Some of Donald Trump's supporters are defending the president's calls for Mark Milley to face the death penalty for treason.
Trump has been accused of threatening his former top general, who infamously disobeyed Trump's authority following January 6th.
Milley's actions arguably undermined the civilian control of the U.S. military, a longstanding principle of American democracy.
However, Milley has made it clear that he believes he is a hero. Before resigning last month, Milley said the military does not swear an oath to a "wanna-be dictator," meaning Trump.
Ironically, Milley had asked the military to swear an oath to himself following the events of January 6th.
Milley - who, unlike Trump, was never elected by the people - took secretive steps to undercut Trump, confiding to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) that Trump was "crazy."
The general ordered the military to ignore any orders that did not come directly from Milley himself; traditionally, in the United States, the president is commander-in-chief.
Milley also called China and warned them that the United States was not planning any attacks.
In a social media post in September, Trump called Milley a traitor and implied he should be put to death.
“I agree with that,” said a 62-year-old military veteran in Iowa. “You have a job to do and if you cross the line, you have to pay the price.”
Another Trump supporter said that if Milley "did treason for our country, then he deserves to have the death penalty.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Milley "turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States.”
“This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” Trump added.
Milley's defiance of Trump has made him a darling of the mainstream media, even as an ideological "woke" revolution in the upper echelons of the military makes traditionally pro-military conservatives more skeptical of the armed forces.
Trump's comments about Milley were cited in the extraordinary gag order that a judge issued on Monday in Trump's "election subversion" case in Washington D.C.
Still, Trump mocked Milley and the military's top brass as "some of the dumbest people" he has ever met during an Iowa rally on Monday.
