Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a prominent figure within the Democratic Party and a rising star in the Senate, has publicly criticized her party’s approach to economic messaging since the Biden administration took office in 2021. In an interview with the New York Times’ ‘The Opinions’ podcast, Slotkin expressed frustration over the repeated insistence by Democrats that the economy was performing well, despite the economic struggles faced by many Americans. She argued that this messaging made voters feel ‘stupid,’ a sentiment that she believed stemmed from a broader disconnect between the party’s economic narrative and the lived realities of ordinary citizens, particularly in her home state of Michigan.
Slotkin, who was elected to the Senate in 2022, supported many of President Biden’s economic policies as a member of Congress. However, she has become increasingly critical of the party’s ability to address the tangible effects of inflation and wage stagnation. In her remarks, she emphasized that while Democrats did pass significant economic legislation, their failure to adequately communicate the benefits of these policies and to acknowledge the economic pain experienced by many Americans was a significant misstep. ‘We did pass a bunch of things, but we also spent a good year plus after the pandemic explaining to people that the economy wasn’t as bad as they thought,’ she said. ‘Saying things like: This Harvard economist says that G.D.P. is the highest, bah, bah, bah.’ This frustration, she suggested, was amplified by the party’s apparent indifference to the real-world impacts of economic data, particularly in areas where the economy was clearly struggling.
The senator’s comments come amid a broader wave of criticism within the Democratic Party over its messaging and priorities. Slotkin expressed particular frustration with what she described as the party’s overreliance on academic data and its tendency to dismiss the everyday concerns of voters. ‘That was annoying and was our fault,’ she said. She argued that this disconnect was not only harmful to the party’s image but also to its ability to effectively address the economic concerns of its base. Slotkin’s remarks were part of a larger pattern of criticism within the Democratic Party, including recent attacks on the party’s focus on identity politics, a term she has described as being used by the party’s critics to describe its perceived abandonment of economic issues.
Slotkin’s comments have also drawn attention to her broader role within the Democratic Party. She rose to national prominence in March 2023 when she delivered the Democratic response to President Trump’s congressional address, a speech that highlighted her willingness to challenge the Republican narrative. Since then, she has continued to be a vocal critic of the party’s strategies and messaging. In April, she gave a speech in Lansing where she urged the Democratic Party to ‘f—ing retake the flag’ and stop being ‘weak and woke,’ although she later clarified that the terms were not her own but rather focus group descriptions of the party’s image in Michigan. These remarks have sparked significant media attention and are being seen as a sign of growing frustration within the Democratic establishment over its messaging and priorities.