As a piece in The Hill today noted, President Trump recently suggested congressional Democrats were guilty of “treason” for failing to applaud his State of the Union speech. As he put it, “Can we call that treason? Why not?”

Here’s why not: The Constitution specifically defines treason, and failing to applaud the president isn’t treason—not by a long shot. And this “treason” talk is part of a disturbing trend. As today’s piece further explains:

Over the past few years, our country has undergone … “democratic deconsolidation,” as people lose faith in democracy and become increasingly open to authoritarian alternatives. … But President Trump is leading us somewhere even worse. … To save the republic, we must proceed on two fronts. We need structural reforms, like getting big money out of politics, to make our democracy responsive to ordinary people. And we need to stand up to Donald Trump, who has corrupted and abused his presidency, by demanding a congressional impeachment investigation.

Read the full piece in The Hill.