Donald Trump has said that he will become a dictator for a day if he is re-elected.
During an interview with Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, Mr Trump was asked if he would abuse his power to seek revenge on political opponents if he returned to the White House.
“You are promising America, tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Mr Hannity asked during a televised town hall event in Iowa.
“Except for day one,” Mr Trump responded. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“After that, I’m not a dictator,” he added.
Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, was appearing at a Fox News event before a friendly audience in Davenport, Iowa.
Democrats immediately seized on Mr Trump’s comments, citing it as evidence that he was unfit for the presidency.
‘Americans should believe him’
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said: “Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s re-elected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one. Americans should believe him.”
The campaign team later sent out an email that read: “Donald Trump: Day One Dictator.”
Republican Liz Cheney warned earlier this week that a Trump dictatorship would be a “very real threat” if the former US president is re-elected next November.
Ms Cheney, an arch Trump critic, said the US would be “sleepwalking into dictatorship” if he returned.
“We face threats that could be existential to the United States, and we need a candidate who is going to be able to deal with and address and confront all of those challenges,” she told the Washington Post.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
