On Tuesday, six Democratic members of Congress who served in the military, the intelligence community or both appeared in a video and reminded current service members that they are obligated to refuse illegal orders. As a substantive matter, they are correct: Their guidance was entirely in line with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
But as a political matter, the White House apparently doesn’t much care whether the Democratic veterans are correct or not.
Two days after the release of the video, Donald Trump posted an item to his social media platform that accused the lawmakers of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR,” adding, “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. … An example MUST BE SET.” That was soon followed by a related message that read in part, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
In case that was a hair too subtle, the Republican added, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and then amplified an online message written by someone else, who wrote, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders condemned the president’s hysterics and said they had spoken with Capitol Police about members’ safety due to increased threats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor, “He has made political violence a feature of his politics, and if we don’t draw a line here, there’s no line left to draw.”
The New York Democrat added, “When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen. He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline.” (Schumer also said that he’d asked the Capitol Police to provide “special protection” for the veteran senators who appeared in the video.)
Those wondering how in the world Republicans might try to defend such madness didn’t have to wait too long.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, told reporters that Democrats reminding servicemembers to reject illegal orders was “beyond the pale” and “wildly inappropriate.” The Louisiana Republican didn’t say why — and he refused to criticize the president’s radical rhetoric.
Soon after, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Democratic veterans had encouraged military personnel to “defy the chain of command” — the video in question included no such message — before adding that the White House wants to see the lawmakers “held accountable.”
She did not say when, how or by whom.
As the briefing continued, Leavitt went on to claim that the Democratic lawmakers had directed servicemember to defy “lawful orders,” although that is clearly untrue. When told that she was misquoting the Democratic veterans, the president’s chief spokesperson ended her press briefing. Taking a step back, there is a degree of irony to the circumstances: The Democrats’ warning was rooted in concerns about Trump’s willingness to abuse his authority, to which he responded by proving their point. Or as my MS NOW colleague Zeeshan Aleem summarized, “Trump’s response — seemingly calling for a violence in response to free speech — only confirms that lawmakers are right to be concerned about whom this president would deploy the military against.” This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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