Former President Trump has supercharged concerns that he would lead an authoritarian government if reelected to the White House after he refused to shy away from the notion in front of a friendly crowd in Iowa this week.
The remarks did little to bother his allies and supporters as he dominates primary polls and appears on track to be the party’s nominee in 2024, while simultaneously triggering alarm bells for Democrats and some Republicans who have argued Trump isn’t bothering to hide his plans to approach a potential second White House term in ways some recent media reports have cast as a dictatorship.
“I long ago gave up on the what-to-take-seriously and what-to-take-literally parlor game, but the man certainly knows how to completely consume every ounce of media attention,” said Bruce Mehlman, former assistant secretary at the Commerce Department under President George W. Bush and founding partner at Mehlman Consulting.
At the town hall event in Davenport, Iowa, Fox News host Sean Hannity sought to give Trump an opportunity to dismiss what some Republicans view as hysteria among Democrats and the media about the possible consequences of a second Trump presidency.
“To be clear, do you in any way have any plans whatsoever, if reelected president, to abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people?” Hannity asked.
Trump avoided the premise for several minutes, at one point praising Al Capone as “one of the greatest of all time, if you like criminals,” before Hannity posed the question again.
“Except for day one,” Trump said.
“He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said, no, no, no — other than day one. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator,” Trump added, drawing applause from the crowd.
For Democrats, Trump’s comment was evidence of the former president confirming what they already suspected: That he would seek to consolidate power if reelected and target those who disagreed with him or wronged him.
“I don’t think anyone doubts our democracy is even more at risk in 2024,” President Biden said at a fundraiser Tuesday in Boston. “And I’m serious. Because this time, we’re running against an election denier-in-chief. Trump’s not even hiding the ball anymore. He’s telling us exactly what he wants to do. He’s making no bones about it.”
Biden allies seized on the remarks immediately. The Biden campaign blasted out an email to its supporters right after the town hall wrapped with the subject line: “Donald Trump: Day One Dictator.” The Democratic National Committee shared the video of Trump’s remarks with the caption “And there you have it.”
“He’s embracing dictatorship and authoritarianism,” former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) said on SiriusXM on Wednesday.
Trump last month described his political opponents as “vermin” who posed a threat to the country from within, comments that drew backlash and comparisons to rhetoric from the likes of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. He has repeatedly signaled he would look to take revenge on his enemies if reelected, previously telling supporters “I am your retribution” and suggesting it would be fair game to investigate Biden and his family because of Trump’s legal troubles, some of which stem from Biden’s Justice Department.
Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official who is not working on the Trump campaign, said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast that “all-American patriots” need to be instilled across government and pledged to find “conspirators not just in government, but in the media” and pursue criminal or civil charges.
“This is why they hate us. This is why we’re tyrannical. This is why we’re dictators,” Patel said.
Trump is leading in national primary polls by an average of nearly 50 points and in most state level polls by more than 20 points, and his rivals are running out of time to close the gap, with the Iowa caucuses scheduled for Jan. 15.
An administration appointee under Trump, meanwhile, called the former president’s remarks “shocking” because of “how completely tone-deaf he is about trying to win over independents, moderates and undecided” in the general election.
“This year’s election isn’t going to be decided by Steve Bannon voters. It’s going to be decided by people who are upset about inflation, schools, and the general craziness in our culture. He doesn’t sound like he knows this,” the source said.
There are few signs Trump’s remarks to Hannity will rattle many Republicans, however. Some brushed it off as a tongue-in-cheek swipe at recent media headlines in The Atlantic, The Washington Post and elsewhere suggesting another Trump term would tip the U.S. into a dictatorship.
“Trump’s superpower is that he’s the most quick witted leader in a generation. Every grown man hyperventilating about this clip needs to find a sense of humor. I’m pretty sure you can buy them on Amazon. Free two day shipping,” Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-S.D.) chuckled on Fox Business Network when they played Trump’s comment back and touted that Trump would be able to address issues at the border through executive action on day one.
A super PAC supporting former Trump, Make America Great Again Inc., sought to spin the debate against Biden calling him an actual “dictator” in an email Wednesday. The super PAC cited an FBI raid on the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe in November 2021 and claimed without evidence that Biden himself “directed his Justice Department to indict his main political opponent” — meaning Trump.
Underscoring his enduring support, the Trump campaign rolled out a pair of fresh endorsements from two U.S. senators Wednesday: Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).
But some outspoken Republicans were quick to push back against Trump, trying to remind voters of the seriousness of his comments.
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, a former congressman, said Wednesday: “If any other politician in American history were asked a question, are you going to be a dictator? ‘No.’”
One former Trump transition official warned about normalizing these kinds of comments from Trump.
“America has to ask if they really want Trump to have his hand on the nuclear trigger. It’s a very serious question that every voter and [member of Congress] and public official that endorses him should ask themselves,” the source said.
“Are we willing to risk 200 years of our history for an impulsive, retribution-seeking president surrounded only by sycophantic staff? There’s nothing normal or acceptable about an American dictatorship. It’s an abhorrent thought.”