'Horribly wrong': US veterans condemn Trump's politicization of military

Source: The Guardian

Sat 22 Nov 2025 06.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 22 Nov 2025 09.23 EST


Veterans have condemned the politicization of the military after Donald Trump accused Democratic lawmakers of “sedition, punishable by death” after a small group of them released a video in which they urged US soldiers not to follow any “unlawful” orders.

The extraordinary exchange was sparked after Democratic lawmakers with military or national security backgrounds – the Congressional representatives Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, Chris DeLuzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and the senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin – posted a video on Facebook addressed to US service members.

“The administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence professionals against American citizens,” they said, and added: “You must refuse illegal orders.” Although they did not specify which orders might be illegal, Trump has come under fire for sending the US military into American cities for poorly defined reasons, including amid peaceful protests against a massive and aggressive deportation campaign.

“Seditious behavior, punishable by death!” Trump responded in a post on Truth Social. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be arrested and put on trial.” He also reposted a message from another user reading: “Hang them George Washington would!” His comments infuriated the military’s legal community.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/22/trump-military-veterans