Hi everyone,
On Tuesday, a bunch of Democratic lawmakers posted a collective video calling on members of the US Armed Forces to disobey orders that these lawmakers believe are unlawful. They called their PSA "Don't Give Up the Ship," and appealed to servicemen and women to "stand up for our laws, constitution and who we are as Americans."
Now they have 24/7 security because they are worried about backlash. In an interview with Ms. Now (MSNOW), Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who leads the charge against the executive authority in the video, said "Capitol Police came to us and said, We’re gonna put you on 24/7 security.'"
"We want to speak directly to members of the military and the intelligence community to take risks each day to keep Americans safe," they began. "We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. Americans trust their military. That trust is at risk."
They went on to say that Trump is "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.
"Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders, you can refuse illegal orders, you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution. We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant," They said.
Trump fired back on Truth Social, as these lawmakers' message was a direct attack on his power and leadership. "This is really bad," Trump said, "and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???."
"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" He said in a follow up post. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared his thoughts on the matter, saying "Stage 4 TDS."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt weighed in during a press briefing. A reporter asked if Trump's post meant he wants to "execute members of Congress."
"No," Leavitt said. But her concern was more with the original PSA than the ensuing fallout. "Let’s be clear about what the President is responding to," she said, "because many in this room want to talk about the President’s response, but not what brought the President to responding in this way."
"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," she said.
Libby