Washington Post columnist Brian Paul Klaas took a shot at President Donald Trump's obsession with some of the world's worst dictators. During a Monday appearance with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, Klass painted it as a kind of envy of the men he deems "strong" and "powerful."
O'Donnell played a clip of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) citing leaders from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, North Korea, Russia and the Philippines as those Trump holds in the highest of esteem.
"Well he'd have a serious case of dictator envy, I'd say," Klaas joked. "He admires dictators, wants to emulate them. Wishes he was free of democratic constraints."
Klass noted that he was doing it all while Republicans in Congress were driving the getaway car.
“Trump injects toxins of authoritarianism into the American bloodstream," he said, noting that Trump is forcing the country to accept authoritarian-style politics to inoculate them from long-held American values and principles.
"That's where it can do some serious damage," Klass said.
Watch the full fascinating interview below: