Slotkin Admits Trump Has Not Issued Illegal Military Orders Amid Sedition Controversy
Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) acknowledged on national television Sunday that she is not aware of President Donald Trump having ever issued an illegal order to the U.S. military, undercutting the central premise of a controversial video she and other Democrats released last week urging troops to defy unlawful commands.
The admission came during an appearance on ABC’s This Week, when host Martha Raddatz pressed Slotkin to respond to criticism from the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously blasted the video, saying the Democrats implied that Trump had already issued illegal orders — “which he has not.”
Pressed directly by Raddatz — “Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders?” — Slotkin 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 comment was a clear concession that undermines the Democrats’ preemptive warning to the military, which President Trump and many Republicans have called seditious.
Elissa Slotkin ADMITS Democrats lied about President Trump issuing illegal orders to the military:
ABC: “Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders?”
SLOTKIN: “To my knowledge I am not aware of things that are illegal.” pic.twitter.com/63F8AHkK7E
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 23, 2025
Trump Fires Back: “Sedition at the Highest Level”
Trump responded with fury over the weekend, calling the Democrat lawmakers “traitors” and accusing them of encouraging rebellion within the armed forces.
“THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME.”
Though Trump initially suggested seditious behavior was “punishable by death,” he later clarified that he was not calling for execution — only accountability.
Democrats’ Video Sparks Widespread Blowback
The video in question features Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and others claiming that the Trump administration is weaponizing the military and intelligence community against U.S. citizens. The lawmakers assert that troops can and should refuse unlawful orders.
“You can refuse illegal orders,” both Kelly and Slotkin say in the video.
Critics, including senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, called the video “a general call for rebellion.” Former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright accused Slotkin of using her intelligence background to craft a deliberate propaganda piece.
“She knew what she was doing when she put that together,” Wright said.
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
White House: Democrats Manufacturing a Crisis
The Trump White House maintains that no illegal orders have been issued and that Democrats are deliberately undermining confidence in the chain of command to delegitimize the commander-in-chief. Administration officials say the video is part of a broader campaign by the left to sow distrust in military institutions and obstruct Trump’s national security agenda.
Slotkin’s on-air admission that she has no evidence of illegal orders appears to validate those concerns, raising new questions about why the video was produced in the first place — and what impact it may have on military morale.