Karoline Leavitt Pressed About Trump Saying Democrats Committed Crimes ‘Punishable By Death’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was confronted on Thursday about President Donald Trump stating that the Democrats who called on the military to defy his orders committed crimes “punishable by death.” In…

Nicole SilverioNov 20, 20254 min read

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was confronted on Thursday about President Donald Trump stating that the Democrats who called on the military to defy his orders committed crimes “punishable by death.”

In two Truth Social posts on Thursday, Trump accused the six Democratic lawmakers who called on military members to “ignore illegal orders” of committing “seditious behavior” that potentially could be “punishable by death.” In response, Leavitt immediately started criticizing the lawmakers who “conspired” to encourage military members to defy the president and potentially put themselves in harm’s way.

“You have sitting members of the UnitedStates Congress, who conspired together to orchestrate a video message tomembers of the United States military, to active duty service members, to membersof the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the president’slawful 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, itthat’s what these members of Congress, who swore an oath to abide by theConstitution, are essentially encouraging,” Leavitt said.

“We have 1.3 active dutyservice members in this country, and if they hear this radical message fromsitting members of Congress, that could inspire chaos, and it could inciteviolence, and it certainly could disrupt the chain of command,” Leavitt continued.

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Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin released the viral video on Tuesday, which included Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, in which they accused Trump of of “pitting” service members and intelligence community officials “against American citizens” and of violating the U.S. Constitution. The six lawmakers all previously served in the military or intelligence community.

The press secretary added that their actions may be “punishable by law” given that Trump has never given any unlawful orders.

“That is a very,very dangerous message, and it perhaps is punishable by law. I’m not alawyer … They are literally saying to 1.3million active duty service members not to defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders. But they’re suggesting, they’re suggesting, Nancy, that the president has given illegal orders,which he has not. Every single order that is given to this United Statesmilitary by this commander in chief and through this chain of command, through the Secretary of War, is lawful,” Leavitt said.

The lawmakers issued a joint statement stating that Trump believes they should be put to death for swearing to “protect and defend the Constitution.”

“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law,” the statement read. “Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty. “But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about Politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.”

“In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated. “Don’t Give Up the Ship!” the statement concluded.

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is also in charge of intelligence agencies such as the FBI and CIA since he is the head of the executive branch.

In response to the video, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that they have “Stage 4 .”

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