White House says Trump actions ‘wrong’ when asked about dictator controversy

The White House pointed to warnings from various political leaders when asked about former President Donald Trump‘s recent comments that he would only be a dictator on “day one” should he win in 2024.

Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, on which President Joe Biden is flying to Philadelphia for a speech and campaign reception, and was asked about the dictator worries circulating in Washington.

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“Does the White House see Trump’s dictator comments as a threat to national security?” a reporter asked. “And what are you doing to prevent the U.S. from getting a dictator?”

Bates began by saying he would avoid commenting on the election due to Hatch Act restrictions, but then issued a series of warnings that appeared to be directed at Trump and potential Trump voters.

“President Biden has been working to protect American democracy and to unite people of all political views against these unprecedented threats we’ve seen to our democracy in recent years since before Jan. 6,” he said. “Those warnings have been bipartisan.”

He then repeated the phrase “it is wrong” several times.

“It is wrong to suspend the Constitution and abuse federal power to persecute critics and trample the First Amendment,” Bates said. “It is wrong to override the will of the voters as upheld by over 80 federal judges and the Trump administration’s top election security officials. It is wrong to engage in violent rhetoric and spread dangerous conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officers their lives.”

Several think pieces have been written in recent weeks speculating that Trump would become a dictator if elected to a second term, some based on Trump’s comments that he would target “radical-left thugs,” who he refers to as vermin and Marxist, if he gets back in office. Former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney has said the U.S. is sleepwalking into a dictatorship with Trump as the GOP front-runner.

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Trump gave a tongue-in-cheek response when asked directly about the controversy, saying he wouldn’t be a dictator “other than day one.”

“We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” he said. “After that, I’m not a dictator.”