Sen Slotkin warns that Trump will start killing domestic enemies like he's blown up boats

[LymphocyteLover]

Important speech:

I know a lot of you are here to
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talk about the forthcoming national
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security strategy, national defense
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strategy, America's role in the world.
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um very timely discussion since the word
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on the street is those strategies are
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being rewritten and reoriented to focus
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on homeland defense rather than
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competition with China and those kinds
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of things. Sounds reasonable enough. Uh
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but here's the thing. In 2025, homeland
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threats aren't being defined by the
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Pentagon or based on what the
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intelligence community deems are
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greatest threats. They are being
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determined by one man, Donald Trump, and
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Donald Trump alone. and he is showing
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the world just how willing he is to use
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force against his enemies. Now, our
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system is set up to give the president,
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any president, real power to make
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decisions on national security and
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foreign policy. And that's because when
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it comes to keeping us safe from attack,
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a commander-in-chief needs the power to
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make quick decisions. Um, as someone who
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b worked in both a Republican um White
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House and a Democratic White House, I
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saw these critical decisions made up
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close. You need the power to act when
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it's about life and death. But Trump has
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laid out a whole lot of enemies that are
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American citizens. And if he's willing
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to use lethal force against enemies
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abroad, as we've been seeing, what's
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stopping him from using lethal force
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against enemies here at home? That
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question should chill every American to
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the bone. And I'm giving this speech
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today because I believe that's exactly
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the plan. I believe that Trump is ready
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to bring the full weight of the federal
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government against Americans he
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perceives as enemies. Why? Because he
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has one goal. Making sure that he and
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his ilk never have to give up power.
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Now, to be clear, I don't say this
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lightly, but I think between the strikes
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in the Caribbean, his efforts to
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identify domestic terrorists, and his
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deployment of force in American cities,
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that seems to be where we're headed.
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So, I want to start with what's
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happening in the Caribbean. Let's review
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the bidding. Since early September,
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Trump administration has announced
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attacks on 14 ships. They've killed 57
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people. The Trump administration
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notified Congress that we, as Americans,
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are in armed conflict with a number of
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cartels, which they have called
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designate designated terrorist
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organizations. They argue that the
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strikes are fair game because the boats
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are filled with drugs being smuggled
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into American cities. On the surface,
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this makes sense to a lot of Americans,
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and I'm actually sympathetic to going
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after these types of groups given what
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drugs do to Michiganders every day. But
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here's what's different about the
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strikes and what's precedent setting.
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The president and Secretary Hegsth are
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refusing to tell the American people who
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we are fighting. They won't tell us the
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names and they won't tell us why they're
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being targeted. Few weeks ago, the
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Senate Armed Services Committee, the
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committee I sit on, received a briefing
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on these strikes. During the briefing,
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members from both sides of the aisle,
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asked the Defense Department for the
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name and number of the organizations
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that the United States is currently at
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war with. They refused to provide it. We
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asked for a copy of the memo from the
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Justice Department that lays out the
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legal case for these strikes. They
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refused to provide it. Whatever our
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differences are these days, I think it's
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safe to say that the American people
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deserve to know who we are at war with,
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especially if people are being killed in
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our name. And just for reference, for
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those of us who worked on the global war
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on terror, we named the groups we were
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going after. Think about al-Qaeda or
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ISIS. Congress knew the name of every
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targeted group. The administration at
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the time provided the intelligence that
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justified going after these groups. and
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why it was legal to do so.
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But as much concern as I have about the
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Caribbean strikes, it's nothing compared
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to my concern concern over Trump's full
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reorientation towards the quote enemy
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within. That reorientation has major
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implications for his use of force inside
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the United States. Last month, the
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president quietly put out an executive
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order directing the Department of
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Justice to create a list of quote
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domestic terrorist organizations.
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The order lays out a broad definition
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groups that are accused of
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anti-Americanism,
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anti- capitalism, anti-Christianity,
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or hostility towards those who hold
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quote traditional American views on
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family, religion, or morality.
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And these groups don't have to be
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violent to get themselves on the list.
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The order suggested that the DOJ could
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look at chat groups, in-person meetings,
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social media, and even schools.
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To be clear, US law on domestic
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terrorism is squishy, mostly because of
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the First Amendment. But it seems clear
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from his own order that Trump plans to
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see how far he can stretch the law
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before someone tells him no. And if the
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administration won't publicly name drug
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cartels in the Caribbean, you can bet
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that they're not going to tell you the
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name of this new list of domestic
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terrorist organizations.
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Only this time, the secret lists are not
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made up of drug traffickers in
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international waters. It'll be Americans
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on American streets and in American
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homes. So, let's play it out. What
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happens to the people on the secret
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list?
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The next logical step is that the
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president would use the full power of
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the federal government to target those
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American citizens. In theory, people on
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this list could be wiretapped, their
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homes could be searched, or they could
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be arrested just for disagreeing with
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President Trump's agenda.
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I never thought I'd have to lay this out
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about my own government.
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This is the kind of stuff that is
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fundamentally unamerican and strikes at
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the heart of who we are as a people.
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And we've already seen anecdotal
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evidence that this is happening.