Senator bashes MAGA's 'manufactured outrage' over potential criminal probes: 'How toxic'

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) has been facing personal and increasingly threatening attacks from Republicans, following her remarks at the University of Chicago that she hopes Democratic investigations of Trump will be a “deterrent” to young people joining the administration.

Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday, she clarified what she meant — and condemned the Republicans making threats against her.

Tapper began with a quote from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who wrote on X, "It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country." "What's your response to that? Do you think your comments are deterring qualified young people from public service?"

Slotkin, a former CIA officer, dismissed Lee's post as "manufactured outrage."

"My point is, do not get yourself involved in illegal activity ... that was the point I was trying to make," Slotkin said.

Slotkin also had some words for far-right activist Mike Davis, who proclaimed that if she uses her "CIA tactics" to intimidate young MAGA activists, she "will learn why we have the Second Amendment."

"Threatening the Second Amendment is threatening for someone to get shot," said Slotkin. "And I think there's been plenty of people, Democrat and Republican, who would say, 'Can we just not threaten violence against each other for our words?' He's certainly precipitated a whole wave of threats against myself ... this is someone who Donald Trump thought of as a potential Attorney General and then luckily thought better of it."

"But I just think that this is kind of part and parcel of this toxic culture of threatening violence because you disagree with someone," she added. "This guy's just threatening violence ... Imagine what kids think about when they're just scrolling Twitter. My nieces and nephews, and they see someone threaten violence because of words. It shows you how toxic these people have become online."

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