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Top Democrats in Congress on Thursday sharply rebuked President Donald Trump after he posted on social media that Democratic lawmakers who urged military service members to reject illegal orders should be arrested and face trial for “seditious behavior,” language the president later escalated by reposting comments calling for their execution.
In a series of posts, Trump wrote that the lawmakers’ statements were “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and boosted another message declaring, “HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking from the Senate floor, said the president’s comments represented “an outright threat” to elected officials and called the rhetoric “deadly serious.”
“The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials,” Schumer said. “Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior. He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline.”
Trump’s comments targeted a video featuring Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire. The lawmakers—veterans and former national security officials—urged military and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders” in defense of the Constitution.
In a joint statement, the group said the president’s response revealed “what’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law.”
“This isn’t about any one of us,” they added. “This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.”
Slotkin, in a separate video, said she hoped “people of all backgrounds — Democrat, Republican, Independent — would agree that threatening death for people you disagree with is beyond the pale of who we are as Americans.”
“I refuse to be intimidated out of defending the country I love,” she said.
Houlahan, in an interview, described the president’s words as “a different brand of political violence and political retribution,” adding that Trump had directly called for the death of “six members of Congress.”
Schumer told reporters he requested special Capitol Police protection for Slotkin and Kelly, saying “every American, regardless of party,” should condemn the remarks “immediately and without qualification.”
“If we don’t draw a line here, there is no line left to draw,” Schumer said. “Anything less enables the flames of hatred to grow and spread.”
House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement calling Trump’s remarks “disgusting and dangerous death threats,” urging Republicans to condemn them as well. They said they were in contact with the House Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure the safety of the targeted lawmakers and their families.
“Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar.
House Speaker Mike Johnson initially declined to criticize the president’s language, instead saying it is “wildly inappropriate” for lawmakers to encourage military personnel to disobey orders.
