U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke out against President Trump’s threat to Iran on Tuesday, when Trump pledged that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the country did not re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Numerous critics characterized Trump’s threat as a promise to commit war crimes.
Murkowski wrote that the President’s threat “cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran. This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years. It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home.”
The Senator added: “The oppressive, terror-spreading regime of the Islamic Republic must be distinguished from the people and the civilization of Iran. Everyone involved—especially the President and Iran’s leaders—must de-escalate their unprecedented saber-rattling before it is too late.”
The President’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran.
This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250…
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) April 7, 2026
While “Republicans Against Trump” complimented Murkowski (“Well said”), MAGA faithful, including influencer “Gunther Eagleman,” called the Republican senator a “traitor,” and told her she “should switch parties.”
Liberal political commentator Aaron Rupar replied to Murkowski: “Come out in favor of impeachment and removal if you truly care about American ideals.”
[NOTE: Right-wing influencer Candace Owens called Trump a “genocidal lunatic” after his threat, but U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote that using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump was not a viable option: “I’m getting a lot of traffic about the 25th Amendment after Trump’s mad rants. The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that. But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam.’ We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”]