MBABANE:United States(US) President Donald Trump has doubled down on criticism of Democratic lawmakers who had called on members of the military to refuse illegal orders, labelling the lawmakers as “traitors” who must be arrested and sentenced to death, Aljazeera reported on Sunday.
It has been reported that, Trump suggested late on Saturday that Democratic lawmakers who released the video message to service members earlier this week should be jailed.
“The 90-second video was first posted on Tuesday by Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA officer. It featured several Democratic legislators who served in the military and intelligence community. In the video, the lawmakers say the Trump administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens” and call on service members to stand up for United States laws.
“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” they say.
The Democratic legislators did not specify which illegal orders members of the military should refuse.
But their message coincided with Trump’s effort to deploy federal forces to several Democratic-led US cities.
US President Donald Trump says several Democrats' call for the military to disobey illegal orders is a serious crime [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]