During his Fox “News” town hall hosted by Trump bootlicker Sean Hannity Tuesday night, Anti-American fascist and 2024 Presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) told Hannity that he’ll be “only” be dictator on day one. In reality, he’ll be a dictator for the entire time he becomes “President” again if he is elected in 2024, rewarding his MAGA cultists while punishing those who oppose his dangerous anti-American agenda.
Even one day of Trump’s dictatorship is too much for America.
Megan Lebowitz, Jake Traylor, and Isabelle Schmeler at NBC News:
Trump's comments at the taped event in Iowa came in response to host Sean Hannity's asking him whether he would abuse the power of the office to seek revenge.
"You are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?" Hannity said.
"Except for Day One," Trump responded, repeating the phrase.
Asked for clarification, Trump said, "I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill."
Moments later, Trump doubled down on his comments.
"I love this guy," Trump said, referring to Hannity. "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."
The Biden campaign quickly seized on the remarks, posting a clip of the exchange to X. After the town hall concluded, Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez blasted Trump in a statement.
"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," she said. "Americans should believe him.”
When asked by Hannity if he plans to abuse power and be a dictator, Trump ducks the question. [post via The Tennessee Holler on X]
Biden-Harris HQ’s response is lit, via X:
Nick Visser at HuffPost:
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined to say that he wouldn’t abuse power or retaliate against his political enemies should he be elected to another four-year presidential term next year, adding he planned to act like a “dictator” only on “day one” of a new administration.
Trump spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall event in Iowa on Tuesday. Hannity repeatedly asked the former president about recent attacks on him, including from former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who said the country was “sleepwalking into a dictatorship” through its support of Trump.
Ewan Palmer at Newsweek:
In recent days, conservative political commentator Robert Kagan has written an opinion piece for The Washington Post entitled "A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending." The latest issue of The Atlantic focuses on what would happen if Trump wins the next election, with the magazine's staff concluding a second term in the White House "would be much worse."
Former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, a vocal Trump critic who was one of two Republicans on the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6 attack, also recently warned that the U.S. is "sleepwalking into dictatorship" if the former president beats Biden in 2024.
Jill Colvin at AP, via Denver Post:
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House after Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked him Tuesday to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric.
The GOP presidential front-runner has talked about targeting his rivals — referring to them as “vermin” — and vowed to seek retribution if he wins a second term for what he argues are politically motivated prosecutions against him. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary, President Joe Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is “ determined to destroy American democracy.”
“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked Trump in the interview taped in Davenport, Iowa.
[...]
Trump’s campaign rhetoric and sweeping plans for a second term that include firing large swaths of the federal bureaucracy and targeting his rivals have alarmed Democrats and become a chief election argument for Biden as he prepares for a potential rematch against Trump.
Donald Trump is so full of shit gaslighting the American people saying that he won’t be a dictator if he gets elected again. The reality is this: Donald Trump WILL be a dictator if he gets elected back into office and trample on what is left of our freedoms and democracy.
To protect democracy and to keep a MAGA dictatorship from happening, vote to reelect Joe Biden for President and vote Democratic all the way down the ballot!
From the 12.05.2023 edition of FNC’s Hannity: