIA officer and former Pentagon official, laid out how Trump had garnered so much power — running on a legitimate concern of cost of living, surrounding himself with those loyal to him, and accumulating influence.
- “There’s more than one way to lose our democracy,” she said. “I’m popping a flare today because we’re in danger of that happening here at home.” But Slotkin also found hope in the “internal barometer for things that sound and smell authoritarian” that she said Americans have.
- “Here’s what Trump hasn’t planned for: the will of the American people,” she said. “I’ve seen this in Michigan, where even ardent Trump supporters don’t like what they’re seeing.”
- “If he [Trump] keeps a secret list of groups that we’re going after in the Caribbean, are we going to also have a secret list of domestic terrorist organizations? And then what exactly is he going to do to target those organizations?” she said.
- “I don’t say this lightly, but I think between the strikes in the Caribbean, his efforts to identify domestic terrorists and his deployment of force in American cities, that seems to be where we’re headed,” Slotkin said in the speech.
Detroit Free Press: Slotkin paints dark picture of future saying Trump intends ‘to hold onto power’
- “He has one goal, making sure that he and his ilk never have to give up power,” Slotkin, D-Michigan, said in remarks delivered during a forum on international policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington.”
- Slotkin said she could see circumstances in which military strikes against cartels attempting to bring drugs into the U.S. might be valid but that the Trump administration has so far refused to either identify specifically what groups or individuals it is aiming to stop or provide a legal justification by its lawyers for doing so.
- Slotkin said it’s up to Congress and members of both parties to “reclaim our power, like yesterday, over the use of force.”
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Trump is laying the groundwork to stay in power
- While delivering remarks on international policy, Senator Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., laid out what she believes are President Trump’s plans to “never have to give up power.”
MSNBC: Deadline White House Segment
- Senator Slotkin insisted she is not being an alarmist, but in her words, popping a flare at what a fraught moment this is in our nation’s history.
MSNBC: ‘Popping a flare on authoritarianism’: Senator calls for no troops in our streets
- Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., joins Morning Joe to discuss ‘No Troops in Our Streets Act,’ which she introduced on Wednesday. Sen. Slotkin also discusses the continued government shutdown.
Ken Klippenstein: @SenatorSlotkin raises NSPM-7 at Brookings, warning of Americans being added to the terrorist watchlist: ”The secret lists are not made up of drug traffickers in international waters; it’ll be Americans on American streets and in American homes.”
The Bulwark: Sen. Slotkin: “I believe Trump is reshaping the country to hold on to power. Trump is following the same playbook as almost every authoritarian in history. The playbook is first, get elected to address legitimate issues… Once in office, surround yourself with people loyal to you, accumulate power and influence, and then start using it against your perceived enemies. But here’s the kicker…”
Michigan Public: Sen. Slotkin Says Public Deserves to Know Who is Killed in Strikes on Alleged Drug Traffickers
- Slotkin, a Democrat, says the president is refusing to identify the specific groups it’s targeting. “Whatever our differences are these days, I think it’s safe to say, that the American people deserve to know who we are at war with…especially if people are being killed in our name,” said Slotkin.
- The Senator says she is concerned the president may use similar tactics against his personal domestic opponents. “If he’s willing to use lethal force against enemies abroad…what’s stopping him using lethal force against enemies here at home,” said Slotkin, “That question should chill every American to the bone.”
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