House Democratic leaders hammered President Trump on Thursday after the president suggested a group of Democratic lawmakers should be executed for "seditious behavior" for urging service members not to follow any "illegal orders."
Behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the Democratic leaders warned that Trump's remarks, which targeted six Democrats with military or national security backgrounds, have put the lawmakers at risk of becoming targets of political violence.
The Democrats demanded that Trump "immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed."
"We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump's disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same," said Jeffries, joined by Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), in a statement.
"The President's violent and unhinged rhetoric against American patriots is consistent with his well-documented history of attacking prisoners of war, Gold Star families and war heroes," they added. "There is no bottom when it comes to Donald Trump."
The controversy surrounds a video released by six Democrats from both chambers urging members of the armed forces not to follow any "illegal orders" during the course of their duties.
Trump responded on Thursday, characterizing the Democrats as "traitors" to the country and suggesting they should face the death penalty for sedition.
"This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???" Trump posted on Truth Social.
A short time later, he posted an addendum: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"
The comments arrived during a heated moment of national polarization when recent episodes of political violence have sparked fears of deeper troubles to come and both parties have accused the other of fueling the problem.
Republicans interpreted Trump's remarks differently and rushed to the president's defense. They went after the six Democrats who posted the initial video, saying they threatened the country's national security by encouraging military personnel not to follow orders.
Asked about Trump saying it was punishable by death, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he thought Trump was merely defining sedition.
"What I'm saying, what I will say unequivocally, is that was a wildly inappropriate thing for so-called leaders in Congress to do, to encourage young troops to disobey orders," Johnson said.
The White House, meanwhile, defended Trump's social media posts. At a briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump did not, in fact, want to punish lawmakers by death, downplaying his remarks and shifting the focus to Democratic rhetoric.