Former US president, Donald Trump has said he may get revenge on his enemies on as he refused to rule out being ‘a dictator.’
Trump made the extraordinary statements after Fox News host Sean Hannity questioned him about some of the worst charges from his critics that he planned to ‘abuse power’ or use the justice system to take down his political rivals, including those who want to call him ‘a dictator.’
‘To be clear, do you in any way have any plans whatsoever if reelected president to abuse power, to break the law to use the government to go after people,’ Hannity asked him.
‘You mean like they’re using right now?’ Trump responded, without answering the question directly.
‘So in the history of our country? What’s happened to us again, has never happened before. Over nonsense over nothing made up charges,’ Trump said, returning to a refrain about being indicted more times (four) than infamous Chicago mobster Al Capone.
Hannity also played a famous Trump clip telling supporters ‘I am your retribution.’
‘You are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution?’ Hannity asked the former president.
‘Except for Day One,’ Trump answered.
‘Meaning?’ Hannity asked him.
‘I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.’
‘That’s not retribution,’ Hannity pointed out.
Then Trump tried to get a laugh out of the line.
‘He says: You’re not going to be a dictator. 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.’
Hannity queried Trump about his plans after after playing a clip of former House Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) calling the threat of a Trump dictatorship ‘a very real threat.’
Cheney, who served on the House January 6 committee said on Monday that the 2024 election might ‘be the last election that you ever get to vote in’ if Trump wins.
Trump is facing 91 counts in four criminal indictments, with his D.C. trial on his election overturn effort set to begin March 4, a day before Super Tuesday.
The Biden-Harris campaign pounced on the comment with a statement from Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
‘Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s reelected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one. Americans should believe him,’ she said.
Hannity also asked him about Biden’s comment on Tuesday that ‘if Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running.’
‘Somebody gave him a talking point,’ Trump said, dismissing the comment.