MaddowBlog-Trump on militarized cities: 'A lot of people are saying, 'Maybe we'd like a dictator' [View all]

[LetMyPeopleVote]

As the president suggests that “a lot” of people have voiced support for “a dictator,” it’s hard not to wonder who, exactly, he was referring to.

Trump on militarized cities: ‘A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we’d like a dictator’

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Jonathan-FL #HumanRightsForEVERYONE (@amerliberal.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T02:57:11.389Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-militarized-cities-lot-people-are-saying-maybe-d-dictator-rcna227039

He didn’t say the accusations related to tyranny were wrong; he instead suggested the accusations were irrelevant. D.C. is “going to hell,” the Republican falsely claimed, so if that means acting like a “dictator,” so be it.

Eleven days later, he returned to the subject. NBC News reported:

Before signing a series of executive orders aimed at reducing crime in D.C. and across the nation, Trump referred to his critics bashing him for sending the National Guard to D.C., claiming that some people think they might ‘like a dictator.’

Referring to those opposed to his threats about deploying troops to American cities, the president, echoing his earlier rhetoric, told reporters, “They say, ‘We don’t need him. Freedom. Freedom. He’s a dictator. He’s a dictator.’”

But then he delivered a more pointed response to his detractors: “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we’d like a dictator.’”

Trump: “They say, ‘We don't need him, freedom freedom. He's a dictator. He's a dictator.’ A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator’…You send in troops, and instead of being praised they're saying you're trying to take over the republic. These people are sick.”

— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2025-08-25T16:25:38.536Z

,,,,,,In this White House, the ends justify the means — and those who disagree are “sick.”

As for Trump’s contention that “a lot” of people have voiced support for “a dictator,” I have a follow-up question for the president: “Can you name some of these people?”

Ahead of Election Day 2024, Trump talked about “terminating” parts of the Constitution that stand in the way of his ambitions and creating a temporary American “dictatorship.” Months later, the relevance of that rhetoric lingers for increasingly obvious reasons.