The White House defended remarks by President Donald Trump on Thursday, attempting to temper his suggestion that Democratic lawmakers could be punished by death for their public message urging members of the military to refuse unlawful orders.
President Trump on Thursday morning reacted to a video message from a group of Democratic lawmakers, who asked members of the military to refuse illegal orders.
"This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT"
"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" The president wrote in a follow-up message.
During a press briefing Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that the President does not want to execute members of Congress.
"Let's be clear about what the President is responding to, because many in this room want to talk about the President's response, but not what brought the president to responding in this way," Leavitt said. "You have sitting members of the United States Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the United States military, to active duty service members, to members of the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the President's lawful orders."
"The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command. And if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed. It can lead to chaos. And that's what these members of Congress, who swore an oath to abide by the Constitution, are essentially encouraging," Leavitt said.
"We have 1.3 [million] active duty service members in this country, and if they hear this radical message from sitting members of Congress that could inspire chaos, and it could incite violence, and it certainly could disrupt the chain of command."
What the Lawmakers’ Video Said
On Tuesday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Chris Deluzio and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan posted a message on social media.
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
In it, they collectively warned that threats to the U.S. Constitution — which members of the military swear an oath to defend and protect — "aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home."
"Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders," the message continues. "You must refuse illegal orders."
The message did not give specific examples of unlawful orders or say specifically where they might come from.
