President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of the Democrat lawmakers who last week urged military personnel to disregard certain orders, labeling them "traitors" and asserting they should be "in jail right now."
In a pair of late-night Truth Social posts Saturday, Trump renewed his attacks on Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and five other Democrats who sparked controversy last week with a video urging military and intelligence personnel to ignore what they claimed were "illegal orders."
"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," Trump said in the first post.
He added, "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!"
In a second post, Trump said, "Many great legal scholars agree that the democrat traitors that told the military to disobey my orders, as president, have committed a crime of serious proportion!"
The video, featuring Slotkin and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, along with Democrat Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Christopher Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, was posted to X on Tuesday.
The lawmakers repeatedly told service members, "You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders," without specifying what such orders might be.
All six Democrats previously served in the military or intelligence services.
Trump said Friday that military leaders, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth, are preparing to review the video.
"I think Pete Hegseth is looking into it. I know they're looking into it militarily," the president said. "I don't know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it, the military courts."
Trump on Thursday wrote that "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR" is "punishable by DEATH!"
At a briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was not advocating the execution of members of Congress. Still, she emphasized the gravity of the lawmakers' message.
"You have sitting members of the United States Congress ... encouraging them to defy the president's lawful orders," she said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the lawmakers' video as "wildly inappropriate" and called their message "a very dangerous thing for so-called leaders in Congress" to urge.
Johnson also said he did not believe the president was calling for violence or executions.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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