Donald Trump said he could not be a dictator if re-elected “except on day one”.

Former US President Donald Trump He refused to rule out abuse of power if he returned to the White House Fox News Sean Hannity asked him to respond to growing criticism of his messaging from Democrats.

He talked about the favorite in the Republican primaries Chase your competitors -he mentions “vermin”- and He promised to retaliate If he wins a second term because of the legal proceedings against him, he says it is politically motivated. Trump maintains his dominance in the Republican primaries, and President Joe Biden is raising his own warnings, saying Trump is “determined to destroy American democracy.”

“Do you promise America today that under no circumstances will you use its power to retaliate against anyone?“Hannity asked Trump in a taped interview in Davenport, Iowa.

“Except for the first dayTrump replied. He quickly smiled, noting his interviewer’s surprise, and added: “I want to close the border, I want to drill, drill, drill.”

Trump then reiterated his point. “I love this guy,” she said of the Fox News host. “He says, “You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?” I said: ‘No, no, no, except on the first day. We close the border and drill, drill, drill. After that I was no dictator‘”.

Earlier in the interview, Hannity asked Trump if he “in any way” had “any plan, if he’s re-elected president, to abuse power and break the law.” Use government to oppress people”.

“You mean like they do now?Trump responded.

Trump’s campaign message and his sweeping plans for a second term, which include eliminating a significant portion of the federal bureaucracy and going after his rivals, have alarmed Democrats and become a key campaign issue for Biden. Against Trump.

“Donald Trump told us what he would do if re-elected He said he will come as a dictator on the first day tonight. Americans should believe him“Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.

In a series of campaign events held on Tuesday, Biden again warned that Trump and his allies intend to “destroy” democratic institutions and lashed out at the Republican front-runner who tried to change the results of the 2020 election.

Trump, for his part, tried to deflect the argument against Biden and said in a speech in Iowa on Saturday that the president is the real “destroyer of American democracy,” reiterating his old argument that the four criminal cases against him prove that Biden is. Fraudulently uses the justice system to harm his main political enemy.

Trump has promised to prosecute Biden Follow along.

Hannity, a longtime Trump supporter and adviser, appears to have often used his interviews to say things that benefit the former president’s political career. Tuesday’s questions seemed to go along those lines.

The interview aired the day before Trump’s main rivals gathered at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the fourth Republican debate.

Trump will again miss the debate and will spend the afternoon in Florida at a fundraiser.

(With information from AP)