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Elissa Slotkin says Trump ‘talked a big game’ but lacks economic plan in rebuttal speech

By Ramsey Touchberry March 5, 2025 | updated 5 months ago

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) accused President Donald Trump of parroting empty promises on the economy in the Democratic response to his second term’s first joint address to Congress.

Trump, in a defiant victory lap speech lasting roughly 100 minutes, credited his predecessor for high inflation and vowed to bring down the costs of everyday goods while previewing further economic pain from new tariffs.

“The president talked a big game on the economy, but it’s always important to read the fine print. So, do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close,” Slotkin said in live televised remarks made from her home state. “President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. 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.”

Speaking for only about 10 minutes, Slotkin sought to contrast Trump with more bipartisan overtures while still advocating that people resist Trump and his agenda that she described as a threat to things like Social Security, healthcare, and families’ bottom lines.

She assailed the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government that includes massive workforce layoffs and the slashing of government programs led by Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE as “chaotic.” She cited items like cars, groceries, energy, and lumber as all things set to increase in price at the hands of Trump’s trade wars.

“We just went through another fraught election season. Americans made it clear that prices are too high and that the government needs to be more responsive to their needs,” Slotkin said. “America wants change, but there’s a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy.”

Trump defended tariffs levied against Mexico, Canada, and China but seemed to acknowledge a forthcoming rise in prices for American consumers by saying there “will be a little disturbance.”

“But we’re OK with that. It won’t be much,” Trump added. “Look where Biden took us. Very low, the lowest we’ve ever been.”

Slotkin went on to accuse Trump of trying to “pit Americans against each other,” defying the legal system and the Constitution by ignoring court rulings, and “cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth.”

“He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions,” she said.

Slotkin is a first-term senator who won her battleground race in a pivotal state that former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump. She previously represented a swing district in the House and has at times bucked her party to tow a more centrist line.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S TARIFF THREAT AGAINST MEXICO AND CANADA

She noted that her rebuttal speech was being made from Wyandotte, Michigan, a small town south of Detroit that Trump and she both won in November.

“It might not seem like it, but plenty of places like this still exist across the United States,” Slotkin said.

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