Trump escalates rhetoric, brands Democrats ‘traitors’ over military video

Donald Trump has hardened his attack on Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse illegal orders, now openly calling them “traitors” and suggesting they should be jailed.

“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 wrote late Saturday on social media. “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 comments build on a volatile moment earlier this week, when Trump appeared to endorse the death penalty for the same group.

“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he posted on Thursday, prompting immediate backlash.

The controversy centres on a 90-second video released by Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA officer, and other veterans of the military and intelligence community. In it, they warn that the Trump administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens” and remind troops of their legal right to resist unlawful commands.

“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” they say, without specifying which orders were in question.

Their message coincided with Trump’s push to deploy federal forces to Democratic-led cities, a move that has already drawn legal challenges and public protests.

One of the lawmakers featured, Chrissy Houlahan, said Trump’s rhetoric crosses a dangerous line.

“He directly, literally said that we were seditious and traitors and literally said that we should be hung. So there’s no other way to interpret that other than a call for our death,” she told CNN.

While the president insists military personnel must follow his directives as commander-in-chief, legal experts point to a constitutional reality that complicates the picture. Service members swear an oath to the Constitution, not to an individual leader, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice only penalises disobedience of “lawful orders”. International humanitarian law similarly holds that “manifestly unlawful” orders “must be disobeyed”.

Trump, however, shows no signs of retreat.

“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,” he insisted.

The episode adds another chapter to a tense political moment already marked by recent acts of violence, including the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and the killing of Democratic Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman.