Donald Trump joked about concerns that he will become a “dictator” during an interview with Sean Hannity on Tuesday, saying he’ll only “act like a dictator” on Day 1 to shut down illegal immigration and spur more oil drilling.
The comment received cheers from the studio office and nervous laughs from Hannity.
Trump: "He says 'you're not going to be a dictator are you?' I said no no no, other than Day 1. We're closing the border, and we're drilling drilling drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator." pic.twitter.com/SZU6KiYd2l
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 6, 2023
USA Today writes:
“After that, I’m not a dictator, OK?” the Republican presidential frontrunner told Fox News host Sean Hannity before a very friendly crowd in Davenport, Iowa.
Trump declined to discuss his pledges of “retribution” against political opponents, including threats to investigate President Joe Biden and others who have criticized him.
“Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s reelected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one,” said a statement from Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the Biden-Harris campaign manager. “Americans should believe him.”
The former president and frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024 has described some of his opponents as “vermin,” a term used by 20th century dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Over the past few days, liberal-leaning media outlets have all pushed the talking point that the former president is a threat to American democracy. The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times each published stories referencing a “Trump dictatorship.”
New Conservative Post noted that these same outlets have no problem with Joe Biden using his office to attack “enemies” or promote financial gain for the president’s family.
Trump supporters have dismissed the “dictatorship” claims, according to The Hill, as “the latest instance of media outlets opposing the former president, who routinely derides the press as ‘fake news’ and previously called some journalists the ‘enemy of the people.’
‘This is nothing more than another version of the media’s failed and false Russia collusion hoax,’ Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said of The Atlantic project, claiming the magazine ‘will be out of business soon because nobody will read that trash.’
Several Trump allies in Congress also took aim at the recent spate of headlines suggesting Trump could rule like a dictator.”
