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.
“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.
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.
“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden told supporters during a fundraiser Tuesday, adding that he and his supporters “cannot let him win.”
Mark Esper, a former defense secretary during the Trump administration, told MSNBC that a re-elected Trump will be able to “enact his policy of revenge that he’s been talking about, and retribution. And look, it’s quite a dangerous time for our democracy if that were to happen.”
Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who is in the midst of a book tour told CBS News that the nation is “sleepwalking into dictatorship” in the United States.
During the Fox News appearance, Trump attacked Biden and claimed that his supporters are behind the four criminal trials that are pending against him.
Trump also mocked Biden’s age and said the president might not be the Democratic nominee. “I personally don’t think he makes it,” he said.
Fox News billed the event as a “town hall,” but no one from the Trump-friendly audience got to ask a question.
The former president has been indicted in two cases involving efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The other two trials deal with improper hush money payments and the mishandling of classified documents.
Trump traveled to Iowa for the Fox News appearance a day before Republican rivals gathered in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for their fourth debate.
Citing his big lead in polls, Trump has skipped all the GOP debates.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump: I’ll be a ‘dictator’ only on ‘day one’
