Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) blasted his Republican colleagues on Sunday for largely standing by as President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked a group of Democratic lawmakers.
“We’ve heard very little, basically crickets, from Republicans in the United States Congress about what the president has said about hanging members of Congress,” Kelly said during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
His comments come as Trump has published a series of incendiary statements going after six Democrats, including boosting a post last week that said “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
In another post on Thursday, Trump accused the Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
And on Saturday, Trump doubled down on his accusations of “sedition,” while adding that the Democrats were “TRAITORS” who “SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW.”
Those posts were in response to a video a group of Democratic veterans and former intelligence officers had made, reminding service members they have the ability to “refuse illegal orders.”
Democrats have condemned Trump’s statements, urged him to recant them and raised fears about how they could incite political violence. Both Kelly and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), two of the lawmakers in the video, have also described experiencing a surge in threats since Trump shared his posts.
“Because of what he says, there is now an — increased threats against us,” Kelly said Sunday.
Slotkin’s office said that she’s had around-the-clock security detail in the days since Trump’s posts, and that she received a bomb threat targeting her home this past Friday. Slotkin wasn’t home at the time, according to her spokesperson, and police were able to confirm that no one was in danger.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, said Thursday that Trump was not calling for the executions of Democrats and quickly pivoted to critiquing their video instead of reckoning with the president’s statements.
And even as Democratic lawmakers have vocally denounced Trump’s remarks, Republicans’ reactions have broadly been far more muted.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has noted that he wouldn’t have used the same language as Trump while dismissing the statements as “heated rhetoric.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) also added that he didn’t “agree with the president’s conclusion on how we ought to handle” Democrats’ video but stopped short of calling on Trump to apologize.
Only a handful of Republicans like Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have offered more pointed critiques.
Kelly questioned this response after Republicans were quick to condemn rhetoric that could foment political violence after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s killing.
“Where are they now?” he asked.