Appearing on a CNN panel Tuesday, David Gregory explained that President Donald Trump's efforts to interfere with the FBI investigation into his campaign's possible collusion with the Russian government were entirely predictable if you paid attention to his campaign rhetoric.
"When we covered him during the campaign... what were some of the things he said? 'I may not accept the outcome of the election,' that he would put his political opponent in jail," Gregory explained. "That's how an authoritarian talks."
Given that Trump regularly tried to portray himself as an authoritarian strongman during the 2016 campaign, Gregory believes that it's not surprising that he now believes himself to be above the law.
"And now we have reporting that indicates he's trying to abuse power by snuffing out an investigation by the FBI," he continued. "By clearly overreaching his authority as president of the United States. These things must force some kind of accountability. We have to get to the bottom of what actually occurred here."
Gregory finished off by saying that Trump has no right to be upset about leaks on his activities to the media, as these sorts of leaks are how democratic systems defend themselves against potential despots.
"People do speak up, sometimes anonymously, when people in high power are doing things they shouldn't be doing," he said. "This is going to help us get to the bottom of what's going on."
Watch the full video below.
‘How an authoritarian talks’: David Gregory... by sarahburris
