ICYMI: Trump Promises Iowans He’ll Be A Dictator On Day One

Last night, during his town hall with Sean Hannity in Davenport, Donald Trump admitted that he would abuse the powers of the presidency, promising Iowans he’ll be a “dictator” only on “day one”.

Read coverage of Trump’s dangerous pledge below:

USA Today: Donald Trump says he will be a ‘dictator’ only on ‘day one.’ Then he’ll focus on drilling.

  • Donald Trump mocked questions about authoritarianism on Tuesday, saying he would be a dictator only on “day one,” and then he’s going to close the border and get to drilling.

  • Trump declined to discuss his pledges of “retribution” against political opponents, including threats to investigate President Joe Biden and others who have criticized him.

  • Biden and other opponents, including some Republicans, describe Trump as a grave threat to democracy, and this will likely be a huge issue in the 2024 election.

  • “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.

Associated Press: Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House

  • 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.”

  • At a series of fundraisers Tuesday, Biden again warned that Trump and his allies are out to “destroy” democratic institutions as he assailed the GOP front-runner, who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election and is facing criminal charges connected to those efforts.

  • Trump has promised to prosecute Biden if he wins.

  • Hannity, a longtime Trump supporter and adviser, has often seemed to use his interviews to coach the former president to say things that will benefit him politically. The questions Tuesday appeared to be another example of those efforts.

The Guardian: Trump says he will be a dictator only on ‘day one’ if elected president

  • Former president Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House, after being asked to respond to growing criticism of his authoritarian rhetoric.

  • The Republican presidential frontrunner 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.

  • Trump had to be asked twice during a televised town hall event in Iowa hosted by Sean Hannity of Fox News to deny that he would abuse power to seek revenge on political opponents if re-elected to the White House.

  • “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 on Tuesday. “Except for day one,” Trump responded.

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