Trump tries to seem dangerously unpredictable. He's anything but.

USA TODAY

April 9, 2026, 10:48 a.m. ET

Maybe President Donald Trump thought his April 7 vow to kill "a whole civilization" in Iran would make him seem dangerously unpredictable as he searches for a way out of a senseless war that he started.

But the thing is: Trump is completely predictable. He backed down, but only after threatening to issue illegal orders.

That was anticipated by six Democrats in Congress who released a video in November to remind members of the American military that they have a right to refuse to follow illegal orders. The context for that video focused on Trump's penchant for sending American military units into American cities.

But the message holds up for Trump's disastrous war with Iran. And those six Democrats know it. Just listened to how they reacted on April 7 after Trump's preposterous threat on social media to wipe Iran off the map, after days of vowing to destroy civilian locations for infrastructure, like bridges and power plants.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat and former intelligence officer, said "targeting civilians en masse would be a clear violation of the law of armed conflict as laid out in the Geneva Conventions, as well as the Pentagon's Law of War Manual."

"It's moments like these that are why we made the video to service members last year," Slotkin added.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and former naval aviator and astronaut, said "If those words become orders to destroy civilian infrastructure with no valid military purpose, it's hard to see how they would not violate the laws of armed conflict."

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former U.S. Army Ranger, said Trump's threats were "not the words of a sane person," adding, "Calling for the elimination of a civilization is a war crime."

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat who served in the U.S. Air Force, said "Commanding our military to annihilate the entire country of Iran would be the epitome of an illegal order and a betrayal of 249 years of American excellence, diplomacy and alliance."

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Pennsylvania Democrat who served in the U.S. Navy, said "Donald Trump's abuse of power and threats of a war crime and the destruction of the Iranian people merit the president's removal from office."

And U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a New Hampshire Democrat and former intelligence officer, said "It is not 'strategic posturing' to threaten to annihilate and entire people. It threatens a war crime so grave that no person should condone it."

Trump vowed to punish these six Democrats for their video. But Trump is as bad at retribution as he is at warmongering. A grand jury in February rejected an attempt by the Department of Justice to charge them with crimes.

Here's what else we're writing about:

Featured Weekly Ad