A viral video posted this week by Sen. Elissa Slotkin and shared across social platforms urged members of the U.S. military and intelligence community to “stand up” and reject what the lawmakers called unlawful direction from the current administration. The blunt message — framed as a patriotic duty — immediately set off alarm bells for anyone who believes the chain of command and civilian control of the military are foundations of our republic.
The one?minute clip, titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” features six Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds — Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Reps. Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander and Jason Crow — repeating lines like “You can refuse illegal orders” and “You must refuse illegal orders.” The imagery and script were unmistakable: elected officials directly encouraging rank?and?file public servants to question the lawful directives of their civilian leaders.
Conservative commentators rightly called it what it appears to be — a dangerous flirtation with mutiny and a reckless politicization of our armed forces. Voices across the right have demanded answers and accountability, and have labeled the stunt an open invitation to chaos that, if copied by anyone on the other side, would trigger instant outrage and legal consequences.
This spectacle didn’t occur in a vacuum. The video comes as several Democrats, including the participants, have been pushing legislation to restrict presidential authority over domestic troop deployments and overseas narco?terror strikes — a legislative fight that explains why some in their party are desperate to block or delegitimize the president’s options. At the same time the administration has been conducting strikes against alleged narco?trafficking vessels and signaling harder action in the Caribbean and Venezuela, giving Democrats raw political fuel to claim “illegal orders.”
Make no mistake: telling uniformed Americans to pick sides when lawful authority exists is the fastest way to destroy unit cohesion, endanger lives, and hand our enemies a massive strategic advantage. Conservatives should be the first to defend honest, apolitical service members — and that means defending the chain of command and due process, not encouraging rank?and?file disobedience in the middle of a political war. Real patriots support our troops and our institutions, not performative calls for insurrection dressed up as “patriotism.”
This is also about a broader left?wing playbook: when you can’t win the policy fight, you erode trust in institutions and recruit bureaucracy as a political actor. The coordinated nature of the message — delivered by former service members turned partisan actors — smells of a premeditated attempt to build a permanent administrative resistance to any Republican president who dares to secure the border or go after narco?terror networks. Conservatives must call this out for what it is and expose the hypocrisy.
Americans who prize law and order should demand investigations, ethical reviews, and immediate clarification from those who made the video about what they meant and what orders they consider “illegal.” Voters must remember these actions at the ballot box and stand with the men and women in uniform who follow lawful orders to keep our country safe — not with politicians who would weaponize our military against the very people they swore to protect.
