President Donald Trump's demand for certain Democratic members of Congress to be executed earned a stern rebuke on Thursday from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), reported the Huffington Post's Igor Bobic.
“Words carry a lot of weight," said Tillis. "Kids are watching and the president of the United States should always be thinking less about the adults you're reacting to, to probably what was objectionable behavior by the Democrats, and the kids that are watching, too.”
The controversy stems from a video put out this week by a handful of Democratic lawmakers who served in the military, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), reminding servicemembers that they have a legal and constitutional obligation to refuse to carry out orders that are unlawful, like the shooting of unarmed civilians.
But Trump was enraged by this, seeing it as an attempt to undermine the chain of command.
Taking to Truth Social in multiple posts, Trump called for these Democrats to be arrested, called the video "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and reposted a commenter saying that George Washington would have hanged them all.
Tillis, who is retiring from the Senate after next year, is not alone among right-wing figures in pushing back on Trump's attacks on Democratic veterans.
"There is no insurrection or sedition without the use of force," posted Fox News commentator and former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy. "Disobeying a lawful order is insubordination, not insurrection or sedition. Disobeying an unlawful order is required. That is all."