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In a discussion between Geraldo Rivera and Olivia Troye, host Jim Acosta couldn't help but blame Republican lawmakers for being the ones to encourage Donald Trump's dictatorship fantasies.

On Thursday, CNN's Manu Raju interviewed several lawmakers asking about Trump's comment that he wanted to be a dictator for "one day" so he could build his wall and drill wherever he wanted.

A former prosecutor is debunking Donald Trump's claim that he can't testify on Monday because of the gag order.

Responding to Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, saying she wouldn't recommend testifying with a gag order in place. But CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called it a fake excuse.

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a short response to Donald Trump's demand to delay his trial about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attacks. According to Smith, there's no good reason to delay pending appeal.

"The Court should not assume at this juncture that no issue can arise that is not involved in the appeal," wrote the Justice Department team. "Likewise, nothing about the defendant’s appeal prevents the Court from continuing to enforce — including, if necessary, by ordering briefing or holding hearings — the protective orders governing discovery ... and the order imposing conditions of release on the defendant. ... In addition, while the appeal is pending, the Court can make headway on the motions already before it, including the defendant’s motions to dismiss based on statutory grounds and selective and vindictive prosecution."

It didn't take long for the former president to withdraw his lawyer's promise.

It's been just a few days since Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba proclaimed he was not afraid and that's why he would testify on Monday.

MSNBC news reporter Adam Reiss explained on Sunday that Donald Trump "couldn't control himself" the last time he tried to testify before the New York fraud trial. It's unclear if that's the reason Trump withdrew from testifying on Monday, but there are some educated guesses from two analysts.

"We had this exact conversation as to whether or would he not testify on Monday," said Sunday host Yasmin Vossoughian. "You said to me, listen, at this point, he's going to testify. But you really never know with the former president. We will really know, and he actually shows up on Monday morning for that testimony. You predicted, accurately, that he was not going to be there. He's not going to testify."

Any question that Donald Trump might take the stand on his own behalf Monday as part of the $250 million financial fraud case being heard in Judge Arthur Engoron's court was put to rest on Sunday afternoon.

Taking to his Truth Social platform, the former president launched into a two-part, all-caps rant about how he is being persecuted and then declared he won't take the stand -- likely to the relief of his legal team which has been trying to talk him out of it.

MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin had some tough words for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after the former speaker unexpectedly announced he would resign from Congress.

"McCarthy follows two other leaders, Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan, the trio, believe it or not, this is a real book, were once called the 'Young Guns' of the GOP," Mohyeldin told the audience on his Saturday show. "And now, as you can see, they're all out of Congress. And yet there is something about McCarthy throwing up the white flag that feels uniquely pathetic, I should say."

Donald Trump may already be in violation of a limited gag order affirmed by a U.S. Appeals Court late Friday after giving a speech at the 111th New York Young Republicans Gala on Saturday night.

According to the Guardian's Hugo Lowell, the former president lashed out at former Attorney General Bill Barr who is expected to be called as a witness where he will testify about his admonishments to Trump that there was no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election that he lost.

According to former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman, Donald Trump is putting himself at unnecessary risk if he chooses to testify on Monday in his defense in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom.

Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt on Sunday afternoon, Litman pointed out that the former president has already lost the $250 million financial fraud case based on an earlier ruling from the judge and the continuing deliberations will be used to arrive at the financial penalties Trump and the Trump Organization will be liable for.

Litman suggested that the former president likely relishes the idea of boasting about his real estate empire and it's worth, but, by taking the stand, he is opening himself up to cross-examination by prosecutors which has the potential to go off the rails.

As he noted, the former president will be pressed by prosecutors to explain away the over-evaluation of his properties and won't have the option of refusing to answer.

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'He might not take the stand because there is little for him to gain," Litman predicted, "Remember, this is a judge trial, the judge is going to decide against him and he will, as his son did, give the sort of rosey infomercial for the public. That would be the reason he would testify."

"But, it means he will have to face cross-examination and it won't be like last time when the AG on direct, let him just go on and on," he continued. "They call cross-examination the greatest legal tool ever invented for the discovery of truth, and they can ask, and they are ready to ask very pointed questions. 'Mr. Trump, you knew this wasn't 30,000 feet. You knew it was ten. Yes or no?' Boom, boom, boom. And the judge will enforce that, right? So he [Trump] doesn't stand much to gain on his direct testimony, and does stand to lose on the cross so we'll see what happens."

Watch below or at the link.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani blamed Barack Obama — the nation's first Black president — for a deterioration of race relations in the United States.

On his Sunday radio program, Giuliani called Democrats "the party of slavery."

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he expected Donald Trump to "adapt" and discard his authoritarian tendencies when he realizes Americans don't want a dictator.

The former House speaker made the remarks during an interview that aired on CBS' Sunday Morning program.