When Margaret Brennan — the left-wing host of CBS News’s Face the Nation — challenges a liberal politician, it’s a clear sign he’s lying. During a Sunday interview with Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), one of six members of Congress who released a video last week urging service members to refuse to carry out illegal orders, she did just that.
Brennan played a clip of veterans calling the lawmakers’ video “weakening and corrosive” and asked Crow to respond.
Crow said, “They know better. … We were very clear in the video that what we are talking about is unlawful orders.”
Asked which of President Donald Trump’s orders, specifically, he considered illegal, Crow replied, “Send troops into Chicago, send troops into polling stations, kill terrorists’ families, arrest and execute members of Congress.”
DEMOCRATS ARE OPENLY CALLING FOR A MILITARY MUTINY
To her credit, Brennan noted, “He hasn’t done those things.”
I suppose we should commend Crow for trying to answer Brennan’s question. When asked which specific order he was objecting to by Fox News’s Martha MacCallum last week, he cited only “disturbing comments” from Trump. After the humiliating segment went viral on social media, Crow understood he needed “an” answer, even if the truth was optional.
The other five lawmakers who participated in the ludicrous video opted for the old standby: The best defense is a forcefully delivered offense.
Exhibit No. 1: Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH). Asked “what illegal orders” she was “urging troops to refuse” by MS NOW’s Alex Witt on Sunday, the congresswoman went into attack mode. “Alex, we love this country. We love our Constitution. It is our job as lawmakers … to be clear morally, to be clear legally. And simply and clearly stating what the law says, what the Uniform Code of Military Justice says, uh, it’s not a crime. It is not treason, it is not sedition. It is our job. And I think it’s really important that we do our jobs in this moment.” An intriguing response.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who reportedly organized the video, appeared on ABC News’s This Week on Sunday. Asked point-blank by host Martha Raddatz if she believes Trump has issued any illegal orders, she replied, “To my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal. But certainly, there are some legal gymnastics that are going on with these Caribbean strikes and everything related to Venezuela.”
The senator obviously disagrees with Trump’s foreign policy decisions, but fails to grasp that her disapproval does not make his orders illegal.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) also appeared on Brennan’s Sunday show and likewise declined to offer specifics. He came out swinging, choosing to go after Trump instead: “The president … tries to intimidate Congress. He looks at government accountability as a nuisance.”
He continued, “The message he sent a couple of days ago was, he declared that loyalty to the Constitution is now punishable by death. Those are serious words, coming from the president of the United States. He’s trying to intimidate us.
“But,” Kelly assured Brennan, “I’m not gonna be intimidated. All we said is — we reiterated what basically is the rule of law. That members of the military should not, cannot follow illegal orders.”
For his part, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) released a defiant, hyperbolic video on X. “Today, Donald Trump called for my death. He called for the arrest and the death of me and several of my colleagues, all who’ve either worn the uniform or served [in the] intelligence services. He didn’t want to hear a basic lesson that we know about our Constitution. … That you follow lawful orders, that the oath to the Constitution … comes above all.
“I’m not gonna be intimidated. I’m not gonna be deterred from my duty to represent the people who sent me to Congress, and I will uphold my oath to the Constitution.
He closed with the same line the group’s original video closed with: “Don’t give up the ship.”
That’s very noble, congressman, but which of Trump’s orders do you consider to be unlawful? Well, he didn’t say.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) followed Deluzio’s example and recorded a message of her own. “Earlier today, the president of the United States used his platform to call for my arrest, and even to threaten violence against me. Specifically, death by hanging. Why? Because I joined five other duly elected members of Congress who have served in the military or intelligence services in recording a simple message to our armed forces. Our message to them was: Remember your oath. Follow lawful orders. Refuse unlawful ones. Uphold the Constitution above all else.”
She called Trump’s threat “chilling” and claimed “it reveals far more about his authoritarian instincts than it does about anything that we said.”
And echoing her colleagues, she made it clear that she won’t be intimidated either.
Their claims of victimhood are breathtaking. They are hiding their own complicity behind Trump’s response to their video.
Obviously very angry, Trump responded to the video via Truth Social. In his first post, he wrote:
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET. President DJT.”
Hyperbole? Perhaps a little. Still, I certainly agree with his sentiments.
But it was his second post, which read, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” that truly sent liberals into a frenzy.
It was one of those moments when even his staunchest supporters — and I count myself among them — wish we could pop an apple into his mouth.
Up until that point, Trump had occupied the higher ground. Democrats had made a colossally stupid mistake — one whose intention could not reasonably be misconstrued. But with that brief post, he not only let the advantage slip through his fingers, but he also managed to cast himself as the villain.
Fox News’s Sean Hannity defended Trump’s remark by noting that the phrase “punishable by” implies due process: “There would be a trial. There would be charges. They would be found guilty. I’m not sure it goes that far.”
That may be true, but in politics, emotion always trumps reason. And Democrats were quick to pounce.
But, as always, they took it too far. Following a self-serving, over-the-top video from the six lawmakers, an outrageous message from Sen. Chris Murphy (CT), and an unhinged floor speech by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the ball was back in the president’s court.
One astute X user offered a dose of reality. He wrote: “You six aren’t ‘defending the Constitution,’ you’re telling troops to ignore the Commander-in-Chief and pretending it’s noble.”
THE MIDDLE EAST REMAINS KEY TO AMERICAN INTERESTS
In the end, it was the Democrats’ own hyperbole and their inability to name even one unlawful Trump order that had squandered the moment.
By painting themselves as “victims,” they lost whatever leverage Trump’s unfortunate remark might have given them.
They’re still trying to defend the indefensible, and I suspect most Americans are catching on.
