President Donald Trump has ramped up his attacks on Democratic lawmakers who posted a video last week urging members of the Armed Forces to refuse “illegal” orders from his administration.
Trump called for the representatives and senators concerned to be jailed in a pair of late-night Truth Social posts Saturday, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” having previously argued that they should face the death penalty.
The president also shared posts on his platform from users referring to the opposition as the “Domestic Terrorist party” and to the lawmakers as “traitorous communists.”
Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly have insisted they will not be intimidated while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called Trump’s comments “bizarre, erratic and volatile” and questioned his mental health.
Zohran Mamdani has meanwhile said that he still believes that the president is a “fascist” and “despot,” just days after the two politicians enjoyed a surprisingly cordial first meeting at the White House.
“Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” the mayor-elect of New York City told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, adding: “I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.”
US senator slams Republicans’ silence on Trump’s violent threats to Democrats
Senator Mark Kelly on Sunday urged congressional Republicans to publicly reject Trump’s threats against him and five other Democratic lawmakers who stated that military personnel are not obligated to follow illegal commands.
“We’ve heard very little, basically crickets, from Republicans in the United States Congress about what the president has said about hanging members of Congress,” Kelly, of Arizona, said on CBS’s Face the Nation.
Kelly noted that both Donald Trump and Republican legislators had previously asked Democrats to moderate their language after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September, asking: “What happened to that?”
“His words carry tremendous weight, more so than anybody else in the country, and he should be aware of that, and because of what he says, there is now increased threats against us,” Kelly said of Trump’s accusations.
