It was less than five years ago that Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) made a pitch to young students to “really consider public service as a career.” The Michigan Democrat addressed a crowd of students at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy in 2022, explaining that to do so would be “one of the most fulfilling things you can do with your time.”

… As long as you don’t work for President Donald Trump, that is. At a University of Chicago event last week, the senator shared her disdain for the youth in America who might be interested in serving the current political leadership.

“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,” Slotkin stated, but not before continuing, “I want them to be like, Lord, that might 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.” Slotkin also added that she wants to “look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him,” referring to the possibility of pursuing legal action.

A firestorm of online chatter ensued, criticizing the former CIA analyst for her comments.

Harrison Fields, a former fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, took to X to express his concern, “[As] someone who had the privilege of serving in the Trump White House twice, I find this deeply troubling. The Institute of Politics should be a place where young people are encouraged to engage in public service, regardless of political affiliation.”

“The suggestion that political prosecutions should serve as a warning to the next generation of conservatives is the exact opposite of what an institution dedicated to civic engagement should stand for. We should be inspiring the next generation to serve their country, not intimidating them into silence,” he added

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) described Slotkin’s message as “chilling,” posting, “Intimidate conservatives into silence. Weaponize politics and threaten prosecution for those working on the ‘wrong’ side. That’s the chilling message coming from a U.S. Senator from my home state. This is Communist Crazy.”

This isn’t the first “deterrence message” conservatives and even Christians have heard from the Left when it comes to being active in the political arena.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered for his beliefs and conservative values,” conservative commentator and activist Riley Gaines penned on X. “Senator Slotkin wants that to be a message of deterrence for young people. Tell me again who the fascists are…”

Chris Gacek, senior fellow for Regulatory Affairs at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand that he agrees with Gaines. “I don’t think Riley Gaines is off the mark here, and I’ll tell you why. The Left has an entire philosophy of speech suppression and thought tyranny. Slotkin doesn’t want you to think. She herself thinks like a communist. It’s all about suppression of speech. It’s about the notion of ostracizing people.”

“What Riley Gaines is basically pointing out is that if all the other means of debanking and prosecuting people don’t work, and you don’t get the message, the Left resorts to violence,” Gacek continued. “This is the speech suppression apparatus of the Left. Slotkin is basically saying, ‘We are going to use prosecutorial power as a deterrent,’ so that the Right can’t get younger people to work in government with them. And that doesn't sound very legit, unless you’re a communist.”