Senator Kelly Challenges GOP Silence on Trump’s Threats

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly on Sunday publicly pressed Republican members of Congress to condemn former President Donald Trump’s recent violent rhetoric directed at him and five other Democratic lawmakers. The former president’s statements came after the group, all with military or intelligence backgrounds, asserted that service members are not bound to follow unlawful directives.

Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Kelly expressed dismay at the lack of response from his Republican colleagues. “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,” Kelly remarked. He highlighted a perceived double standard, recalling how Trump and Republican legislators had previously urged Democrats to temper their language following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September. Kelly pointedly asked, “What happened to that?”

Trump’s Online Retaliation

The controversy stems from a video released earlier in the week on X by Senator Kelly and five other Democratic members of Congress. The video, aimed at active-duty military and intelligence personnel, unequivocally stated, “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.” All six participants in the video possess extensive experience in military or intelligence service, with Kelly himself having served 25 years in the U.S. Navy.

Trump swiftly responded to the video on social media on Thursday. In one post, he demanded that the lawmakers be apprehended and tried for “seditious behavior.” A subsequent post escalated the threats, declaring “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He also shared a message that explicitly called for their execution, stating, “HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!”

Concerns Over Escalating Threats

Senator Kelly underscored the serious implications of Trump’s words, given his prominent public platform. “His words carry tremendous weight, more so than anybody else in the country, and he should be aware of that, and because of what he says, there is now increased threats against us,” Kelly stated, referring to the former president’s accusations. He reiterated his belief that Trump is attempting to intimidate the lawmakers but firmly asserted, “I’m not going to be intimidated.”

The former president’s remarks drew immediate condemnation from Democratic leadership. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar issued a joint statement. Their message strongly denounced Trump’s comments, emphasizing that “political violence has no place in America.”

Broader Democratic Condemnation

Echoing Kelly’s concerns, Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar also criticized Trump’s online posts during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Klobuchar characterized the former president’s statements as “dangerous,” underscoring the potential for real-world harm stemming from such inflammatory language.

The calls for Republican accountability highlight a growing divide over the normalization of extreme political rhetoric. As threats against public officials continue to rise, the demand for leaders to unequivocally reject violent language remains a critical point of contention in American political discourse.

Source: The Guardian