White House says Trump posts on Democrats not political violence
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the idea that President Donald Trump's social media posts calling Democratic lawmakers "traitors" who should face the death penalty amounts to the political violence he's accused the "radical left" of partaking in.
"The president and the vice president, for that matter, have accused the other side of encouraging political violence. Isn't that exactly what the president is doing when he says that members of Congress should be killed?" a reporter asked Leavitt during Thursday's briefing.
"Why aren't you talking about what these members of Congress are doing to encourage and incite violence?" Leavitt responded. They are literally saying to 1.3 million active duty service members not to -- to defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders," Leavitt said.

Leavitt added, "To suggest and encourage that active-duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do, and they should be held accountable. And that's what the president wants to see."
When the reporter followed up that the video that prompted Trump's posts was about illegal orders, Leavitt said they're "suggesting" that Trump "has given illegal orders, which he has not."






