President Trump’s latest blast of incendiary rhetoric — branding Democratic lawmakers as “traitors” who should be jailed and even saying they deserve the death penalty — has Republicans in Washington in a full-blown panic. With the midterms looming and internal polling already flashing warning signs, GOP lawmakers and strategists say Trump has managed to light the match under an already-unstable political moment, and they’re bracing for the fallout.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was blunt Sunday, calling Trump’s rhetoric “reckless” and “irresponsible.” “If you take it at face value, the idea that calling your opponents ‘traitors’ — and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty — is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible,” Paul told CBS’s Face the Nation.
Other GOP senators were equally startled. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) reportedly furrowed her brow when a reporter mentioned Trump’s claims that Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and several House Democrats engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Her response was short and clear: “Obviously, I don’t agree with that.”
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, said Trump’s attacks have already affected her personal security. “The security situation changed for all of us,” she told ABC. She added that her phones, email, and websites have been hit with a “huge spike in death threats and intimidation” since Trump targeted her.
Yet Trump doubled down on his incendiary comments late Saturday, writing: “THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK. IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE!”
The timing could not be worse. Just weeks after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the new standoff between Trump and Democratic lawmakers has cast serious doubt on bipartisan negotiations for expiring health insurance premium subsidies and federal funding past January 30.
“I think it’s problematic all the way around, I have thought that since the last shutdown ended,” said Vin Weber, a Republican strategist and former House member. “They’re going to come back from the [Thanksgiving] holiday all wrapped up in this issue and still relitigating the release of the [Epstein] files and all sorts of stuff that is not going to get them closer to keeping the government funded in the new year.”
Centrist Senate Democrats had hoped to secure a bipartisan deal by Christmas. Now, lawmakers acknowledge that goal is increasingly unreachable.
The drama has triggered sharp critiques from all sides. Former Republican Sen. Judd Gregg criticized Democrats for urging military personnel to defy orders without specifying which orders should be considered unlawful, calling it “irresponsible.” But he said Trump’s response went far beyond acceptable bounds. “You can’t accuse members of Congress of treason. You can’t suggest somebody be executed in a democracy,” Gregg said. He added, “The president’s statements — he always has to one-up everybody — basically his statements were beyond irresponsible. A lot of people have incorrect positions. So you’re going to go out and call everybody with an incorrect position a traitor? It borders on the theater of the absurd at a level we haven’t seen before.”
Privately, some Republicans conceded that Trump may have played right into Democrats’ hands. “It’s brilliant tactics by them,” said a senior GOP strategist, who called Trump’s response “crass” but also faulted Democrats for encouraging disobedience in the military without providing specifics.
The political fallout has left even party leaders walking a tightrope. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) called the Democrats’ video “clearly provocative,” but said he “certainly [doesn’t] agree with the president’s conclusion on how we ought to handle it.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has launched a retaliatory investigation into Kelly over “serious allegations of misconduct,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Democrats of urging soldiers to “ignore the orders of their commanders.”
Political scientists warn the episode could have lasting consequences. Ross K. Baker, a Rutgers University professor, said Trump has a pattern of escalating conflicts.
“It could have been dealt with simply by saying that this was an unfortunate statement or their language was inappropriate, but he’s got to raise things to the maximum level, to DEFCON 1… It kind of diminishes the value of things he says that are important. If you’re constantly making these outrageous, over-the-top threats, it becomes part of a pattern and people tend to ignore it.”
As the midterms approach, Republicans are left defending both their party and the institution of Congress itself, while Trump continues to dominate the headlines with incendiary attacks, which could cost Republicans both the House and The Senate.
