Donald Trump hasn't been shy about stating his dictatorial ambitions, and his campaign cemented that narrative by commenting on his threats.
The former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner, along with some of his allies, have openly threatened to use government powers against their enemies, suggesting they'll invoke the Insurrection Act upon taking office, pardon Jan. 6 rioters, create immigrant detention camps and stack the government with loyalists — and The Bulwark columnist A.B. Stoddard said those threats should set voters on edge.
"Donald Trump has chosen to make 'dictator' his brand," she wrote. "No one made him do it. But the fact that he did, eleven months before the election, is a good thing."
Trump tiptoed back slightly from threats he's made on social media or at campaign rallies by telling Sean Hannity on Fox News that he would only act like a dictator on "Day One," and his namesake son and allies like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) insisted he was only joking.
Stoddard said his campaign's reaction was telling.
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"Apparently, the Trump campaign finds all of these extreme threats, potential hires, and affirmative responses from Trump about his new dictator label a bit unseemly," Stoddard wrote. "It’s actually disqualifying. And they know it."
The campaign has reportedly asked congressional allies to push back against critics who say he's a wannabe dictator and told the media that no messages about his presidential staffing should be considered official unless it came from Trump or an authorized member his team, but Stoddard said it's too late to ease fears that a second term poses a threat to democracy.
"There are plenty of new voters, young voters, and independents Trump will need to win the general election who don’t fall into the Never Trump category," she wrote. "The word 'dictator' is not likely to land well with the median swing voter who is disengaged from politics but will not be able to miss this characterization next year — with the accompanying sound bites to prove it."
"And no matter how many memos or meetings the Trump campaign puts together, Trump won’t stop amplifying his autocratic fantasies because he can’t," Stoddard added. "They consume him. There is no quiet part. Everything is out loud."
