President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on six Democratic lawmakers, labeling their efforts to encourage military personnel to resist ‘illegal orders’ as seditious and calling for their arrests. The lawmakers, including Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, were featured in a viral video titled ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship’ that urges troops to ‘stand up for our laws’ and ‘refuse unlawful orders.’ Trump’s outburst, which included demands for the lawmakers to be ‘locked up’ and subjected to ‘punishment by death,’ has intensified political tensions ahead of an election year. The video has drawn sharp criticism from Republican leaders, who accused the Democrats of engaging in ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ a term used to describe their alleged fixation on removing or undermining Trump from power.
The lawmakers, who are all veterans or have served in intelligence roles, have long criticized Trump’s use of the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, a policy they argue undermines the military’s core mission. Slotkin and her colleagues have recently introduced legislation aimed at curbing Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or launch military action against suspected narcoterrorists without congressional approval. The debate over the role of the military and the use of national guard troops in domestic affairs has become a flashpoint in the broader political conflict between the two parties. The video, which was posted on Tuesday by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has drawn the ire of Republicans and the Trump administration. The Democrats in the video include Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo. All the lawmakers in the video highlighted their former service in the military and intelligence community.
Slotkin and her colleagues have spent recent weeks introducing legislation to limit Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or launch military action against suspected narcoterrorists without congressional approval. None of that context appears in the video, titled ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship,’ which instead frames the appeal as a warning to military members to ‘stand up for our laws’ and ‘refuse unlawful orders.’ War Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the video on X, writing, ‘Stage 4 TDS,’ a reference to ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., echoed the sentiment during an appearance on ‘The Faulkner Focus,’ calling the lawmakers’ actions an example of a condition that is ‘inconceivable’ for elected officials to exhibit.
Slotkin’s ‘No Troops in Our Streets Act,’ detailed in a Nov. 13 release, would give Congress the power to block National Guard deployments inside American cities. Trump has expanded National Guard operations to Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago amid violent crime. There are also reports that troops will be deployed to Louisiana. The controversy has escalated into a major political battleground, with the debate over the military’s role in domestic affairs and the potential for congressional oversight. The lawmakers, who have served in the military, argue that Trump’s use of the National Guard for non-military purposes is a dangerous precedent that could compromise the military’s ability to protect the nation abroad. They maintain that the video was a necessary statement to ensure that military personnel remain loyal to the law and the Constitution. The political fallout from this incident could have significant implications for both parties, particularly as the election approaches and the issue of executive power continues to dominate the national discourse.