Al Gore questions ‘you kind of wonder what it’ll take for people to believe him when he tells us who he is’ after Trump said he would be a ‘dictator’ by ‘only on day one’ of a second term
Al Gore advised Americans to heed Donald Trump’s claims that he plans to rule like a dictator on the first day of his potential second term.
Gore, who served as Bill Clinton’s vice president from 1993 to 2001, said people should “trust” the former president.
It comes after Trump refused to rule out abusing his power to persecute his critics at a prime-time town hall last week, saying he wouldn’t do it “except on the first day.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity gave Trump numerous opportunities to abandon his plans for revenge or dictatorial power grabs, but he did not take those chances.
“Well, the other day I saw him promise to be a dictator on day one, and you kind of wonder what it will take for people to believe him when he tells us who he is,” Gore told CNN State. of the Union. when asked about Trump’s re-election prospects.
Former Vice President Al Gore says Americans should “believe” Donald Trump when he says he will “rule like a dictator on day one” if he wins re-election
Trump is the Republican favorite to win the presidency in 2024. He’s at least 40 points behind the other candidates vying for the nomination, and a 2020 rematch appears set for next year.
President Joe Biden has no real competition other than a promising bid from Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips.
Polls consistently show that Americans want an alternative to Biden and Trump.
“The solution to political despair is political action,” Gore advised. “And for those members of the Republican Party, Democratic Party and independents who love American democracy and want to preserve our ability to govern ourselves and solve our problems, now is the time to get active.”
“We know what to do. We have the means to do this, and we need to be confident that we are making the right policy choices in our democracy to be able to make the right choices,” Gore said of the “polycrisis” facing the country.
Hannity questioned Trump at a town hall in Iowa on Tuesday about some of the worst accusations made by his critics, including that he planned to “abuse power” or use the justice system to bring down his political rivals, and also indicating that some want call him a dictator.”
“To be clear, do you have any plans, if re-elected president, to abuse power, break the law and use the government to persecute people,” Hannity asked the former president.
“You mean what they’re using right now?” Trump responded without directly answering the question.
After Trump’s talk, the Fox News host returned to the topic, having previously shown the famous clip of Trump telling his supporters, “I am your nemesis.”
“Do you promise America tonight that you will never abuse power as retaliation?” Hannity asked the former president, who is also leading President Biden in a series of general election polls.
“Except for the first day,” Trump responded.
“Except for the first day,” former President Donald Trump said when Fox News host Sean Hannity asked him to rule out abuse of power if he wins re-election to the White House.
Hannity pressed: “What do you mean?”
“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“This is not retaliation,” Hannity noted.
Trump then tried to make those present laugh.
“He says: you will not be a dictator. I said, “No, no, no—except the first day.” We are closing the border. And we drill, drill, drill. After this I am no longer a dictator.”
The Biden-Harris account tweeted the clip, adding the line: “Trump: I’ll be a dictator on day one.”
The president’s reelection campaign responded to the comment with a statement from campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
“Donald Trump told us exactly what he would do if he was re-elected, and tonight he said he would be a dictator from day one. Americans should believe him,” she said.