Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) broke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Tuesday address to a joint session of Congress, saying that the Democratic Party was still trying to regain its footing.
Slotkin, who gave her party’s response to Trump’s address, pushed back on Jeffries’ recent claims that Democrats had Trump and the Republicans “on the run” when it came to the major issues affecting everyday Americans.
The newly-elected Michigan Senator suggested that the opposite was true — and even when asked directly, did not give a clear answer as to who she believed was leading her party.
WATCH:
Democrat Elissa Slotkin refuses to name a leader of her own party and admits they’ve been on defense since Trump’s win:
“I don’t think it’s a secret that Democrats have been on their heels since Trump won the election, right? I don’t think that’s something hidden.” pic.twitter.com/fisicSMYpJ
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) March 9, 2025
“Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker posed the question, saying, “Since you delivered the Democratic response this week, a lot of eyes on you, senator. Who would you say is the leader of the Democratic Party right now?”
“Look, I mean, people know me. I’m pretty straightforward. I don’t think it’s a secret that Democrats have been on their heels since Trump won the election, right? I don’t think that’s, you know, something hidden,” Slotkin began.
She went on to say that the Democratic Party needed to be clearer about where the leadership was focused, but never gave any indication that she knew who those leaders might be.
“There’s lots of leaders in both parties, but also a strategy, right? And I think that’s something that as Trump has been successful in flooding the zone and just, like, every day 15 things happening,” Slotkin continued. “We are still finding our footing. And I think you can’t get better until you admit you have a problem. And for me, that’s one of the things that I think some of the new voices in the party have really been agitating about, right? New senators, new representatives, new folks who are like, ‘Hey, we need to do more. And we need to be showing that we’re actually having a plan to stand up on really important moments of inflection.’”
