Topline
President Donald Trump suggested Democratic lawmakers who put out a video urging military members to “refuse illegal orders” could be punished “by DEATH” in a series of Truth Social posts Thursday, calling them “traitors” and accusing them of “seditious behavior.”
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
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump wrote in one of several posts ranting against the video, which he called “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country.”
He also reposted several Truths from other users criticizing 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.
Slotkin, and other Democrats, have also criticized the administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to multiple cities this year to crack down on crime and protests.
Crucial Quote
“What does this mean for their future if they find out later that they did this without legal justification?” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a Navy veteran and former astronaut who also appeared in the video, told NBC News recently, referring to military members who participated in the boat strikes, adding “it puts them in legal jeopardy at some point.”