Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) admitted on Sunday that to her knowledge she was “not aware” that President Donald Trump has issued an illegal order to U.S. Military service members.
During an interview on ABC’s This Week, host Martha Raddatz referenced the White House’s response to a video in which Democrats, such as Slotkin, encourage U.S. military troops to disobey orders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously accused Democrats of suggesting that Trump “has given illegal orders, which he has not.”
When asked if Leavitt’s answer was “accurate,” Slotkin explained that Democrats put the statement out because they allegedly had a “sheer number” of troops and young officers question what they “should do.”
“Let’s talk right now. Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders?” Raddatz asked.
“To my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal — but certainly there are some legal gymnastics that are going on with these Caribbean strikes, and everything related to Venezuela,” Slotkin answered.
In a previous post on Truth Social, Trump suggested that the Democrat lawmakers who encouraged U.S. troops to disobey his orders should be jailed.
“THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OKAY,” Trump wrote in his post on Saturday. “IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE! IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!”
Trump’s comments came after Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and other Democrats released a video on Tuesday in which they claim the Trump administration is “pitting” uniformed military service members and “intelligence community professionals” against U.S. citizens.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the lawmakers say in the video.
“Our laws are clear, you can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly says in the video.
“You can refuse illegal orders,” Slotkin says in the video.
Fox News reported that Trump “initially responded” to the video from the Democrat lawmakers, writing, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” though Trump later clarified that he didn’t intend to “execute the Democrat lawmakers.”
