President Donald Trump is once again trying to project brute strength — and instead stoking fresh panic among critics who say it’s time for “the adults to step in.” Over the weekend, he reshared a bizarre AI-generated image of himself as a towering golden ruler on a throne while Democratic lawmakers appear kneeling in submission.
The fantasy image didn’t come out of nowhere. It landed in the middle of one of Trump’s most furious online streaks to date — a multi-day meltdown sparked by a short video message from six Democratic members of Congress.
The graphic, posted on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, depicts Trump as an enormous figure in gold battle armor and a crown, enthroned above Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Adam Schiff, all bowing at his feet. Above the image, the caption reads, “NONE shall escape his justice!” followed by two laughing-crying emojis.
Democrats had released a video that was neither personal nor directly aimed at Trump, but he reacted as though it were a direct assault, answering with a torrent of rage-filled posts that escalated from accusations to near-apocalyptic warnings.
His supporters quickly joined in on social media.
“Go get all those traitorous sons of b—-s for sedition at the very least,” one user wrote in a post Trump reshared. “These pompous traitorous communists should be impeached and prosecuted.”
Another repost read: “The Democrats’ video appears to be an active call to action to our military members to defy or take out our duly elected President. We can’t just laugh it off Conservative’s [sic]. We have to stop tolerating the DemSurrection. We really need to see some legal action against the Democrat Domestic Terrorist party.”
But critics were just as forceful — and in some cases even more extreme — in their response, with some calling for Trump’s removal from office and even urging military intervention.
“He needs to be removed and I don’t care how at this point!!” one furious user wrote on Threads. Another added, “That’s pretty f***ing sick! He needs to be removed immediately! The military needs to step in! There has to be some adults left in the room!!!”
Others questioned his mental fitness. “He needs to be institutionalized. Period. He is a danger to everyone around him as well as to every citizen in the country,” one person wrote. Another mocked his self-image: “He always makes himself look big and strong, when in reality he looks like Quasimodo on a bad day.” Commentator Michael Hoffman warned, “This isn’t going to end well for Donnie. The law is not on his side here.”
The original video that set Trump off featured Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, along with Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow — all of whom served in the military or intelligence community prior to joining Congress. In the clip, they urge military and intelligence officials to “refuse illegal orders,” stressing that “no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”
Trump’s reaction was swift and explosive. “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country,” he wrote. “Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
In one post, his language went even further, prompting widespread accusations that he was implicitly endorsing execution for the lawmakers. The White House later denied that Trump was calling for their deaths, but Slotkin said by then the lawmakers were already facing a “barrage” of threats.
By Saturday, Trump was still raging over the video, posting in all caps:
“MANY GREAT LEGAL SCHOLARS AGREE THAT THE DEMOCRAT TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS, AS PRESIDENT, HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME OF SERIOUS PROPORTION.”
His rhetoric drew sharp pushback from within his own party, as some Republicans expressed unease over his increasingly apocalyptic tone.
“If you take at face value the idea that calling your opponents traitors and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible,” Sen. Rand Paul said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “It’s not something that is helping the country heal wounds. I think it stirs things up, and really, I think we can do better.”
Texas Rep. Mike McCaul struck a similar note on ABC’s “This Week.” “I would tone down the rhetoric and tone down the theme here,” he said Sunday. “I would emphasize more what I discussed, and that is, these orders are not illegal.”
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis also criticized Trump’s latest posts. “Words carry a lot of weight,” Tillis said. “Kids are watching, and the president of the United States should always be thinking less about the adults you’re reacting to, to probably what was objectionable behavior by the Democrats, and the kids that are watching, too.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the lawmakers’ remarks.
Trump has repeatedly shared imagery that casts him as a monarch or near-mythic figure, a pattern that intensified during last month’s nationwide “No Kings” protests, when nearly 7 million people across all 50 states demonstrated against what they see as his authoritarian impulses.
