CLAIM: Kamala Harris claimed that Donald Trump “is someone who, in his own opinion, wants to be a dictator from day one.”
Verdict: False. This is another hoax based on something Trump said in jest.
Vice President Harris repeated some of the same familiar false accusations about Trump during Tuesday night's debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including the “dictator” hoax.
During a televised town hall meeting in December 2023, President Trump was asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity about media predictions that he would become a dictator.
They had things like exchange:
HANNITY: We did a montage. They want to call you a dictator. You use the words, “I am your avenger.” And now, before that, you said you've been wronged, and you used other words, but I want to be very clear about this. Just to be clear, if you're re-elected as president, do you have any plans whatsoever to abuse your power, to break the law, to use your government to attack people?
TRUMP: Are you talking like the kind of things they use now? What happened to us is, again, unprecedented in the history of our country. Nonsense, for nothing. Made-up charges. I often say, “Al Capone is one of the greatest of all time, if you like criminals. He was a mob boss, he was called Scarface, he was indicted once. I was indicted four times. I wonder what my mom and dad would look down and say.”
…
HANNITY: We're going to take a break soon, but I want to come back to this issue because the media has zeroed in on this and has attacked you. You have committed to America tonight that you will never, under any circumstances, abuse your power in retaliation against anybody.
TRUMP:Except for the first day.
HANNITY: Except?
TRUMP:He's going to be crazy. Except on the first day.
HANNITY: meaning?
TRUMP:They want to close the border and drill.
HANNITY: It's not retaliation.
TRUMP:I said… He said… We love this guy. He says, you're not going to be a dictator, right? I said, no, no, no. Except for the first day. We're closing the borders, we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator. OK?
HANNITY: That sounds to me like you're going back to the policies that were in place when you were president.
Trump has never seriously claimed to be a dictator, only jokingly talking about his determination to implement his policies from day one in office.
ABC News presenters were keen to fact-check Trump at every opportunity, but failed to correct Harris' usual distortions.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
