A recent video of several Democrat U.S. lawmakers urging military members to disobey "illegal" orders from President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of many Republicans, including U.S. Senate candidate Morgan Murphy, who called it "sickening" political grandstanding at best, or worse, a "dog whistle" to those opposing the president's agenda.
"It's just sickening to watch them use the military for political purposes," Murphy said Friday on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show." And I think, you know, more than just a social media boost, there's something more insidious to it. I really believe when Democrats call for disobedience on the part of the military, it's a dog whistle."
He continued, "First of all, you can't have a debate on something like this, because what order exactly are you talking about? So when you come out and say, 'Oh, you shouldn't follow any illegal orders.' Well, I mean, every member of the military knows that. And instead of praising our military, which is what these guys should be doing, they should be praising the brave men and women of our military."
Murphy pointed to the drop in crime in areas where Trump has sent in the National Guard, something for which he's received significant Democratic pushback.
"Our military has been instrumental in the past 10 months of getting this country back into shape. And that's what these Democrats should be praising. But instead, they're trying to find some make-believe infraction and suggest that our military might follow an illegal order. It's just bunk."
One example Democrats have pointed to as a potential "illegal order" was Trump's use of lethal force on drug boats in the Caribbean. However, Murphy said presidents have been taking out the bad guys on the high seas since the country's founding.
"The president has been taking out like American presidents have been taking out Buccaneers, pirates, the cartel members. This is the very founding of our country," he said. "Thomas Jefferson in 1801, sacked the Barbary pirates with the U.S. Navy. He didn't go to Congress and say, 'Can we kill these pirates?' He just killed them. And that's what President Trump is doing. And that's what our military is designed to do, is to break things and kill people."
President Trump called the lawmakers' message seditious, and Vice President said their call to defy the president was itself illegal.
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