In an interview with the Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday, the former President Donald Trump was asked if he would become a dictator if re-elected as many of his critics now claim.
Trump replied that he would not except for on “day one.”
On that day, he said that he would close the border and “drill, drill, drill” meaning energy independence.
Here’s the clip:
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“Except for day one,” Trump said. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill…We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, after that I’m not a dictator.”
When CNN’s Poppy Harlow and Alayna Treene later focused on his dictator quip, guest Lee Carter said the news outlet was deceptively leaving out the full context.
Harlow said, “Donald Trump, I think, made clear on his remarks about ‘I’d only be a dictator on day one,’ exactly what President Biden is talking about in terms of preserving democracy.”
Carter replied, “Well, to be fair that soundbite, out of context is terrifying, but when you hear what he was trying to say overall, he was kind of, sort of, like, as some communicators do, lean into criticism and say, ‘I’ll only be a dictator in as much as I’m going to close the borders and I’m going to start drilling for oil again, after that, no, I promise you I’m not going to do anything.”
“Are you saying people shouldn’t believe him?” Harlow asked. “Look at the policies he’s laid out.”