Sen. John Fetterman accuses Trump of 'dangerous rhetoric'

Democrats tell military to ‘refuse illegal orders’ in viral video: 'Don't give up the ship'

Democrat veterans of the military and the intelligence community serving in Congress shared a video many are saying calls for treason on X Tuesday, titled 'Don't Give Up the Ship.' (Credit: @SenatorSlotkin via X)

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania accused President Donald Trump of "dangerous rhetoric" after the commander in chief slammed Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging military and intelligence community members to refuse unlawful orders.

"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

 In another post earlier Thursday, Trump had asserted, "This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???" 

Fetterman, who was not among the six lawmakers in the controversial video, responded by condemning the president's rhetoric.

SEN. FETTERMAN SHARES GRAPHIC PHOTO AFTER HEART RHYTHM SCARE, SAYS DOCTORS ‘PUT ME BACK TOGETHER’

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and President Donald Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a post on X, the senator declared, "I strongly reject this dangerous rhetoric. Do not threaten Members of Congress. Republican or Democrat. It’s deeply wrong with no exceptions—ever."

Speaking about the video during an interview Friday on the "Brian Kilmeade Show," Trump said he did not "know about the modern day … but in the old days" such comments would have been "punishable by death."

Trump said he was "not threatening" the lawmakers but believes "they're in serious trouble." He said that they "essentially" told the military not to follow the president's orders and noted that, in his view, the lawmakers had violated the law.

The six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video that sparked Trump's ire included Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado.

DEPUTY AG BLASTS DEMOCRATS' ‘ABHORRENT’ VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’

In the video, the lawmakers accused the Trump administration of pitting the nation's uniformed military and intelligence community members against U.S. citizens, and they encouraged refusal of "illegal orders."

The six Democrats clapped back in a statement on Thursday after Trump slammed them on Truth Social.

TRUMP DEFENDS ‘PUNISHABLE BY DEATH’ COMMENT, CALLS DEMOCRATS' MILITARY VIDEO ‘SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR’

President Donald Trump during the swearing-in ceremony of U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in the Oval Office of the White House Nov. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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"What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders," they said in part of the statement. "Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence."

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.