| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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And the live look outside the White House, where the press is waiting for word on the meeting between President Trump and the New York City mayor-elect Zorhan Mamdani, who's reportedly arrived to discuss affordability. | |
| The press standing by to see if the mayor-elect makes any remarks and will bring you live coverage if he does here on C-SPAN. | ||
| While we wait, we'll show an earlier discussion from our own Washington Journal. | ||
| While you dial in or text, we'll begin with that video from a portion of the video showing Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence background telling service members to disobey President Trump if his directives amount to illegal orders. | ||
| It was posted on Facebook on Tuesday by Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan. | ||
| We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. | ||
|
unidentified
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Americans trust their military. | |
| But that trust is at risk. | ||
| This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. | ||
| Like us, you all swore an oath. | ||
| To protect and defend this Constitution. | ||
| Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. | ||
| Our laws are clear. | ||
| You can refuse illegal orders. | ||
| You can refuse illegal orders. | ||
|
unidentified
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You must refuse illegal orders. | |
| No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. | ||
| We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. | ||
| But whether you're serving in the CIA, the Army, or Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical. | ||
| And know that we have your back. | ||
|
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Because now, more than ever. | |
| The American people need you. | ||
| We need you to stand up for our laws. | ||
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Our Constitution and who we are as Americans. | |
| Don't give up. | ||
| Don't give up the ship. | ||
| An ad posted by Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence background of the president responded on Truth Social saying 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. | ||
| He went on to also post this on Truth Social, seditious behavior punishable by death. | ||
| Now here's Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin who began that video responding to President Trump's Truth Social post while speaking at a conference in DC yesterday. | ||
| I think if you just take a step back, we have the President of the United States calling for a group of service and veteran lawmakers to be arrested, tried, and then hung. | ||
| I mean, this is what he said. | ||
| And because we made a video that he didn't like. | ||
| And I think separate from any one of us who made the video, this is just for me about who we are as a country and whether we're going to accept that this is the new normal for how we treat people we disagree with. | ||
| It's about the example we want to set for our kids and it's about whether we are going to accept that this is just how we're going to engage with each other. | ||
| You know, I, in my previous life, swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. | ||
| I took that same oath when I was sworn in as a senator 11 months ago. | ||
| And that oath is to the Constitution, not to any one man, any one president. | ||
| And I think, certainly for me, I refuse to be intimidated out of fighting for the country that I love. | ||
| And I think, And you all know this as state and local officials. | ||
| Fear can often be contagious. | ||
| And when it's scary and people don't speak up, then it kind of spreads. | ||
| But if fear is contagious, so is courage. | ||
| And I think when a lion's share of Americans understand that it is in their own power to push back on this kind of rhetoric and this kind of threat, that's when we actually turn the tide. | ||
| So I appreciate the support. | ||
| I appreciate law enforcement. | ||
| But this country has given me everything. | ||
| I am here because I'm an American and it gave me everything. | ||
| And I'm not going to shut up because Donald Trump is threatening me. | ||
| Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin, they're responding to the president's Truth Social post. | ||
| Now, the Washington Post this morning says it's not clear what orders, those illegal orders, those Democrats are referring to, but they said they are hearing from some service members questioning the legality of strikes that have targeted people by targeting people in the narcotics organizations by sea. | ||
| So related to that, Punch Bowl News has some news this morning. | ||
| House Democrats plan to unveil a bill today that would cut off funding for U.S. operations in or against Venezuela. | ||
| The legislation led by Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts would bar the Trump administration from spending money on military campaigns targeting Venezuela unless lawmakers approve an authorization for use of military force. | ||
| Moulton plans to announce the push during a 9 a.m. news conference today alongside fellow Democrats. | ||
| The legislation continues House Democrats' pushback against the Trump administration's strikes targeting alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. | ||
| Half a dozen leading lawmakers earlier this week pitched a resolution seeking to prevent Trump from using U.S. forces against any group he's labeled as designated terrorist organizations within the Western Hemisphere. | ||
| The Senate has blocked two similar resolutions in recent months. | ||
| Let's get to your calls. | ||
| The president accusing Democrats of seditious behavior, John, in New York and Independent, your reaction to this back and forth in Washington this week. | ||
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unidentified
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My response is the tape that these Democratic congresspeople made was really shock. | |
| It was shocking. | ||
| I'd never heard of anything like this ever that I read in history or notice. | ||
| I'm 72 years old, and I never saw any response like this from a Democratic or anything. | ||
| And I do believe that this has to be truly investigated. | ||
| Donald Trump's response was rational. | ||
| I give him credit for that. | ||
| That was very rational. | ||
| But I don't believe that any of these senators should have any kind of contact with the Pentagon, our military forces, or anything until this is fully investigated. | ||
| And that I do hope that The Washington Journal doesn't sit in this because I hope they don't defend the response that these Democratic senators made. | ||
| This is very dangerous. | ||
| John, can I ask you to respond to The Wall Street Journal and how they frame the story? | ||
| They say that the president asked his more than 11 million followers on Truth Social whether they should be jailed, saying that seditious behavior was punishable by death. | ||
| You said his response was rational. | ||
| What about the suggestion they're punishable by death? | ||
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Do you think that the Democratic Congress people response was rational? | |
| How come you focus definitely on Donald Trump? | ||
| And you know, that's what's wrong with this. | ||
| The Washington Journal is complicit in all this mess. | ||
| John, the host facilitate a conversation. | ||
| You have a point of view. | ||
| I'm asking you, based on what the Wall Street Journal, how they've framed it, to respond to them. | ||
| We'll do the same for the other side. | ||
| Julian in Stanford, Connecticut, and Independent. | ||
| Go ahead, Julian. | ||
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unidentified
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He's sending this response that the Congress people... | |
| We'll go to Julian. | ||
| Let's try Julian in Stanford, Connecticut, and Independent. | ||
| You there, Julian? | ||
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unidentified
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Yes. | |
| Yes, I'm here. | ||
| Greta. | ||
| All right, go ahead. | ||
| The gentleman from New York asked you to be unbiased about this. | ||
| It's a little too late for that. | ||
| We know where you stand and everybody else on C-SPAN. | ||
| But you know what? | ||
| This is just another deranged thing that the Democrats are doing to undermine this president. | ||
| And he's absolutely right. | ||
| When you do that to the military, this country is finished. | ||
| Finished. | ||
| So I agree 100% with President Trump. | ||
| Have a great day, Greta. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Let's listen to the White House. | ||
| At the briefing yesterday, Press Secretary Caroline Lovitt was asked about the President's Truth Social Post. | ||
| And here's what he had to say. | ||
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This morning, President Trump accused six Democratic lawmakers of seditious behavior punishable by death. | |
| Just to be clear, does the president want to execute members of Congress? | ||
| No. | ||
| Let's be clear about what the president is responding to, because many in this room want to talk about the president's response, but not what brought the president to responding in this way. | ||
| You have sitting members of the United States Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the United States military, to active duty service members, to members of the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the president's lawful orders. | ||
| The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command. | ||
| And if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed. | ||
| It can lead to chaos. | ||
| And that's what these members of Congress who swore an oath to to abide by the Constitution are essentially encouraging. | ||
| We have 1.3 active duty service members in this country. | ||
| And if they hear this radical message from sitting members of Congress, that could inspire chaos and it could incite violence and it certainly could disrupt the chain of command. | ||
| These three members of Congress, I will also add, knew exactly what they were doing. | ||
| You look at Alyssa Slotkin. | ||
| She's a former member of the CIA. | ||
| Mark Kelly was a captain in the U.S. Navy. | ||
| Maggie Goodlander was a naval officer. | ||
| And notably, she was also, she is also the wife of Joe Biden's National Security former advisor, Jake Sullivan. | ||
| And so these members knew what they were doing. | ||
| They were leading into their credentials as former members of our military, as veterans, as former members of the national security apparatus to signal to people serving under this commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, that you can defy him and you can betray your oath of office. | ||
| That is a very, very dangerous message, and it perhaps is punishable by law. | ||
| I'm not a lawyer. | ||
| I'll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide. | ||
| Caroline Lovitt at the White House podium yesterday, we want to get your reaction and hear your response to her argument there about the President's Truth Social Post and this ad by Democratic lawmakers. | ||
| The Washington Post reports this morning the Pentagon did not respond Thursday morning to questions about the president's post. | ||
| Traditionally, the U.S. military adheres to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which holds that service members must obey lawful orders. | ||
| Whether they agree with them or not, they are obligated to not follow manifestly unlawful orders. | ||
| But such situations are rare and legally fraught. | ||
| Members of the military take an oath to the Constitution, not the president. | ||
| The Washington Post this morning with their reporting. | ||
| There are the lines on your screen. | ||
| We want you to join us in this conversation this morning. | ||
| Eddie is in Ackworth, Georgia, Democratic caller. | ||
| Morning, Eddie. | ||
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unidentified
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Good morning. | |
| I'm going to say it is very scary with Trump in this office. | ||
| Man, I'll be glad when he's gone. | ||
| These Republicans, boy, they is block-minded by everything this man does. | ||
| This man is trying to destroy the United States. | ||
| The whole world he's trying to destroy. | ||
| And the Republic's too blind and too stupid to see that he's trying to tear us down. | ||
| Eddie, what about the Democrats, though, in this ad that they produced? | ||
| How do you respond to the White House press secretary when she says they're inviting chaos? | ||
| They are inviting the military to disobey the commander-in-chief. | ||
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unidentified
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They need to because he's unhitched. | |
| Donald Trump is unhitched. | ||
| He don't know what he's doing in that office. | ||
| He's only by Donald Trump. | ||
| And they try to say the Democrat got Donald Trump syndrome. | ||
| We know. | ||
| We want to know what Donald Trump's doing. | ||
| Republicans don't know. | ||
| They're sleeping. | ||
| They is sleeping this year. | ||
| All right, Eddie. | ||
| Marty in Pleasanton, California, Republican. | ||
| Let's hear from you, Marty. | ||
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unidentified
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Good morning. | |
| Morning. | ||
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unidentified
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First off, you know, bullies act like the biggest victims when somebody does something to them. | |
| So first on the comments, on the video, you're talking to impressionable young people that join the military, 18 to 22-year-olds. | ||
| Those are the ones that defend us, but they're the ones that are going to be swayed, especially if they have a background that's very liberal. | ||
| So now you're telling them, go ahead and disobey. | ||
| Now, they're talking about Trump saying that that's a hangable offense. | ||
| But when they said that Trump committed treason, weren't they saying the same thing to him? | ||
| Because if you commit treason, you can be hung as well. | ||
| Now, for them to do what they did, that's what the CIA does in different countries. | ||
| They sow chaos, and they want the people to turn on the government. | ||
| And that's exactly what they're asking them to do. | ||
| Marty, there. | ||
| Go ahead, Marty. | ||
| Finish your thought. | ||
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unidentified
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Well, on another note, recently it came out that they're saying that the swatch sticker was taken out as being a hate crime in the military. | |
| And everybody's in an uproar because of that. | ||
| And I agree that the swatch sticker is a hate crime. | ||
| But the Democrats have been calling Trump and his cabinet Hitler and anybody that believes in Trump as Hitler's. | ||
| So isn't that the same thing? | ||
| They're just using their words. | ||
| All right, Marty. | ||
| We'll go back to the topic here this morning, the Democratic ad from six lawmakers who have experience in the military and in national security, calling on those in the military to disobey illegal orders. | ||
| The president responding on Truth Social, calling it seditious behavior. | ||
| Here's the definition of seditious behavior from Newsweek.com. | ||
| If two or more persons in any state or territory or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States conspire to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States or to levy war against them or to oppose by force the authority thereof or by force to prevent, | ||
| hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years or both. | ||
| That is what the law on sedition says. | ||
| William in Ohio, Independent. | ||
| Hi, William. | ||
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unidentified
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Hello. | |
| Hello. | ||
| How are you today? | ||
| Morning. | ||
| Go ahead and share your thoughts with us. | ||
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unidentified
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Well, I myself, you know, people swear to the Constitution not to a 10-plated dictator who thinks he's letting off Hitler reincarnated. | |
| He's let all those people go that were in prison that were seducing for him, but now he wants to kill people that want to defend the Constitution. | ||
| Hey, tell them that this, please set up the independent line they're doing. | ||
| And by the way. | ||
| All right, William, I'm going to go on to Chris, who's in Louisville, Kentucky, Democratic caller. | ||
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unidentified
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Good morning, Greta. | |
| How are you? | ||
| And I had to respond to this subject because I was trying not to call too much. | ||
| Well, I haven't called anyway. | ||
| But anyway, what is happening to America? | ||
| And what I mean by that is the congresspeople who put out the letter of the edict, they were all military veterans, if I'm correct, correct? | ||
| Military or experience in national security, intelligence circles. | ||
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unidentified
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Exactly. | |
| And what I wish you would ask these callers, particularly these right-wing mango white guys that he's talking about, he's 72 and whatever he is. | ||
| I'm 74. | ||
| I'm a Vietnam veteran. | ||
| And I wish you'd ask them all if they are veterans or not. | ||
| And why that's important is because anybody who goes in the military doing your basic training and your AIT, you have a class. | ||
| And in that class, they give you certain basics of the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. | ||
| And by law, and I wish you would state it again, you are obligated to disobey an unlawful order. | ||
| And one of the things that constitutes an unlawful order is any order given to you has to be given in front of a witness. | ||
| That's why when you see a captain ordering you something, he has a sergeant standing by. | ||
| When a colonel gives you an order, he has a captain standing by. | ||
| When a sergeant gives you an order, he has a private standing by. | ||
| Because unless it's done in front of a witness, it's unlawful. | ||
| You can cut them out if you want to. | ||
| It's just you and the general. | ||
| But as soon as he brings a colonel standing next to him, you jump to attention. | ||
| Yes, sir. | ||
| No, sir. | ||
| You follow his orders. | ||
| All right, Chris. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Barbara, Knoxville, Tennessee, Independent. | ||
| Your turn, Barbara. | ||
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unidentified
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Hi, how are you today? | |
| I hope well. | ||
| I'm just wanting to say that President Trump really has done it this time. | ||
| I mean, of all things to say, of all things to say, good gracious, I'm just living over it. | ||
| I wanted a president who was proud, who we could be proud of, actually. | ||
| He might be a little bit too proud of, I don't know what, but he's done it this time, buddy. | ||
| I've turned against him, that's for sure. | ||
| Nobody should do that to the ex-military who is serving the country on after their military service. | ||
| Those people did that commercial, they did it right. | ||
| They did what people needed to know. | ||
| All right, Barbara, Barbara in Tennessee, an independent caller. | ||
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unidentified
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We're going to leave this, take you live to the White House, where President Trump is meeting with Zoran Mamdami, the mayor-elect of New York City. | |
| Well, thank you very much. | ||
| We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. | ||
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We have one thing in common. | |
| We want this city of ours that we love to do very well. | ||
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unidentified
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And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. |