President Trump accused a group of Democratic lawmakers of sedition in an outburst on social media Thursday morning and said their behavior was “punishable by death.”
Their crime? Recording a video that reminded members of the military that they are not supposed to obey illegal orders.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Mr. Trump wrote in one post. He shared a different post, written by another person, that said: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
The video that enraged the president had been put out online two days ago by six Democratic lawmakers, all of whom had served in either the military or intelligence community themselves.
One was Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who served in the Navy and is a former astronaut. “Our laws are clear,” he said in the video. “You can refuse illegal orders.”
Another participant was Representative Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, who also served in the Navy. “You must refuse illegal orders,” he said in the video.
The Democratic lawmakers’ message did not focus on a specific order or scenario, but Trump administration officials have said the lawmakers were encouraging the military to rebel against its commander in chief. As a standard part of their training, members of the military are told that they should refuse to carry out illegal orders.At a briefing for reporters, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said “no” when asked if the president wants to execute members of Congress.
She added: “If this were Republican members of Congress who were encouraging members of the military and members of our United States government to defy orders from the president and from the chain of command, this entire room would be up in arms. But instead it is the other way around, and I think that’s quite telling.”
The video was organized by Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former C.I.A. analyst who served in Iraq.
Mr. Trump has flexed his power over the military during his second term and his attempts to politicize the armed forces have become more overt. He gave a nakedly political address to military leaders and has sent troops into cities around the country. All of which surely contributed to why the Democrats made their video.
And Ms. Slotkin told The New York Times earlier this week that she’d been hearing from active-duty troops concerned about the legality of strikes that targeted people accused of drug-smuggling by the Trump administration.
Mr. Trump’s series of posts about the video on Thursday accused Ms. Slotkin and her fellow Democrats of traitorous conduct. One of his posts carried his signature sign-off which usually indicates he was the actual author of the post as opposed to an aide. It read: “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT.”
Mr. Trump’s posts appeared at a moment when he is beset by challenges on many sides. His administration is aflame over the Jeffrey Epstein saga; he is contending with a revolt from some of the most loyal members of his party and portions of his political base; and his poll numbers have dipped considerably.
His posts instantly triggered an uproar in Washington.
The six Democrats who produced the video put out a joint statement which read, in part: “What’s most telling is that the president considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our service members should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.”
Asked about the president’s post that the Democratic lawmakers had committed a crime punishable by death, the Republican Senate majority leader, John Thune, said: “I don’t agree with that.”
Mr. Thune also criticized the Democrats who made the video. “Obviously everybody has a First Amendment right,” he said. “What they did was ill advised, provocative and unnecessary.”
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the Senate, condemned the president’s threats from the floor of the senate and called on members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to do the same.
“Let’s be crystal clear, the president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials,” Mr. Schumer said. “This is an outright threat, and it’s deadly serious.”
He added: “Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior.”
Mr. Trump’s posts about imprisonment and death by hanging were difficult to square with his recent calls to lower the temperature of political rhetoric in this country. After the conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was murdered in September, Mr. Trump asked in an Oval Office address for “all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died — the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.”
Mr. Trump said then that it was “long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”
That spirit of free speech and the rule of law was hard to detect in president’s posts and messages he decided to repost Tuesday. He shared one that said, “Indict all of them.”
“Traitors,” said another.
The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro — whose home was firebombed on Passover this year — criticized the president on social media.
“He is actively encouraging political violence once again, ratcheting up the real risk of danger to our elected leaders and deepening the divides in our country,” Mr. Shapiro wrote. “The sycophants and enablers the President surrounds himself with are quick to condemn language like this when it suits their political purposes — but in moments like this, they remain silent.”
The Democrats’ video had already been the object of much indignation among conservatives before the president weighed in. The White House policy czar Stephen Miller had shared the video the day it was published, writing: “Democrat lawmakers are now openly calling for insurrection.”
Megan Mineiro contributed reporting.
Shawn McCreesh is a White House reporter for The Times covering the Trump administration.
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