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Donald Trump has reacted angrily to opposition members calling for U.S. military to disobey ‘illegal’ orders but they argue he is seeking a distraction from inflation crisis and Jeffrey Epstein
Katie Hawkinsonin Washington, D.C.,Joe SommerladMonday 24 November 2025 10:09 GMTComments
CloseDemocratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin reacts to Donald Trump's threats
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President Donald Trump has ramped up his attacks on Democratic lawmakers who posted a video last week urging members of the Armed Forces to refuse “illegal” orders from his administration.
Trump called for the representatives and senators concerned to be jailed in a pair of late-night Truth Social posts Saturday, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” having previously argued that they should face the death penalty.
The president also shared posts on his platform from users referring to the opposition as the “Domestic Terrorist party” and to the lawmakers as “traitorous communists.”
Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly have insisted they will not be intimidated while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called Trump’s comments “bizarre, erratic and volatile” and questioned his mental health.
Zohran Mamdani has meanwhile said that he still believes that the president is a “fascist” and “despot,” just days after the two politicians enjoyed a surprisingly cordial first meeting at the White House.
“Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” the mayor-elect of New York City told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, adding: “I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.”
Key Points
- Donald Trump keeps heat on ‘seditious’ Democrats as Republicans urge him to cool rhetoric
- Democrats respond to Trump’s attacks and calls for death penalty
- Zohran Mamdani says he still thinks Trump is a fascist – but insists they can work together
- Majority of Americans want evidence that boats US is blowing up are really carrying drugs
- Trump accuses Volodymyr Zelensky of ‘ingratitude’ but agrees to change ‘pro-Russian’ Ukraine peace plan
Democrats respond to Trump’s attacks and calls for death penalty
This is what Slotkin, Kelly and Crow had to say in answer to the president’s threats against them on the Sunday shows:
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who did not appear in the video, was also asked about Trump and said it raises questions about his own mental health, not the actions of the lawmakers:
Joe Sommerlad24 November 2025 10:00Donald Trump keeps heat on ‘seditious’ Democrats as Republicans urge him to cool rhetoric
Good morning!
The president has been attempting to keep the pressure on the Democratic lawmakers, including Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly and Jason Crow, who posted a video last week urging U.S. military leaders to disobey any orders from the administration they believe to be illegal.
Trump has largely been waging that war on social media, posting a series of memes to his Truth Social followers to stoke the flames, a representatives selection of which follows:
But even Trump’s fellow Republicans have urged him to cool it.
“If you take at face value the idea that calling your opponents traitors and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday.
“It’s not something that is helping the country heal wounds. I think it stirs things up, and really, I think we can do better.”
“I would tone down the rhetoric and tone down the theme here. I would emphasize more what I discussed, and that is, these orders are not illegal,” agreed Texas Rep. Mike McCaul on ABC’s This Week.
Here’s more from John Bowden.

Trump goes on late-night social media rant demanding Democrats be jailed
President continues to insist Democrats committed ‘sedition’ while avoiding another direct call for their deathsJoe Sommerlad24 November 2025 09:40MTG denied reports that she has considered running for president
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene refuted a Time magazine report claiming the Republican lawmaker privately told her allies she was considering running for president in 2028.
“I’m not running for President and never said I wanted to and have only laughed about it when anyone would mention it,” Greene wrote Sunday on X.
Time cited two unnamed sources who spoke directly with Greene, and three unnamed sources who were familiar with her thinking.
Greene announced Friday she’s resigning from the House at the start of next year amid her growing feud with President Donald Trump.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump, announced her resignation on Friday (Getty)Katie Hawkinson24 November 2025 09:20Trump claims people in Chicago are chanting his name and demanding he send in troops to crush ‘crime and rioting’
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Trump addresses feud with MTG: 'I just disagreed with her philosophy'Katie Hawkinson24 November 2025 08:00Days after their Oval Office love-in Mamdani confirms he does think Trump is a fascist – but insists they can work together
New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani insisted that he would be able to work with Donald Trump and the White House even as he defended his position that Trump is a fascist.
The incoming leader of the nation’s largest city was on Meet the Press on Sunday after a Friday meeting with Trump at the White House. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, represents part of his party’s emerging left flank as the greater Democratic coalition shifts and reorganizes itself following the devastating 2024 elections, which saw them lose key seats in the Senate as well as the presidency.
Mamdani reiterated that he thought he could work with Trump, a prospect that seemed fairly obvious to most people watching Friday’s meeting between the mayor-elect and a beaming, happy president who seemed almost enamored with his guest and his calls to reinvigorate the city of New York as the cameras rolled. Trump, for his part, denied racist accusations from members of his own party who claim that Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, was a “jihadist”.

Mamdani confirms he does think Trump is a fascist – but says they can work together
Trump told Mamdani, ‘that’s OK, you can just say it’ after a reporter questioned mayor-elect whether he thought the president was an authoritarianShweta Sharma24 November 2025 06:41Majority of Americans say Trump needs to show evidence that boats US is blowing up are really carrying drugs
A new CBS/YouGov poll has found that a majority of Americans do not believe President Donald Trump has done enough to explain any possible U.S. military action against Venezuela.
According to the poll, 76 percent of respondents said they felt the president had not adequately justified the U.S.'s aggression toward the South American nation, which has thus far taken the form of rhetoric and strikes against alleged “drug boats.”
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A majority of Americans oppose war with Venezuela and believe President Donald Trump needs to provide evidence to justify military action against the nationGraig Graziosi24 November 2025 06:30Sen. Klobuchar responds to GOP criticism over Democrats urging military to 'refuse illegal orders'
Senator Amy Klobuchar responded to criticism from President Donald Trump and other Republicans over a video by Democratic lawmakers — many of whom are veterans — urging members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
“Well, it's very clear in this code for the military, you cannot follow unlawful orders,” Klobuchar, a Democrat, said Sunday on NBC News’ Meet the Press.
Klobuchar later added: “But the key is, this has been a long-time tenet of the American military, and it is very clearly right there, and that is all our colleagues were saying, and they have every right to say it. They have served our country bravely, they know what they’re talking about.”
Katie Hawkinson24 November 2025 05:01Newer1 / 6OlderMore about
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