Trump Says He Won't Be a Dictator… “Except for Day One” – Mother Jones – Mother Jones
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Donald Trump’s long history of telling on himself continues with the admission of his authoritarian aspirations.
The startling confession came on Tuesday during a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, during which the former president was asked whether he’d seek revenge on his political enemies if elected again to the White House. Trump responded that he would not be a dictator—”except for day one.”
Hannity asks Trump for a second time if he has plans to abuse power. Trump admits he plans to do some dictatorial things on "day one" of his second term. pic.twitter.com/51b9I8bIJ7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2023
“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump continued, clarifying what issues he would assume in the role of dictator. “Other than that, I am not a dictator.”It’s not clear if Trump was joking. But considering his long record of authoritarian behavior and threats to democracy, these comments are no laughing matter. As my colleague David Corn has written:
Trump’s desire to be a strongman ruler are no secret. He has repeatedly uttered statements that reveal a craving to be in total control of the US government. As he mounts a second campaign for the White House, his team has openly discussed his plans to consolidate government power in the White House should he win.
But on the right, it seems dictatorial dreams are indeed hilarious.
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At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.
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At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.
It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.
But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.
So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?
The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.
If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.
Ari Berman
Chris Pomorski
David Corn
Mark Follman
Julia Métraux
Kiera Butler
Ajit Niranjan, Damien Gayle, and Nina Lakhani
Julianne McShane
Julianne McShane
Brian Hiatt
Katie Herchenroeder
Julianne McShane
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