Why Trump should avoid relitigating his infamous ‘dictator’ comments
Donald Trump covered a fair amount of ground in his latest interview with Phil McGraw (better known as “Dr. Phil”), but one unexpected part of their conversation touched on notorious comments the former president made late last year, when the Republican candidate talked about becoming a “dictator.”
A Fox News report summarized:
Trump recalled the statement to Dr. Phil, “And I said jokingly on Sean Hannity, he’s a great guy, I said ‘No, Sean, I wanna be a dictator for one day because I’m gonna get going with Drill, Baby, Drill and I’m gonna strengthen the borders to a level like you’ve never seen, I only wanna-be, and after that, I’ll never be a dictator.’”
“And I said ‘one day,’ because I wanna do the energy and I wanna strengthen the border, one day, and it was said with a chuckle, the audience laughed, I laughed, we all laughed,” he added. “But they take it and they cut it, and then they cut it, and it says ‘I wanna be a dictator.’ These are very dishonest people that we’re dealing with. Very dishonest people. Bad people.”
When the television personality — the host, not the candidate — asked whether the comments had been taken out of context, the former president replied, “All you have to do is watch it.”
If Trump wants to relitigate the controversy, that’s fine, but he might not like where this ends up.
The controversy began in early December 2023, during an on-air interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. The host, a close ally to the former president, prompted Trump to say he wouldn’t abuse his powers, but the GOP candidate replied, “Except for Day One.” When the host seemed surprised, Trump added, while pointing to Hannity, “He’s going crazy. Except for Day One.”
Offered an opportunity to explain himself, Trump suggested that he’d use dictatorial powers to “close the border” and approve increased oil drilling. When Hannity again tried to help his pal, the GOP frontrunner doubled down.
“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.”
As the video of the exchange makes clear, the context doesn’t much help.
Republican officials insisted soon after that the former president was kidding. That defense proved unsustainable: In the weeks that followed, Trump repeated the line over and over and over again.
In other words, this wasn’t just a single “joke” in a single interview; the GOP candidate, on multiple occasions, spoke publicly about his intention to serve as a temporary American dictator.
I can appreciate why the former president, months later, wants to downplay the significance of his own rhetoric, but Trump said what he was quoted saying.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
