On Nov. 18, six Democratic lawmakers came together to encourage the U.S. military and intelligence community to remain faithful to the Constitution, and only the Constitution. The second part is what drove Donald Trump off the edge, and he took it all out on Truth Social.
To ensure the military doesn’t become an administration’s personal weapon, six Democrats recorded a video message a week ago. “We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution,” the caption read. The effort came under the lead of Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who’s also a former C.I.A. analyst.
Joining her in the video were Senator Mark Kelly, Rep. Chris Deluzio, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, and Rep. Jason Crow. All of them had previously served either in the military or intelligence units of the United States. Their message was simple: “You must refuse illegal orders.” What do illegal orders mean? Orders that violate the law or our Constitution.
The message came in light of how the current administration is weaponizing military and intelligence officers against American citizens. “The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the lawmakers said. They then reminded the officer how they all “swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution.” But Trump didn’t like the sound of that.
What did Trump reply to the Democratic lawmakers’ video?
The president made a series of posts and re-posts on Truth Social on Nov. 20, expressing his disapproval of the message. But it wasn’t just an “I don’t like the message” post. He made several consecutive posts and re-posts full of violent remarks and threats.
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!!,” his first post read.
The post was followed by a series of retruths, which labeled the lawmakers “terrorists” and “traitors.” They called for their “dishonorable discharge,” “arrest for sedition,” and indictment. Disgustingly, one even wrote, “every one of them should be frog marched out of their homes at 3:00 AM with FOX News cameras filming.” But it didn’t end there. On retruth read, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
Did Trump make death threats?
The President shamelessly reported violent calls from common people, and, inspired by them, made a similar post. He first wrote “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” before outrageously asking for the death penalty. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!,” he wrote. Now, even a week after the incident, he’s still mad about it.
On Nov. 23, he again posted about the videos, saying that “many great legal scholars” have agreed with him that the democratic lawmakers who “told the military to disobey” his orders as president, “have committed a crime of serious proportion.” He then made another post in his signature all-caps rage:
“THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK. IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE! IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!”
The Democrats’ reply to Trump
On the other side, the democrats remain unfazed with his tactics. Sen. Elissa Slotkin posted a joint statement from the lawmakers on Nov. 20 on X, stating, “No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us.” They also called Trump’s posts “calls for our murder and political violence,” arguing that the “President considers it punishable by death” to restate the law.
The statement also reiterated their video message for the military and intelligence:
“Our servicemembers 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.”
Their stance is clear. They are not one bit intimidated by Trump’s malicious posts and stand by their previous message.
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