Senate Democrat Elissa Slotkin Remains Silent on Past Comments About Trump Guard 'Shooting' Claims Following DC Attack
Senator Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has remained tight-lipped about her previous statements regarding the need for government officials to push back against President Donald Trump's orders if he were to order military personnel to fire on civilians. This comes after a shooting in Washington D.C. that left one National Guard member dead and another critically injured.
Slotkin's alarm about the National Guard and other federal troops originally stemmed from comments President Trump allegedly made to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper during his first term. According to Slotkin, Trump allegedly asked Esper to send in the 82 Airborne into Washington D.C. to quell peaceful protests, adding that if necessary, Trump could say 'shoot at their legs' - a comment Esper later included in his book "A Sacred Oath".
Trump has denied ever making such a statement. However, this alleged comment prompted Slotkin and other Democrat lawmakers to release a video earlier this month, calling for service members to not give up the ship and urging them to disregard illegal orders.
The FBI has identified the shooter behind the DC attack as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is in custody facing first-degree murder charges. The bureau describes his attack as targeted, investigating it as an act of terrorism.
Slotkin and her Democratic colleagues are now facing a reversal of their earlier concerns about Trump's use of federal troops, following the DC attack.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has remained tight-lipped about her previous statements regarding the need for government officials to push back against President Donald Trump's orders if he were to order military personnel to fire on civilians. This comes after a shooting in Washington D.C. that left one National Guard member dead and another critically injured.
Slotkin's alarm about the National Guard and other federal troops originally stemmed from comments President Trump allegedly made to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper during his first term. According to Slotkin, Trump allegedly asked Esper to send in the 82 Airborne into Washington D.C. to quell peaceful protests, adding that if necessary, Trump could say 'shoot at their legs' - a comment Esper later included in his book "A Sacred Oath".
Trump has denied ever making such a statement. However, this alleged comment prompted Slotkin and other Democrat lawmakers to release a video earlier this month, calling for service members to not give up the ship and urging them to disregard illegal orders.
The FBI has identified the shooter behind the DC attack as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is in custody facing first-degree murder charges. The bureau describes his attack as targeted, investigating it as an act of terrorism.
Slotkin and her Democratic colleagues are now facing a reversal of their earlier concerns about Trump's use of federal troops, following the DC attack.
. Given what happened in D.C. and how she initially spoke out against Trump's orders, you'd think she'd be all over this like a bad habit 
. Don't get me wrong, the DC attack was sickening, but I'm still skeptical about her sudden silence on this issue 
. Wasn't she just last month saying service members should stand down if Trump gave orders that went against the law? Now, it's like she's conveniently forgotten all about it 
. The FBI identifying the shooter as a terrorist doesn't change my mind - we still need to have this conversation about accountability and who gives orders in times of crisis 
.
. But can't we just talk about this stuff? It feels like our leaders are too scared to speak up, especially when it comes to things like Trump's orders. What if he tries to do something crazy again? We need people like Slotkin who'll call out his behavior 
. I'm still not convinced that Trump didn't make those comments, though 
.
doesn't add up imo. maybe she's trying to save her skin for 2026 elections? 
... I get that politicians gotta keep their cool, but it feels like she's not owning up to what really happened here. I'm kinda surprised the FBI is calling it terrorism - seems like they got some solid evidence. Trump's denying the whole thing, but if he did say something stupid, shouldn't Slotkin be speaking out about it now? Guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out... *shrugs*
. It's hard to know what to believe anymore. Trump denied making those comments, but if he did... it's like, how could you just ask someone to order in troops to quell protests? It feels so extreme 
I'm kinda surprised that Elissa Slotkin isn't talking about this more, considering how big of a deal her initial comments were back in 2019 
. It's not like Trump is gonna start sending troops into peaceful protests anytime soon 
. But hey, politics can be weird 
. Given the recent DC attack and the FBI describing it as a targeted act of terrorism 
, one might expect her to reiterate her stance against such orders in light of new information. The fact that she hasn't spoken out raises concerns about her commitment to protecting American citizens from harm 
. Regardless, this situation highlights the need for clear communication and consistency in the face of uncertainty 
.
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. It's almost as if they're being forced to reevaluate their stance 
.
this is kinda weird considering how serious she was about trump's comments before... was it because she didn't want to be seen as being against trump even after what happened in dc? 
It's crazy how fast the narrative can shift. One minute you're calling out Trump's alleged orders to shoot at protesters, and the next you're all like "oh wait, maybe we shouldn't be worried about that after all"... 
. There are a lot of factors at play here, and it's hard to know what's really going on 
when it comes to taking a stance on something that should've been a major concern for her as a senator 
. We need more transparency and accountability from lawmakers on issues like this 
.