'Sad and disturbed': Conservatives outraged over Trump's 'death penalty' comment

Donald Trump Friday suggested that a retiring general who has criticized the former president deserves the "death penalty," prompting conservatives of various backgrounds to quickly condemn the comments.

Trump late in the evening lashed out against General Mark Milley, who said in a recent news profile that he was forced to keep Trump in check during his presidency. Trump came out swinging on Truth Social, blaming Milley for lives lost in the Afghanistan withdrawal and saying he may in fact deserve to be killed for his purported actions.

The reactions from fellow Republicans and conservatives were swift online.

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Fellow GOP presidential candidate and Trump critic Chris Christie weighed in on Saturday, saying Milley joins Bill Barr, Mark Esper, and John Kelly as individuals who are on Trump's attack list.

"All appointed and praised by Trump, and now all regularly attacked by Trump because they had the nerve to put the country ahead of him. What kind of person threatens execution on a third-tier social media site? A sad and disturbed person who has no place being near the White House, let alone living inside it," Christie said. "Simple lesson in all of this. You either do what Trump says, or you’re his enemy. I know what camp I’m in, and I’m not going to stop."

The former Homeland Security aide to former Vice President Mike Pence in Trump's administration, Olivia Troye, chimed in on Christie's post, saying, "Thank you Gov. Chris Christie."

Another conservative lawyer and Trump critic, George Conway, responded to a pro-democracy group's suggestion that Trump's threating behavior was "gross."

"Not gross. Sick," Conway said on Saturday.

Tom Nichols, a one-time Republican who fled the Grand Old Party after it nominated former President Donald Trump, said Trump's comment serves "to imply that Milley should get the death penalty."

"Trump knows exactly what he’s doing here," Nichols added.

Former Trump supporter David Weissman also said, "Trump is basically calling for the execution of General Milley. I wish his due process could speed up before he actually gets someone killed. This reminded me of when Greene called for Nancy Pelosi’s execution."