The author is an attorney and partner at Goodman Acker law firm in Southfield and an elected officer-at-large of Michigan Democratic Party. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an Independent for governor in 2026.
By Barry J. Goodman
When the President of the United States threatens to execute our Senator, silence doesn’t represent neutrality, it represents complicity.
Mike Duggan (Campaign photo)
The threats of violence made by President Trump against U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and members of Congress are disgusting and wrong.
Political violence has no place in our state or nation and these threats must be wholeheartedly condemned at every opportunity. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Michigan leaders rightfully come to Sen. Slotkin’s defense by denouncing the President’s rhetoric and calling for him to lower the temperature.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote that “in America, we do not target or threaten our political opponents with violence.”
“As governor, I have always called out political violence or rhetoric no matter where it comes from and who it targets,” the Governor wrote. “That’s what we all must do. We can disagree friendly, but we must always center our mutual respect for one another.”
Gov. Whitmer is spot on. Every American, no matter their political stripe or affiliation, should condemn these vile threats.
But Mike Duggan didn’t do that.
Duggan had an easy opportunity recently while on WXYZ's 'Spotlight on the News" to condemn the President’s rhetoric and denounce political violence. He could’ve given a full-throated defense of Sen. Slotkin and urged the President to lower the temperature. He did not, and instead just said that he’s “not going to get involved in the national debate.”
When his spokesperson was approached by the Detroit Metro Times, Duggan had another opportunity to condemn the President’s threats.
Instead he doubled down on his deflection, with his staff answering that Duggan “is running for state office, not federal office” and that it is his practice “to stick to state issues.”
Despite Duggan’s assertion, the President of the United States threatening to execute our Senator is a state issue. It affects every constituent she represents, every Michigan family relying on her to fight for them in Washington, and every citizen who deserves leaders willing to defend our norms. And as governor, you don’t get to pick and choose what issues you engage on.
Leadership is often tested in moments of moral clarity. This was one of them. The question wasn’t complicated. The answer required no policy expertise, no political calculation—just a willingness to say that threatening to harm a public servant in our state is wrong. Duggan couldn’t do it.
That’s not the kind of leadership we need from someone who wants to govern our state.
