U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday, just as he had the day before, that some Americans might like the idea of a dictator leading the country.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump defended his decision to take control of the Washington, D.C., police and deploy the National Guard to patrol the streets.
Highlights
- Trump suggested many Americans might prefer having a dictator to lead the U.S.
- Trump took control of D.C. police and deployed the National Guard amid rising city violence and homelessness.
- Critics argue that Trump's actions threaten democracy and accuse him of targeting Democrat-led cities with military deployments.
He signed several new executive orders, including one that directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to form a new Guard unit, tasked with “ensuring public safety and order in the Nation’s capital.”
Trump suggested that many Americans might like the idea of a dictator leading the country
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“When I see what’s happening to our cities and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they’re saying you’re trying to take over the Republic,” Trump told reporters about his critics. “These people are sick.”
“They say, ‘We don’t need him. Freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator, he’s a dictator.’ A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’ I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.”
The president doubled down on the idea during a Cabinet meeting the next day. He slammed Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker after they expressed displeasure at the idea of Trump sending the military to their states’ big cities.
“The line is that I’m a dictator, but I stop crime,” he said. “So a lot of people say, ‘If that’s the case, I’d rather have a dictator.’ But I’m not a dictator. I just know how to stop crime.”
On August 11, Trump announced that he was seizing control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump sent the National Guard into the city and ordered federal agencies—including the FBI, Border Patrol, and ICE—to join local patrols.
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
He also placed Attorney General Pam Bondi in charge of the city’s police, warning he would deploy other military forces “if needed” to address the “public safety emergency.”
While Trump argued that the actions were necessary to reduce violent crime and deal with homelessness, Joe Biden and other critics have said Trump’s actions are a threat to democracy.
Photographs from Washington, D.C., showed armed officers and Guard members conducting roadside checkpoints.
On August 13, police were seen making arrests in the middle of the city under the new federal command. Homeless encampments were cleared and dismantled in the city.
Trump reportedly plans to deploy troops to Chicago and New York to crack down on crime. Critics say he’s targeting Democrat-led cities.
“There is no emergency that justifies the National Guard being sent to Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement.
“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” he added.
Trump’s latest comments also renewed attention to a remark he made in a December 2023 Fox News interview, when he joked that he would be a dictator for a day.
In 2023, Trump spoke about being a dictator for a day
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked Trump in a 2023 interview.
“Except for day one,” Trump responded. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Trump later reenacted the exchange, saying, “He [Hannity] 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.’”
While Trump is known for making a host of provocative remarks, studies highlight data that underscores the confidence many Republicans place in him.
A University of Massachusetts Amherst survey from February 2024 asked Republicans for their views on Trump being a dictator for a day.
Some 74% of Republicans endorsed the idea, choosing between “definitely good” and “probably good.”
These views have remained steady over the past year.
Studies show Republicans support the idea of having fewer checks on Trump’s power
Image credits: The Washington Post
A Pew Research Center survey earlier this year found that 59% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believed many national issues could be solved more easily “if Donald Trump didn’t have to worry so much about Congress and the courts.”
While these studies do not directly suggest that Republicans support Trump becoming a dictator, they indicate a belief that he should face fewer limits on his power—and that some would accept him bypassing Congress to achieve his goals.