{"id":35945,"date":"2025-08-26T21:45:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35945"},"modified":"2025-08-26T21:45:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:45:36","slug":"donald-trump-claims-a-lot-of-americans-would-like-a-dictator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35945","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump Claims &#8216;a Lot of&#8217; Americans Would Like a Dictator"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article__primary-video-container_1-0\" class=\"comp article__primary-video-container mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content_1-0\" class=\"comp article-content mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>President Donald Trump is firing back at critics of his military crackdown in Washington, D.C.<\/li>\n<li>The president claimed that he&#8217;s been wrongfully vilified for taking over the D.C. police and sending in the National Guard to patrol the streets<\/li>\n<li>Trump said some have called him a &#8220;dictator&#8221; for his actions, but also alleged that &#8220;a lot of people are saying&#8221; they&#8217;d like to have a dictator in charge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Donald Trump<\/a> is firing back at critics of his federal crime crackdown in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">On Monday, Aug. 25, Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office as he signed a slate of new executive orders, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/08\/additional-measures-to-address-the-crime-emergency-in-the-district-of-columbia\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">including one<\/a> directing Defense Secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/pete-hegseth-confirmation-vote-defense-secretary-8773621\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> to train a new National Guard unit specifically tasked with &#8220;ensuring public safety and order in the Nation\u2019s capital.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cWhen I see what\u2019s happening to our cities and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they\u2019re saying you\u2019re trying to take over the Republic,\u201d Trump, 79, told reporters of his critics. \u201cThese people are sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cThey say: \u2018We don\u2019t need him. Freedom, freedom, he\u2019s a dictator, he\u2019s a dictator,\u2019 \u201d Trump continued. \u201cA lot of people are saying, \u2018Maybe we like a dictator.\u2019 I don\u2019t like a dictator. I\u2019m not a dictator. I\u2019m a man with great common sense and a smart person.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-featuredlink--people-app-promo mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__left_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__left mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__text_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__text mntl-text-block\"><b>Our new app is here!<\/b> Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_13-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Trump doubled down on his comments during a Cabinet meeting the following day.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_15-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;The line is that I&#8217;m a dictator, but I stop crime,&#8221; he said on Tuesday. &#8220;So a lot of people say, &#8216;You know, if that&#8217;s the case, I&#8217;d rather have a dictator.&#8217; &#8220;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_17-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;But I&#8217;m not a dictator,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;I just know how to stop crime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_19-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">On Monday, Aug. 11, the president announced that he was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-takes-over-dc-government-deploys-national-guard-11788370\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">seizing control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department<\/a> and deploying the National Guard into the city in order to fight crime and target the city&#8217;s homeless population. In addition to those forces, federal agents with the FBI, Border Patrol and ICE have joined street patrols.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_22-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Trump put Attorney General\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/mel-gibson-gun-rights-restored-attorney-general-11709158\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Pam Bondi<\/a>\u00a0in charge of the city police and warned he was ready to deploy other military forces &#8220;if needed&#8221; to address the &#8220;public safety emergency.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_24-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">\u00a0PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_26-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Since the start of Trump&#8217;s crime crackdown, arrest numbers have risen throughout D.C. So, too, have demonstrations from civilians who are protesting the presence of armed guards and military Humvees on their streets, curfews in certain areas and pop-up ICE checkpoints.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_28-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2025\/08\/21\/donald-trump-washington-dc-police-protests-00516629\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">In Dupont Circle last week<\/a>, a group of protesters was circled by a National Guard Humvee as they chanted, &#8220;Danger! Danger! There\u2019s a fascist in the White House!&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc__card-list_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc__card-list mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">Trump Claims &#8216;African-American Ladies&#8217; Are Saying &#8216;Please, President Trump, Come to Chicago&#8217; After D.C. Crime Crackdown<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_2-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">FBI Raids Home of Trump Critic and Former National Security Adviser John Bolton<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">On Aug. 13, Trump indicated that he planned to extend the initial 30-day takeover of D.C. police, as well as expand the crackdown to other U.S. cities.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;We&#8217;re going to need a crime bill&#8230; and it&#8217;s going to pertain initially to D.C.,&#8221; he said in the midst of announcing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/trump-reveals-2025-kennedy-center-honorees-11790393\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">the 2025 Kennedy Center nominees<\/a>. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to use [D.C.] as a very positive example and we&#8217;re going to be asking for extensions on that long-term.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;That&#8217;s going to serve as a beacon for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other places all over the country,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Our whole country is going to be so different and so great. It&#8217;s going to be clean and safe and beautiful, and people are going to love our flag more than they&#8217;ve ever loved it. And we&#8217;re going to do a great job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Trump declared the public safety emergency even as D.C. data showed a sharp drop in violent crime over the past year and a half. Justifying his aggressive actions, Trump claimed without evidence that D.C.&#8217;s crime data was falsified to downplay the severity of the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump is firing back at critics of his military crackdown in Washington, D.C. The president claimed that he&#8217;s been wrongfully vilified for taking over the D.C. police and &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35947,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35945\/revisions\/35947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}