Elissa Slotkin is on Trump’s List… and She’s Fighting Back

Elissa Slotkin arrived in New York City as a student one day before 9/11—and before the smoke cleared, she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She went on to serve in the CIA, did three tours in Iraq, and worked in the White House under two presidents: one Republican and one Democrat.

Michigan voters elected Senator Slotkin to the US Senate in 2024—the same night Donald Trump carried the state. She won in part by winning in places Kamala Harris couldn’t. And her tenure in the Senate has been defined by a willingness to take on powerful interests and stick up for what she believes in. After Senator Slotkin and other intelligence and military veterans made a public statement reminding American troops that they can refuse illegal orders, President Trump accused her of sedition. Lately she's also been taking on what she sees as the failures of her own party.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Senator Slotkin in Washington, DC, about how her mother's illness and the AIDS crisis shaped her politics, what she means when she says Democrats need more alpha energy, and why she wants a crowded 2028 primary.

#ElissaSlotkin #MidwestPolitics #DemocraticParty

IN THIS EPISODE:

0:00 — Cold Open and Introduction

1:39 — Why Slotkin keeps showing up in the Midwest

6:04 — How her mother shaped her politics

13:44 — From 9/11 and the CIA to elected office

16:02 — The illegal-orders video and the threats that followed

21:09 — “Alpha energy” and the “happy warrior” trap

24:15 — Calling “balls and strikes” on Israel and Lebanon