Democrat Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin threatens to rain down “a ton of problems” on, and to “go after,” President Donald Trump’s supporters, enablers – and young people considering working for his administration – in a viral video of her recent remarks at the University of Chicago.
The Democrat’s threats during an October 13 appearance at an “America, Actually!” event went viral Saturday when The Chicago Thinker posted a short clip from her interview on social media. The full hour and fourteen minute interview is posted on the Institute’s YouTube account.
Sen. Slotkin told her interviewer that she wants to use what she called “signature cases” – such as the administration’s construction of a ballroom replacing the White House’s dilapidated East Wing – to target anyone who supported Trump:
“I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him.”
It’s easier to prosecute Trump’s supporters, because they don’t have the president’s immunity, Slotnik noted in the interview:
“Pick those signature cases and go hard on accountability. Not just Trump, right? Because, of course, there will be moments of ‘Let’s go after Trump himself.’ As someone who voted to impeach him twice, he’s still there, right?
“But the people around Donald Trump who are doing his bidding and enabling this have no such immunity. They have no immunity the way the president does. And to me, he couldn’t do any of this stuff, without all of those people saluting and supporting it. So you go after the people who do his bidding.”
The Democrat senator said she also wants to intimidate young people who might be thinking of working for the Trump Administration – by sending them a “deterrence message”:
“I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump Administration? Like, that sounds fun; I might get an opportunity.’
“I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that may be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want and so let me avoid participating in that.’
“I want that deterrence message sent."
ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes planned political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare young conservatives from getting involved in politics.@ElissaSlotkin pic.twitter.com/p7NBJpDcQW
— The Chicago Thinker (@ThinkerChicago) October 17, 2026
Sen. Slotnik said her top priority is “effectiveness”:
“I am into effectiveness. And, if we have the House, but not the Senate, I don’t have a ton of faith that my Republican colleagues are going to have any more strength. So, that’s what I’m saying.”
Scott Kupor, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which manages the federal government’s civilian workforce, called Slotkin’s comments "disappointing and unprofessional."
"This is incredibly disappointing and unprofessional coming from a U.S. senator — endorsing political prosecutions to dissuade patriotic Americans from serving their country," U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor wrote in a post reacting to the Chicago Thinker clip on X.com:
“In contrast, we at OPM believe in recruiting the best and brightest early-career prospects. Join us at http://earlycareers.gov."
While the Chicago Thinker's video clip of Slotkin's comments was widely shared on X.com and by conservative media, drawing millions of views, it was completely ignored on Sunday shows on ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN.
