Jayapal, Thanedar, Raja, Join Outcry As Trump Suggests Death For Dem Lawmakers

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald Trump’s online tirade and latest outburst, a call for the death penalty for Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders is not just raising eyebrows but drawing push back from his die hard supporters.

 In a political climate still scarred by the violence of January 6, Trump has done little to tamp down the rage he, along with others, has helped unleash. Now, the backlash is coming from inside his own party.

Trump’s social media post was that six Democratic lawmakers were guilty of what he called seditious behavior. He reposted a supporter’s demand to hang them and insisted their conduct was punishable by death.

The lawmakers in question, all veterans of military or national security service, had released a video telling current personnel to follow the Constitution above any illegal directive. Trump labeled their message traitorous.

The uproar was swift. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who has previously faced threats of violence, said Trump’s rhetoric was part of a dangerous pattern. She recalled when an Arizona Republican lawmaker called for her to be hanged last year and said Trump’s escalation again puts lawmakers at risk. Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-MI) called the comments unhinged and said he was done hearing any claims from Trump supporters that they stand against violent rhetoric. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) said, “The President is calling for the arrest, and even the execution, of his political opponents. That’s authoritarian rhetoric, full stop. Every Republican who claims to care about our Constitution must condemn these dangerous threats immediately.”

It seemed some of them did openly step up. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s most dependable allies, said the president’s comments were over the top. Senator Rand Paul, another Republican, warned that talk of executing political opponents had no place in American politics. Conservative legal analysts also pushed back. Andy McCarthy said Trump’s claims had no basis in law and that refusing illegal orders is required, not sedition. Ed Whelan, another longtime conservative legal voice, agreed.

The White House struggled to contain the fallout. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s language as frankness, insisting he was not calling for executions. She argued that the lawmakers in the video were encouraging defiance of the administration.

The six lawmakers at the center of Trump’s attack issued a joint statement saying they will not be intimidated. They emphasized that their oath is to the Constitution, not any single leader.