Donald Trump repeats aspirations to be ‘dictator for one day’ at GOP gala in NYC
Former President Donald Trump pitched himself as a savior for democracy while repeating his claim that he wants to be a “dictator for one day” during a rowdy speech at a GOP soirée in New York City.
Last week, Trump made waves the night before the fourth GOP debate, musing that he didn’t plan to be a dictator, “except for day one” if elected in 2024.
During his headline address at the 111th annual New York Young Republicans Club Gala, which was filled with jokes and Trump’s rhetorical greatest hits from the campaign trail, the 45th president revisited the controversy.
“[Peter] Baker today in the New York Times said that I want to be a dictator,” Trump complained, referencing a report from the news outlet.
“I didn’t say that. I said I want to be a dictator for one day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump insisted.
Trump also claimed that the Democrat’s “newest hoax” is to call him a threat to democracy.
The crowed, rife with MAGA stars like Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Col.), applauded him.
Last Tuesday, Trump originally sparked a frenzy about him striving to be a dictator during a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity and said he only wanted it on day one.
“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump said at the time. “Other than that, I am not a dictator.”
His remark drew fierce controversy and came amid frantic warnings from Democrats and disenfranchised Republicans that he aspires to be a tyrant.
His critics have pointed to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, Trump’s 2020 election denials, and fawning over international dictators as evidence.
“Thank God, only one day,” President Biden joked at a fundraiser in Los Angeles last week.
“Sean Hannity actually thought he was helping Trump,” Trump’s ally Steve Bannon complained afterwards. “Even to ask that question shows you’re an idiot. And we don’t have time for idiots, bro. This is a war, and we don’t have time for sunshine patriots and this nonsense.”
At another point in Trump’s wide-ranging address Saturday, the 77-year-old whined about criticism he gets for calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping “brilliant.”
“He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. They want me to say he’s just of average intelligence,” Trump said. “I can’t say bad things.”
Trump then suggested that strongman Russian President Vladimir Putin is “sharp,” and gave the same praise to French President Emmanuel Macron.
In that very same speech, Trump also described himself as a defender of democracy, shrugging off criticism that he’s a threat as “misinformation” and a “hoax.”
Trump, who is facing 91 criminal counts, contended that Biden is the “real threat.”
“The radical left Democrats, their fake news allies have unveiled their newest hoax that Donald J. And the Republican Party are a threat to democracy,” Trump bemoaned.
“This is their new line. Here we go again — ‘Russia, Russia, Russia,’ ‘Mueller, Mueller, Mueller,’ ‘Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine.’ One hoax after another,” he added.
“But no, I’m not a threat. I will save democracy. The threat is Crooked Joe Biden.”
Trump is the 2024 GOP frontrunner for the nod to be the party standard bearer in 2024.
He took aim at rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, needling that California Gov. Gavin Newsom bested him a debate and taking other jabs.
“He looks like a bobble head doll. I don’t like him because I endorsed him and I got him elected,” Trump said.
DeSantis’ campaign generally claims that Trump’s attacks against the governor come from his fear that the Floridian could defeat him — something the Trump campaign rejects.
The Post contacted the DeSantis campaign for comment.
Trump has a whopping 47.6 percentage point lead nationally in the 2024 GOP primary in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
The first GOP contest is slated for Jan. 15, 2024 in the Iowa caucuses.
