In remarks to reporters, New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained why "we should all be questioning" President Donald Trump's mental stability after he called for the execution of Democratic members of Congress.
Last week, Senators Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) and Mark Kelly (Arizona) joined Representatives Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania), Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire), and Jason Crow (Colorado)—all of whom are veterans—to issue a call to service members.
In a video message, they noted that the Trump administration is "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens."
The group said that "the threats to our Constitution" aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home, and reminded U.S. troops that they must "refuse illegal orders":
"No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you're serving in the CIA, the Army, our Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical."
You can see their video below.
Shortly afterward, Trump declared in a post on Truth Social that the video amounted to "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!!" That seditious behavior, he continued in another post, is "punishable by DEATH!"
In addition to calling for their arrest and for them to be put "on trial," otherwise "we won't have a country anymore," Trump shared a Truth Social user’s call to “HANG” these individuals because, they said, it's what former President George Washington would have done.
In response to all this, Ocasio-Cortez said:
"To be honest, the president's remarks I think indicate a level of instability. It’s not just shocking, it’s not just offensive. It’s bizarre, it is erratic, it’s volatile."
"And I think it indicates a mental state that we should all be questioning right now, whether that's emotional, mental, what have you. It is not normal to make these accusations. It is not normal to invoke these kinds of threats of violence.”
"It's also not normal to dramatically misquote us. ... [Democrats] made a very clear message to U.S. service members which is that you do not have to obey an illegal order and I think that's an important message to reiterate because this administration seems increasingly trying to go down that path."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Her words resonated with many.
Ocasio-Cortez noted that the White House, via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, deliberately misquoted what the Democratic lawmakers had said in their video. Leavitt said Democrats "are literally saying to 1.3 million active duty service members to defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders.
On Friday, Trump insisted he was "not threatening death" and defended his remarks about sedition, saying "that's a form of, a very strong form of being a traitor."
Trump told Fox News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, are looking into the matter. Meanwhile, the six Democrats rebuked Trump's posts, saying that "no threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation."
@EdwardLawrence/X