Topline
House Democratic leaders condemned President Donald Trump for suggesting lawmakers who put out a video urging military members to “refuse illegal orders” could be punished by death, calling the president’s posts Thursday “disgusting and dangerous.”
President Donald Trump arrives to welcome Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., demanded Trump “immediately delete” his posts warning a group of Democrats who put out the video that “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” is “punishable by DEATH!”
Trump must “recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed,” the Democratic leaders said in a statement.
Trump also reposted several Truths from other users attacking Democrats who appeared in the video, including one that said “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
In the video, posted Tuesday and titled “Don’t give up the ship,” the six Democrats, led by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former C.I.A. analyst, said, “this administration is pitting our uniform military and intelligence community against American citizens.”
“You must refuse illegal orders,” Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., a Navy veteran, said in the video.
The lawmakers do not say specify what orders military members should defy in the video, but Slotkin told The New York Times she has heard from military members concerned about strikes on alleged narcotics traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, which critics have questioned whether the military has the evidence or authority to justify the attacks.
Cheif Critic
“We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same,” the Democratic leaders said in a statement, adding that they’ve been in contact with the House Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police to ensure the members’ safety.