Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and former Navy pilot, has accused Republicans of remaining silent after Donald Trump posted threats against him and five other Democratic lawmakers. In an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Kelly said: “We’ve heard very little, basically crickets, from Republicans in the United States Congress about what the president has said about hanging members of Congress.”
The controversy began when Kelly and five other Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds released a video reminding service members that they can refuse illegal orders. Trump responded on social media by calling for their arrest and trial for “seditious behavior”, and reposted a message saying “HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!”
Kelly noted that Republicans had previously called for Democrats to moderate their language after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “What happened to that?” he asked. He added that Trump’s words carry “tremendous weight” and have led to increased threats against the lawmakers.
House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar condemned Trump’s remarks, stating that “political violence has no place in America.” Senator Amy Klobuchar also criticised the posts as “dangerous”, saying the president was “literally saying that they should be executed.”
Vice-President JD Vance defended Trump, arguing that if the president hasn’t issued illegal orders, then telling the military to defy him is illegal. Kelly, however, insisted he would not be intimidated: “I’m not going to be intimidated.”
