US President Donald Trump on Thursday (November 20) called six Democratic Party leaders traitors and suggested they be “executed”.In a series of social media posts, he called their actions “SEDITIOUS”, adding that these could be “punishable by DEATH!” He also shared a post by a different user, which read “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”The posts triggered damage control by the Republican party, with White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt clarifying that Trump was not advocating for these lawmakers to be put to death.Several Democratic Congressmen filed police complaints on Friday following Trump’s social media posts. However, this is not the first time the president has made such comments. Here is what to know.What triggered the president’s outburst?Six Democrat lawmakers, who had all formerly served in the military or intelligence community, posted a video this week urging members of the military to disobey direct orders if they violated the law. The video was organised by Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former C.I.A. analyst who served in Iraq.Members of the military typically commence their training with the instruction to refuse to carry illegal orders. Under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, military personnel can only be sanctioned if they disobey lawful orders.Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut who served in the US Navy, says in the video, “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”Story continues below this adMore Explained | Story of US ‘dept of war’, the new name Trump has for DoDThe video did not identify a specific order or scenario. However, members of the Grand Old Party, as the Republican Party is also called, claimed that the video openly encouraged military personnel to disobey their commander-in-chief.“If this were Republican members of Congress who were encouraging members of the military and members of our United States government to defy orders from the president and from the chain of command, this entire room would be up in arms. But instead it is the other way around, and I think that’s quite telling,” Leavitt said in a White House press briefing.Why did the Democrats release such a video now?Since his second term commenced this January, the president has sought to expand the ambit of the military, even attempting to politicise the armed forces. In recent months, he has deployed the National Guard countrywide in a bid to crack down on illegal immigration, drug-related crime and homelessness. Judges across the country have characterised this deployment as illegal and in violation of several court orders.Upon his orders, the US military has carried out at least four strikes on so-called “drug vessels” in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, targeting people the Trump administration has claimed were “affiliated” with drug cartels it had designated as terrorist organisations. At least 80 have been killed so far.Story continues below this adAccording to a CNN report, major allies like the UK, as well as the United Nations, have regarded these strikes as illegal extrajudicial killings. There is concern that the personnel involved in all of these actions have been enforcing illegal orders.Also in Explained | Indian migrants sent back from US: Why Trump is using expensive military planes for deportationIn 2023, Trump has similarly called for the execution of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley after the latter spoke to a Chinese general during the final months of Trump’s first term. In a social media post that September, Trump had then described the backchannel communications by Milley as a “treasonous act” that was “so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”Trump’s long-held advocacy of questionable military actionSince his first presidency, Trump has repeatedly made remarks along similar lines.In 2016, Trump suggested that the military torture and kill the families of terrorists, doubling down when faced with the position that the military would not follow an illegal order that could violate international law. And in 2020, he considered the idea of a military strike on Iranian cultural sites, a potential war crime if it had been executed.Story continues below this adFormer members of his staff, such as his first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have repeatedly drawn attention to Trump’s attempt to pursue illegal actions. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper recalled Trump’s proposal to shoot protestors who took to the streets after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.