In a wide ranging interview given to the magazine — and shared by the 45th President Tuesday morning via his Truth Social media platform — Trump was asked to explain comments he made to Fox News host Sean Hannity, in which the former president said he would become a dictator on his first day in office.
“A lot of people like it,” Trump reportedly told Time.
As might be expected, President Joe Biden’s reelection team was quick to note the revelations contained in the interview and respond.
“Not since the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today – because of Donald Trump. Trump is willing to throw away the very idea of America to put himself in power,” Biden-Harris 2024 Spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.
“In his own words, he is promising to rule as a dictator on ‘day one,’ use the military against the American people, punish those who stand against him, condone violence done on his behalf, and put his own revenge and retribution ahead of what is best for America. Bottom line: Trump is a danger to the Constitution and a threat to our democracy,” Singer continued.
According to Time, Trump also shared his thoughts on abortion in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively leaving the legality of abortion up to state legislatures. Trump said he would not stand in the way of conservative states that wish to monitor the pregnancies of resident women and punish them should they receive abortions, according to the magazine.