Trump Defends 'Punishable By DEATH' Threat To Democratic Lawmakers: What He Said

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

President Donald Trump defended saying that six Democratic lawmakers could face the death penalty after they made a video urging soldiers and intelligence officials to reject illegal orders.

Trump pushed back on the widespread criticism on Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" on Friday, Nov. 21. His appearance on the conservative talk show came one day after posting that the lawmakers should face arrest and possible executions.

In the interview, Trump said the posts on his social media platform Truth Social weren't direct threats.

"I'm not threatening them, but I think they're in serious trouble," he said.

Trump lashed out at the group of congressional Democrats who made a video on Tuesday, Nov. 18, telling troops and intelligence officers to defy any of Trump's unconstitutional orders. Trump blasted the lawmakers in several Truth Social posts, including one where he wrote, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"

Trump argued that he was referencing historical punishments for sedition, including a post from a Truth Social user he shared that said, "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!"

"In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death," Trump said.

Trump also said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are investigating the six lawmakers, who are either military veterans or former national security officials.

"They're looking into it militarily," said Trump. "I don't know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it, the military courts."

President Donald Trump attending an Army training exercise at Fort Bragg on June 10, 2025.

Wikimedia Commons - The White House

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin posted the video, which also included Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, along with Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania. Rep. Houlahan's district includes Berks and Chester counties, while Rep. Deluzio represents part of greater Pittsburgh.

Slotkin spoke about Trump's posts during an interview on "All In with Chris Hayes" on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) on Thursday, Nov. 20. She said US Capitol police have placed her and her colleagues under 24/7 security after they received death threats from Republicans.

The former CIA and State Department analyst also said she has received "hundreds if not at this point thousands of calls, emails, texts," and online threats.

"Leadership climate is set from the top, and if the President is saying you should be hanged, then we shouldn't be surprised when folks on the ground are going to follow suit and say even worse," said Slotkin. "I think for all of us, it has fundamentally changed our security situation."

Slotkin also said the lawmakers were directly citing several parts of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), including Article 90, which is titled "Willfully Disobeying Superior Commissioned Officer."

"The order may not, without such a valid military purpose, interfere with private rights or personal affairs," Article 90 says.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which follows the Geneva Conventions of global humanitarian law, states that service members can be held criminally responsible for following unlawful orders.

"Obeying a superior order does not relieve a subordinate of criminal responsibility if the subordinate knew that the act ordered was unlawful or should have known because of the manifestly unlawful nature of the act ordered," the committee said.

Democrats have accused Trump of giving unconstitutional orders and defying court rulings. He has deployed National Guard and federal law enforcement units to many major cities like Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Washington, DC.

Trump has argued that the deployments were needed to address crime and expand his immigration crackdown. Critics have also accused Trump of extrajudicial killings by ordering military strikes on small boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean that his administration claims are involved in drug trafficking.

Slotkin said she believes Trump wants to intimidate people from criticizing his actions.

"It doesn't change how I feel about coming on TV now and talking about it or saying what I said today," she said on MS NOW. "I think it only strengthens that. He is trying to use fear as a weapon."

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin speaking at a VoteVets town hall in Overland Park, KS, on November 12, 2025.

Facebook - Elissa Slotkin

Slotkin also suggested Trump's comments were another effort to distract from his ties to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, along with Congress approving the release of all unclassified files in Epstein's case.

"He can wield that on some, but it just doesn't work for people who have served and have done other dangerous things in our lives," she said.

Slotkin also said she "wouldn't be shocked" if a federal investigation began.

"We have to expect that the Department of Justice is doing President Trump's bidding," she said. "They're focusing on things he wants to focus on."

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump's posts, saying that the lawmakers in the video were "wildly inappropriate."