TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) 鈥� As faces growing scrutiny over his , Fox News host Sean Hannity gave a chance to assure the American people that he wouldn't abuse power or seek retribution if he wins a second term.
But instead of offering a perfunctory answer brushing off the warnings, Trump stoked the fire.
鈥淓xcept for day one,鈥� the before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa. 鈥淚 want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill."
And in case anyone missed it, he reenacted the exchange.
鈥淲e love this guy,鈥� Trump said of Hannity. 鈥淗e says, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not going to be a dictator, are you?鈥� I said: 鈥楴o, no, no, other than day one. We鈥檙e closing the border, and we鈥檙e drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I鈥檓 not a dictator.鈥欌��
Trump has a long history of making inflammatory proclamations that spark outrage from detractors and generate a stream of headlines, without ever coming to fruition. Often they are made in a tongue-in-cheek manner that allows Trump's allies to claim he was joking and cite the backlash as another example of a candidate skilled at baiting an out-of-touch press that takes him far too literally.
Trump campaign aides said Thursday that the former president was simply trying to trigger the left and the media with his dictator comment, while also seeking to focus attention on the influx of migrants at the border and stubborn inflation, two vulnerabilities for President Joe Biden heading into the 2024 general election.
But the consequences of Trump's rhetoric have been made all too clear, after he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and a mob of his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Biden's victory.
The former president, who has long expressed regard for authoritarian leaders and the power they wield, is now vowing vengeance and retribution as he marked by an unprecedented expansion of executive power, unparalleled interference in the justice system, and a massive purge of civil servants.
Indeed, hours before his remarks were aired, a longtime ally who is widely expected to serve in a top national security role if Trump returns to the White House in a second Trump term.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,鈥� said Kash Patel, even though numerous federal and local officials, a long list of courts, top former campaign staffers and even have all said there is .
Biden and other critics have seized on Trump鈥檚 comments, painting him as a threat to democracy as they seek to turn the 2024 election into another referendum on the former president instead of Biden. Cognizant of the risks, Trump's campaign has tried to distance itself from Patel鈥檚 statement as well as headline-grabbing policy plans proposed by several outside groups staffed by longtime Trump allies, with top aides issuing a statement last month saying the groups did not speak for the campaign.
Trump, too, has tried to turn the tables on Biden, who has increasingly argued the former president poses a fundamental danger to the country. In this month, Trump insisted it is really Biden who is the true 鈥渄estroyer鈥� of democracy, citing the four criminal indictments he is facing as politically motivated efforts to damage his campaign.
It's an argument Trump and his campaign plan to continue to make heading into the 2024 general election.
The Biden campaign's attack, said Trump senior adviser Jason Miller, 鈥渋s a clear sign that the Democrats believe their only possible pathway to victory is to go scorched earth on President Trump."
Despite Democrats' attempts 鈥渢o make outlandish statements about what a future Trump term could look like,鈥� Miller said, there is now a reference point: "Four years of President Trump in the White House, and he never did any of the types of things that Joe Biden is currently doing to him.鈥�
But Trump's own words are clear.
鈥淚n 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution," he said in March 2023.
In the months since, Trump has repeatedly and explicitly vowed to use the Justice Department to target his enemies in a dramatic break from the long-standing, post-Watergate tradition of independence.
鈥淚 will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family, and all others involved with the destruction of our elections, borders and our country itself," he said in a June video.
In an interview with Univision, he went even further. 鈥淚f I happen to be president and I see somebody who鈥檚 doing well and beating me very badly, I say, 鈥楪o down and indict them,'" he said.
Last December, he mused about circumventing the Constitution, arguing that the election fraud he alleges "allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.鈥�
He has taken an especially hostile approach to the press, vowing to 鈥渞out the fake news media," calling reporters "THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!" and saying outlets like NBC News and MSNBC should be investigated for treason.
Trump's also rely on a dramatic expansion of executive power. He wants to strip tens of thousands of career federal workers of their civil service protections, has vowed new ideological tests for those entering the country and has talked about , including sending the National Guard to the border and to cities like Chicago to tackle crime.
He has warned that the gravest threats to the nation come 鈥渘ot from abroad, but from within," has called for expanded use of the death penalty while praising countries that rely on 鈥渜uick鈥� trials and , and has said
He has continued to praise authoritarian leaders like China's Xi Jinping, Hungary鈥檚 Viktor Orb谩n and Russia鈥檚 Vladimir Putin, while dehumanizing his enemies as 鈥渟cum鈥� and 鈥渢hugs鈥� who 鈥渓ive like vermin."
Aides argue the former president did not enact some of his most extreme campaign promises, like jailing his then-rival Hillary Clinton or enacting 鈥渁 total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," though he did try to ban foreign nationals from a handful of Muslim-majority countries. They note his campaign operation this time around has been widely praised as more disciplined and professional than his previous efforts 鈥� a sign of what could be to come.
But if he wins again, Trump is expected to face far fewer guardrails, including an administration filled with loyalists now experienced in wielding federal power, fewer rivals in Congress and more appointees across the courts.
Quentin Fulks, the No. 2 official on Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign, pushed back at Trump鈥檚 attempts to turn the issue back on Biden and said there is no comparison between the men. Biden, he said, is not standing at the presidential podium 鈥渟aying that he鈥檚 going to round up his political enemies or use the government to go after his political enemies.鈥�
He said it was imperative for Democrats to "call out this rhetoric when we see it and make sure the American people really know what鈥檚 at stake.鈥�
Meanwhile, Ken Cuccinelli, a top immigration official in Trump鈥檚 administration who now leads a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, called the former president鈥檚 dictator remarks 鈥減rovocative鈥� and vintage Trump.
鈥淒o I think he鈥檚 trying to needle everybody? Yes, I do. He enjoys doing that," Cuccinelli said. "Does it help improve America? No, it doesn鈥檛. And he doesn鈥檛 care about that because his first concern is Donald Trump.鈥�
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Colvin reported from New York.
Jill Colvin And Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
