Trump Called for Democrats to Be Executed

Summary

Bulwark Takes – “Trump Called for Democrats to Be Executed”

Date: November 20, 2025
Participants: Sam Stein (host), Andrew Egger, Sarah Longwell (briefly), Democratic Congressman Jason Crow

Episode Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes urgently addresses the alarming development that former President Donald Trump has repeatedly posted online advocating for the execution of Democratic members of Congress, accusing them of sedition and treason. The conversation dissects the content of both the Democratic video that sparked Trump’s rage and the dangerous escalation in rhetoric from the ex-president and his allies. Sam Stein and Andrew Egger break down the context, the stakes, and the wider implications for American democracy.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Sparked the Outrage: The Democrats’ Video

• The episode centers on a recent video posted by Democratic lawmakers—many of them veterans or intelligence community alumni—reminding military and intelligence personnel that they are obliged to refuse unlawful or unconstitutional orders from any Commander-in-Chief.
• Sam characterizes the video as “almost anodyne,” essentially a public reaffirmation of military law and oath.
  • Quote: "The Democrats video was totally fine. There's nothing. It's like almost anodyne." – Sam Stein [06:07]

Sample Lines from the Video ([02:01–02:52]):

• “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.” – Democratic Lawmaker [02:16]
• “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.” – Sarah Longwell [02:25]
• “Don’t give up. Don’t give up the ship.” – (Repeated by multiple participants) [02:49–02:53]

---

2. Trump’s Escalating and Dangerous Response

• Sam Stein summarizes Trump’s repeated social media posts calling for Democratic lawmakers to be “hanged”, “tried and executed”, calling their actions “seditious behavior punishable by death.”
  • Quote: “Hang them. George Washington would. Unlawful is the key word, folks. Unlawful, sedition, insurrection, treason. Get these people out of office… Seditious behavior punishable by death.” – Paraphrased Trump posts [03:06–03:44]
• Andrew Egger emphasizes the shocking nature of Trump’s rhetoric, noting that it simply cannot be normalized.
  • Quote: “He is just incensed… he views the military as his guys… the idea that other electeds are even able to, like, bring things up to these guys… is intolerable to him.” – Andrew Egger [11:26]
• Sam underlines the disconnect between Trump’s outright execution talk and the more “strategic” responses of his allies, like Stephen Miller and Todd Blanche, who focus on calling the video a call to insurrection or rebellion, and demanding resignations rather than executions ([12:10]).

---

3. How Trump World Is Amplifying the Attack

• The discussion covers the quick pivot by Trump allies in media and legal circles to frame the Democrats’ video as a lawless call for revolt:
  • Stephen Miller on Fox News: Describes the video as “a general call for rebellion” and argues that Democratic lawmakers should “resign in disgrace.”
    • Quote: “…should honestly resign in disgrace and never return to public office again for even daring to think, let alone to say these words…” – Reading Stephen Miller [07:16, 12:10]
  • Todd Blanche on Hannity: Claims the Democrats are encouraging insubordination and violating no actual laws ([07:23]).

---

4. Democrats Respond: Congressman Jason Crow’s Defense

• Jason Crow, a House Democrat and veteran featured in the video, appears on Fox to defend the message, citing Trump’s past consideration of unlawful actions as precedent:
  • Lafayette Square protest orders: Allegedly asking, “Can’t you just shoot them? Can’t you just shoot them in the legs or something?” ([09:43])
  • Threats to send troops into American cities or polling stations, which is illegal under U.S. law ([10:14]).

---

5. Deeper Analysis: Why This Approach, Why Now?

• Sam and Andrew discuss whether Trump’s team is amplifying this conflict to distract from less favorable news (e.g., “Epstein files”), and note the classic strategy of fueling division through outrage and culture war topics ([10:55]).
• Andrew points to how Trump’s personal mentality drives him to lash out whenever others address “his” military, reinforcing his worldview that conflates himself with the government.
• Both stress that the actual effect of this strategy may backfire, with Andrew saying,
  • Quote: “They are so fucking high on their own supply that they think this kind of thing is, like, getting the American people jazzed up. Like… he’s heading for a catastrophe in the midterms if this is the issue that he wants to make.” – Andrew Egger [15:25]

---

6. The Stakes: Rampant Normalization of Political Violence

• Sam Stein contextualizes the current moment against broader concerns about political violence:
  • Quote: “This is coming in a moment where everyone is supposed to be denouncing political violence… and then to turn around and have the President… say we need to kill lawmakers on the other side because of anodyne video…” – Sam Stein [13:13]
  • Both note the numbing effect of such rhetoric—where open calls for extrajudicial punishment of political opponents are just “the new normal.”
  • Quote: “When the President is calling for political opponents to be hanged, that is a problem. And you can't just sort of skirt around it and say, well, we're not going to talk about it because he wants us to talk about it.” – Sam Stein [15:02]

---

Notable & Memorable Moments

• Trump’s Posts as Escalation:
  “Hang them. George Washington would.” was the literal phrase Trump reposted, pushing the rhetoric from serious to outright incitement ([03:06]).
• Sarah Longwell’s Dismissal of Trump's Order on Lafayette Square:
  “That was not a military order. That was a comment…” – Sarah Longwell [09:53]
• Direct Challenge to “Normalization”:
  “It's dangerous shit. It's really dangerous shit.” – Sam Stein [14:35]
• Meta-Commentary on Media Outrage Cycles:
  “They want us to freak out about their freak out. And I’m a little bit torn about it, but… When the President is calling for political opponents to be hanged, that is a problem.” – Sam Stein [15:02]

---

Important Timestamps

• [01:00] – Opening of the substantive discussion
• [02:01–02:52] – Snippets from the Democrats’ video
• [03:06–03:44] – Sam Stein reading Trump’s inflammatory posts
• [07:16, 12:10] – Stephen Miller’s Fox News demand for resignations
• [09:43–10:29] – Jason Crow defending the video, detailing Trump’s previous unlawful order threats
• [13:13] – Broader conversation on political violence and normalization
• [15:02–15:46] – Sam & Andrew’s conclusion on the need to call out this rhetoric, not ignore it

---

Tone & Takeaway

• Urgent, Blunt, and Unflinching: The hosts refuse to minimize Trump’s calls for violence—calling them “outrageous,” “unhinged,” and “dangerous shit.”
• No Both-Sides-ism: The conversation sharply differentiates between the Democratic video (a legalistic, almost ceremonial reminder) and Trump’s apocalyptic, authoritarian response.
• Direct Warnings about Authoritarian Drift: These hosts see Trump’s rhetoric as not only a political strategy but as a genuine indicator of his belief that he is above the law—and a warning sign of potential violence and deeper democratic erosion.

---

Bottom Line

Bulwark Takes delivers a sharp, clear-eyed assessment: Trump’s open calls for the execution of Democratic lawmakers are both unprecedented and dangerous, and not merely cynical headline-chasing. The hosts urge listeners and the public not to become desensitized to this kind of rhetoric, even as Trump’s team seeks to distract, divide, and escalate. As Sam Stein sums it up: “When the President is calling for political opponents to be hanged, that is a problem.”

Transcript

[Sarah]

Hey, this is Sarah. Look, I'm standing out front of a.m. p.m. Right now and, well, you're sweet and all, but I found something more fulfilling, even kind of cheesy. But I like it. Sure, you met some of my dietary needs, but they've just got it all, so farewell, oatmeal. So long, you strange soggy.

[AMPM Advertiser]

Break up with bland breakfast and taste AM PM's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit made with K tree eggs, smoked bacon and melty cheese on a buttery biscuit. AM P M. Too much. Good stuff.

[Sarah]

What do you think makes the perfect snack?

[AMPM Advertiser]

Hmm, it's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient.

[Sarah]

Could you be more specific?

[AMPM Advertiser]

When it's cravinient.

[Sam Stein]

Okay.

[AMPM Advertiser]

Like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter, available right down the street at a.m. p.m. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just a second at AM pm.

[Sarah]

I'm seeing a pattern here.

[AMPM Advertiser]

Well, yeah, we're talking about what I.

[Sarah]

Crave, which is anything from AM pm.

[AMPM Advertiser]

What more could you want? Stop by AMPM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravenience. A.m. p.m. Much good stuff.

[Sam Stein]

Hey everybody, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bullock. I'm here with Andrew Egger, author of Morning Shots, who I guess must have just run to the shower and combed his hair because usually he's not operating at this hour right after filing morning shots. But thank you, Andrew. I appreciate it. We're here because something crazy is happening right now online. It's 11am on Tuesday and Donald Trump has been bleeding multiple, multiple times about, let's be just blunt, about. About hanging and killing Democratic members of Congress. That's a real sentence. The President has been posting about his desire to see members of Congress killed. That's what's happening now. The. The crime here is that group of members of Congress collaborated on a video where they made a suggestion or a reminder to military personnel that they don't have to obey unlawful orders. Which is true. They don't. Let's watch a tiny clip of that video. And then, Andrew, I'm going to go over what Trump's reaction has been.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

This administration is pitting our uniform military.

[Andrew Egger]

And intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

You all swore an oath to protect.

[Sarah]

And defend this Constitution.

[Andrew Egger]

Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.

[Sarah]

You can refuse illegal orders.

[Andrew Egger]

You must refuse illegal orders.

[Sarah]

No One has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.

[Sam Stein]

We know this is hard and that.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

It'S a difficult time to be a public servant.

[Sarah]

But whether you're serving in the CIA.

[Andrew Egger]

The army or Navy, the Air Force.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

Your vigilance is critical.

[Sarah]

And know that we have your back. Because now more than ever, the American people need you. We need you to stand up for.

[Andrew Egger]

Our laws, our Constitution, and who we are as Americans.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

Don't give up.

[Andrew Egger]

Don't give up. Don't give up.

[Sarah]

Don't give up.

[Andrew Egger]

The ship.

[Sam Stein]

All right, so there you see it. Little bit of a video. Here's how Trump has reacted to this. Okay, I'm just going to read a little snippet of it, and then I'm going to let Andrew cook on this. He's been reposting a bunch of things such as this. Hang them. George Washington would. Unlawful is the key word, folks. Unlawful, sedition, insurrection, treason. Get these people out of office. They aren't doing their jobs. They're looking for ways to be rebels. Here's one. 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. And then lastly, one that has been pushed around by his accounts, seditious behavior punishable by death. I don't know, what do you think?

[Andrew Egger]

I mean, yeah, on a certain level, what do you say? Right? I mean, for a little more, little more background on the video that these Democrats put out, Democrats who have, who are either army veterans or who have served in the intelligence community, they personally have, you know, served their country in this way. And they speaking from their own experience, but also their own knowledge of the law, just speaking to this moment in time when Donald Trump's exercise of the military and exercise of, you know, federal law enforcement has become increasingly unhinged and at least inching right up to the line of unlawfulness, if not just unlawful activity in a number of things, from blowing up boats in the Caribbean to, you know, sending the National Guard into these cities over the. Over and around the objection of various courts. So, I mean, this is the moment we find ourselves in. And this stuff all kind of started off with, with Stephen Miller, as these things are want to do. He spent all of yesterday saying essentially that Democrats were calling for an insurrection because they were reminding these service members what these service members are already told in their own training, which is that a lawful, an unlawful Order is not an order that you are bound by your O's and by the law to follow.

[Sam Stein]

Right.

[Andrew Egger]

They were not specifically identifying any of these things as unlawful orders. They were not saying, you know, these specific things you are being commanded to do are unlawful and you should therefore not do these specific things. They were just giving that reminder and then, and then. And really what it was was just sort of like a rallying cry. Right. For. For people in the armed services who, who feel just sort of dismayed or who might feel torn between, you know, their, their chain of comm. Bad feelings about what certain things that are going on. And the kind of. The slogan that popped up at the end was don't give up. Don't give up the ship. Right. And I honestly thought it was like kind of a remarkable video in a lot of ways and an interesting thing for Democrats to putting forward. Potentially a useful thing for Democrats to be putting forward, but in particular because Donald Trump just can't. I mean, this is the kind of thing that just drives him absolutely insane.

[Sam Stein]

Right.

[Andrew Egger]

I mean, these are people who have actually put themselves on the line for the country in a way that he has never done and who are going after what is his kind of like central, like, core principle in all of this, which is that he is the state, of course, he essentially is. Is the military, is the government, is the, you know, all of these things and lashing out at them in sort of the most unhinged ways we've ever seen out of him. I mean, I'm really kind of startled here.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. No. Okay. So there is a fair bit to unpack. The Democrats video was totally fine. There's nothing. It's like almost anodyne.

[Andrew Egger]

Right.

[Sam Stein]

It's just a video being like this is. This is a reminder that you do not have to execute unlawful orders. They didn't have to put it out. Felt compelled to do it. The reaction to the video is what's unhinged. Right. Like, so you mentioned Stephen Miller. This is what he said to Fox. I mean, we could. Let's play a little bit of it.

[Democratic Lawmaker]

It's a general call for rebellion from the CIA and the armed services of the United States by Democrat lawmakers saying that you have not only the right, but the duty and the obligation to defy orders of the commander in chief, that those who carry weapons in America's name should defy their chain of command and engage in open acts of insurrection. That the CIA, the clandestine service, which isn't even legally authorized to operate in the United States, should engage in again acts of rebellion and insurrection. These lawmakers should honestly resign in disgrace and never return to public office again for even daring to think, let alone to say these words and to say them proudly.

[Sam Stein]

Right? So that's one of it. And then you have Todd Blanche on Hannity doing the same thing.

[Todd Blanche]

This is a disgusting and inappropriate display of supposed leadership from the Democrat Party. These men and women should not have described themselves as former members of the military who are or former members of the intelligence community. They should have described themselves as Democrats who lost and Democrats who don't like the result of last November because there is no laws being violated, there are no orders that are being given that are unconstitutional or illegal. And the fact that these folks came out and encouraged our young men and women who are all, many of them armed to defy court orders is something that we have to take a very close look at. And I promise you, Sean, that we.

[Sam Stein]

Will Bulwark takes a Sponsored by Soul Cold nights, cozy blankets and Sol's out of Office Gummies. It's my new favorite routine. Throw on a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, grab a gummy and unwind. It's a little self care ritual that keeps me calm through the holiday chaos. Sol is a wellness brand that believes feeling good should be fun and easy. Sol specializes in delicious hemp derived THC and CBD products d designed to boost your mood and help you unwind. Their best selling out of Office Gummies were designed to provide a mild relaxing buzz, boost your mood and enhance creativity and relaxation. With five different strengths, you can tailor your dose to fit your vibe from a gentle 1.5mg microdose, which again is my preferred dose for parenting, to their newest 15 milligram gummy. For a more elevated experience. Maybe be careful with that one around the Christmas or Hanukkah table please folks, it's the holidays. Seoul also has a variety of products specifically designed to help you get a better night's rest, including their top selling Sleepy Gummies, a fan favorite for deep restorative sleep. Take advantage of Sol's Black Friday Cyber Monday deal now. For a limited time, get 40% off your entire order. Go to getsoul.com and use the code bulwarktakes. That's getsoul.com promo code bulwarktakes for 40% off. Don't miss their best deal of the year. And then one of the guys who was in the video, Congressman Jason Crow, went on Fox News to talk about and defend it and they're like, well, what action are you talking about name a specific action that he's, you know, where he's issued an unlawful order and Crow didn't take the bait. He's just saying, Look, I'm just talking about in general, well, number one, the.

[Congressman Jason Crow]

Protests of Lafayette Square in the first Trump administration where he said, can't you just shoot them? Can't you just shoot them in the legs or something? That's his direction, quote, and of course, the then chairman of the joint order.

[Sarah]

That was not a military order. That was a comment that it was.

[Congressman Jason Crow]

When that's coming from the president of the United States to your command, to your generals, don't you think that's a request?

[Sarah]

I'm asking specifically, number one, right now, what you're talking about.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah.

[Congressman Jason Crow]

Number two, he's also threatened to send the military into Chicago and other cities to, quote, go to war with those cities.

[Sam Stein]

Right.

[Congressman Jason Crow]

That is a very, very disturbing thing. Number three, he's also alluded to sending troops to polling stations, which is actually a violation of U. S. Law, U. S. Criminal law prohibits troops from going to polling stations, and he's alluded to that, so those are just one of.

[Sam Stein]

Many examples, like, it seems to me that the Trump folks really just want to elevate this and create an absolute, you know, they want to create a fight out of this, they want this to be the main issue. And so they're, they're going on Fox, they're denouncing it, they're calling it seditious. They want us to do what we're doing, essentially. They want us to freak out about their freak out. And I'm a little bit torn about it, but I actually don't mind that we're freaking out about their freak out.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, well, there are two elements to it. There's the strategic element, and there's always the question of, you know, like, what is it they're trying to draw eyeballs away from? What are they trying to put eyeballs on? Plainly they see, you know, stuff like, you know, troops in the streets and blowing up these boats in the Caribbean as more of, like, winning issues for them than, for instance, the Epstein files, you know, like the, another big thing that's been in the news. Right. I mean, it is obviously true that, you know, Trump does try, and Trump, his people do try to deflect away from news stories that are, that are bad on them back to ones that they think are on their turf, but there's also just like the personal psychological element for, for Donald Trump here, and I think that that is what you can see in sort of the delta, in the difference between the stuff that, like, Blanche and Miller are saying on the one hand, and the. The significantly more unhinged stuff you're seeing this morning now from the president specifically calling again for these guys to be tried and put to death. The way that, that implicates, like, his personal psychology is he is just incensed at the, at the idea that anybody is talking to his troops. Right. His. He views the military as like, his guys, his guys that he gets to put out there. And so, like, the idea that, that other electeds are even able to, like, you know, bring things up to these guys that, that could lead to them, not, like, loving, you know, doing every single little thing he asked them is intolerable to him.

[Sam Stein]

I want to just jump on that because I'm reading over the Stephen Miller quote. His remedy for this is the lawmaker should honestly resign in disgrace and never return to public office again for even daring to think, let alone to say these words. Whatever. Shut up. So stove at the top. Trump is on a different planet, man. It's not. It's galactically different. He's calling for them to be killed. Killed. And then on top of that, this is a guy who, to your point, believes that the government works for him. And so there's fairly ample. I mean, not saying they're going to kill these lawmakers or trying them, but, you know, he's. A week ago, he instructed Pambani to open up an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, and within four hours, she did it. Right. Like, it's not like the, the Justice Department is just going to sort of be like, oh, I won't let that one, you know, burn out in the ether. You know, there's. He obviously directs the Justice Department at the same time.

[Andrew Egger]

Like, how long has it been now? A couple of months, a month or two? Since, like, the great right win sort of like freak out over political rhetoric and the behaviors of this.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, that was my next part, is that this is coming in a moment where everyone is supposed to be denouncing political violence, and they should. And certainly the White House has made the case. You can Google any JD Vance tweet you want about how political violence is run amok and that liberals are the problem for it, and then to turn around and have the President of the United States, your boss, say we need to kill lawmakers on the other side because of anodyne video they put out. I mean, so it's so outrageous. And the problem, of course, is that we're just so calloused by this all, like, it's become normalized to a degree that's like, oh, yeah, the President's out there bleeding that people should be killed because he didn't like the video.

[Andrew Egger]

And I mean, like, if. If you are, like, taking the plain words at their plane meeting, it is not only just like, these people should be tried and, like, executed. I mean, like, hang them. George Washington would. George Washington was never, like, you know.

[Sam Stein]

Did George Washington do that?

[Andrew Egger]

In general, this is explicitly talking about, like, you know, these extrajudicial, like, processes. Like, you. Like, you just. We should just string those guys up. Right? I mean, that's the. Those are the plain words on the page. That's. That's not one. Trump typed out with his own thumbs. He retweeted that from an ardent fan on truth.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, I know. But there are some that they've been reposting from their house accounts. Like, this is definitely. Yeah, yeah.

[Andrew Egger]

I mean, it's really. What do you think?

[Sam Stein]

It's dangerous shit. It's really dangerous shit. I will just say I'll close it with this. I know that they want us to be focused on this. I know that they want this video that Democrats made to be the topic one. I know it. Like, it's obvious. They do this thing every time where they find something that they think works to their advantage that can be divisive, and then they amplify it through every possible medium, channel that it can find, usually Fox News. And then Trump jumps on it with his own social media feeds, and he pushes it and pushes it, and he loves it when we talk about this stuff. And you know what? Guilty. I'll talk about it. I don't care. When the President is calling for political opponents to be hanged, that is a problem. And you can't just sort of skirt around it and say, well, we're not going to talk about it because he wants us to talk about it.

[Andrew Egger]

No. And the other thing is. The other thing is, Sam. Like, he's wrong. Like, he is not correct if he thinks that this stuff plays to his ultimate political benefit. They are so fucking high on their own supply that they think this kind of thing is, like, getting the American people jazzed up. Like, there. I don't think the median Trump support.

[Sam Stein]

Rewatch the video.

[Andrew Egger]

A lot of people who, you know, his loudest fans, his most core fans, you know, based. Great job, Mr. President. This is what I voted for, you know, all that kind of stuff, no matter what he does. But, like, he is, like, heading for a catastrophe in the midterms. If this is the issue that he wants to make, like the man, like, vote for me to string up, like, veterans who are now House Democrats.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, it's, it's kind of ridiculous, right? It's like, oh, yeah, from their vengeance. Like, oh, yeah, watch that video. And you watch a video, it's like, you don't have to follow an illegal order. It's like, okay, yeah, yeah, I know. It's like, so ridiculous. Anyways, we'll keep monitoring it. Carolyn Levitt's briefing today. I'm sure she'll be asked about it. I'm sure a bunch of Republicans in Congress will say they didn't see any of the dozen bleats that he's put out. So we'll see. But, yeah, we'll follow it. Andre. Thank you, buddy. Appreciate it.

[Andrew Egger]

Here we go.