President Donald Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran did not meet a Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz and meet other demands prompted sharp criticism from many who oppose the war, including some of Maine’s congressional delegation.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump stated in a social media post Tuesday morning. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Trump pulled back on his threat — subject to Iran being ready for a two-week ceasefire and to reopen Strait of Hormuz — in another social media post an hour ahead of the deadline.

In his social media post, Trump said he came to the decision to delay an expansion of U.S. strikes “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief.

Pakistan has been leading negotiations.

DELEGATION REACTS TO RHETORIC

The threat that “a whole civilization will die” followed a social media post the president made Sunday, stating “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day,” and demanding Iran to “open the (expletive) Strait.”

Trump’s recent threats have drawn criticism from many Democrats, some former Trump supporters and internationally, from United Nations officials to the pope.

A spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins said the Republican takes issue with the president’s “incendiary language.”

“Senator Collins opposes the President’s use of such incendiary language and believes the focus should remain on a swift end to this conflict and the prevention of a nuclear-armed Iran,” Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Collins, said in an email Tuesday. “Widespread destruction of Iranian infrastructure would risk prolonging this conflict and could cause a significant humanitarian crisis for Iranian civilians.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, decried the president’s recent comments on Iran.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Pingree said she is beginning to sense a shift among the public on Trump’s rhetoric.

“We’re getting a lot of calls to our office,” she said. “People used to kind of excuse the president for his locker-room talk. Now, they’re very worried that he’s taking us to the brink and that he should be removed from office.”

Pingree also referenced the pushback on Trump’s recent comments from his “staunch supporters,” specifically media personality Tucker Carlson and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Carlson railed against Trump’s expletive-ridden Easter Sunday post on his podcast this week, especially the president’s mocking of Islam on a religious holiday. Greene reacted to Trump’s Tuesday post on social media, leading with “25TH AMENDMENT” and saying, “This is evil and madness.”

The 25th Amendment authorizes the vice president and Cabinet to remove a president who is unable to perform their duties.

After the ceasefire was announced Tuesday night, Pingree issued a statement expressing her relief that violence was averted while condemning the president’s actions and calling for his removal from office.

“I am relieved that a cease-fire agreement appears to have been reached, and I hope it holds. But let’s not pretend this so-called ‘deal’ is some great act of leadership. After 39 days of chaos and carnage, what exactly has Donald Trump achieved? At least 13 American lives lost, hundreds wounded, more than 1,700 civilians killed, soaring gas prices, deep damage to our alliances, diminished U.S. credibility, and public threats to commit war crimes and wipe out an entire civilization. All to arrive at a temporary pause and the possible reopening of a shipping lane that was functioning before Trump illegally started this war. …

“I still firmly believe this clearly unhinged and erratic man should not be the person holding our nuclear codes. He should be removed from office immediately, whether by the 25th Amendment or by impeachment. …

“Anyone in this administration or in Congress who sees this behavior and continues to brush it off or remain silent is complicit.”

When asked for a reaction to the president’s comments on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Sen. Angus King pointed to a statement the senator made on Monday following Trump’s post on Easter Sunday.

King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, had called the president’s apparent threat to civilian infrastructure “gravely dangerous” on a “moral and legal” level and warned that it risks a strong retaliatory response from Iran.

“The best result now would be for the President to declare victory (as he has half a dozen times already), cease the bombing, and let the international community sort out the aftermath,” King said. “No more risk to our brave troops, no greater damage to our economy, no perpetration of war crimes, and no more blows to our tattered reputation.”

A spokesperson for Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, directed a reporter to the congressman’s substack post about the war published on Friday.

Golden noted Trump’s contradicting statements about his objectives to-date, which included during a primetime address last week.

“The president should be able to explain to the American people why this fight is necessary (and just as importantly, why now), what his goals are, how those goals will be accomplished and at what cost,” Golden wrote.

Iran’s representative at the U.N. said Tehran will “take immediate and proportionate” action if Trump follows through on his threats.

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.