Führer Trump has stepped out of the closet, no longer just hinting that he plans to become the first U.S. dictator.
"As long as I have anything to say about it, and we have a good chance of saying for four years — we have a lot to say about it for four years, and beyond," he said over the weekend to a crowd in Iowa. (See video below, posted by Ron Filipkowski.)
Trump's intention to be dictator has been in plain sight all along, and became undeniable on Jan. 6 when he allowed his MAGA soldiers to assault Capitol police, threaten to hang then Vice President Mike Pence, run every lawmaker out of the House floor, and take over and destroy the Capitol building. But openly admitting to his plans has been a slow build.
Even in November, as he actually warned that the U.S. would become a dictatorship, he was still dancing around it, blaming an authoritarian future on President Biden.
"It may also be the last election we ever have if this election doesn't work. If this election is rigged and stolen, if bad things happen, our country will not survive," he said. "If crooked Joe and the Democrats get away with removing my name from the ballot, then there will never be a free election in America again. We will have become a dictatorship where your president is chosen for you … You will no longer have a vote, or certainly won't have a meaningful vote, and you could say, frankly, that that has already begun."
Then in December, he dipped a few more toes in the water, saying he would actually be the dictator, but only on day one. "Except for day one," he told Sean Hannity when asked if he would ever abuse his power. "He says, 'You're not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said, 'No, no, no. Other than day one.'"
Now, in January, day one has been extended to "four years — and beyond." Which is just what his MAGA devotees were hoping for.
