Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) admitted on national television Sunday that she has seen no evidence of illegal orders coming from the White House, just days after starring in a controversial video encouraging U.S. troops to disobey commands they deem unlawful.
The admission came during a tense exchange on ABC’s This Week, where host Martha Raddatz pressed the senator on the substance behind her viral campaign. While Slotkin and a group of Democratic veterans framed their message as a constitutional refresher, critics have slammed the move as dangerous political theater designed to sow confusion and insubordination within the military chain of command.
“To my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal,” Slotkin conceded when asked point-blank if President Trump had issued unlawful directives.
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Despite the lack of evidence, Slotkin defended the video—which implies the Commander-in-Chief is rogue—by citing vague “legal gymnastics” regarding military posturing in the Caribbean and Venezuela. She could not provide a single instance where the administration violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
President Trump responded to the Democrats’ video with fury over the weekend, accusing the lawmakers of “seditious behavior” for undermining military discipline. While Slotkin claimed Sunday that the President’s rhetoric has forced her to ramp up security due to threats, she largely sidestepped questions about the propriety of suggesting the President is acting criminally without proof.
“It implies that the president is having illegal orders, which you have not seen,” Raddatz pointed out, noting the murkiness of telling young service members to question their superiors based on political narratives.
Slotkin attempted to pivot away from the lack of specifics, characterizing the President’s response as a “tool of fear” and trying to shift the conversation to the economy and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“He’s trying to get us to shut up because he doesn’t want to be talking about this,” Slotkin argued, deflecting from the fact that the White House has maintained every order given to the military has been lawful.
Republicans have rallied against the video, with Senator Lindsey Graham calling it “unconscionable” to cast doubt on the chain of command without specific examples.
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