Donald Trump has not ruled out abusing his power for revenge if he returns to the White House.
Former President Donald Trump has suggested he could abuse his power if re-elected to the White House in 2024.
Speaking to Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, the presidential candidate answered questions about Democrats’ growing criticism of his rhetoric.
Donald Trump has often called his political rivals “vermin” and has promised, if he wins a second term, to take revenge for what he considers to be politically motivated prosecutions against him.
Current US President Joe Biden has stepped up his own warnings, saying Donald Trump is “determined to destroy American democracy”.
“Will you promise America tonight that you will never abuse your power to take revenge on anyone?”Sean Hannity asked Donald Trump during the recorded interview in Davenport, Iowa.
“Except the first day”replied Donald Trump. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Earlier in the interview, Sean Hannity asked Donald Trump if he had “in any way intends to abuse his power to break the law and use the government to prey on people.”
“You mean like they (Democrats) are using it right now?” replied Donald Trump.
Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric and his plans for a second term, which include firing entire sections of the federal administration and attacking his rivals, have alarmed Democrats.
They have become one of the main electoral arguments of Joe Biden, who is preparing for a possible revenge against Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump told us exactly what he would do if re-elected and tonight he said he would be a dictator from day one. Americans should believe him.”said Joe Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, in a statement.
At a series of fundraisers on Tuesday, Joe Biden again warned that Donald Trump and his allies are seeking to “destroying” democratic institutions, while attacking the GOP frontrunner” (“the Grand Old Party” (GOP) refers to the Republican Party in the United States)
Donald Trump infamously attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election and is currently facing criminal charges in connection with these events.
Donald Trump himself tried to turn the tables on Joe Biden and claimed, in a speech on Saturday in Iowa, that Joe Biden was the real “destroyer of American democracy”.
Donald Trump is clinging to his long-held belief that the four criminal charges against him show that the current president is misusing the federal justice system to harm him.
He promised to sue Joe Biden if he wins the 2024 election.
Sean Hannity, a longtime Donald Trump supporter and advisor, has often appeared to use his interviews to teach the former president to say things that would benefit him politically.
Critics say the questions he asked Tuesday appear to be another example of those efforts.
The event was announced as a public meeting, the day before Donald Trump’s main rivals gathered at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the fourth debate of the American Republican Party.
While public debates typically feature questions from the audience, only Sean Hannity asked Donald Trump questions on Tuesday. He recorded a similar interview with the former US president in July.
Donald Trump has once again planned to skip Wednesday’s debate and spend the evening at a fundraiser in Florida.
Despite all the controversies surrounding him and his re-election campaign, Donald Trump is favored to be the Republican nominee both nationally and in Iowa, which will kick off the election with its caucuses on January 15 .
His list of rivals includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is fading, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has gained momentum after a string of highly rated debate performances.
Ron DeSantis urged Donald Trump to keep his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties and also repeatedly invited him to participate in the debates.
“Get out of your dungeon. Get off your keyboard, get on the debate stage and let’s do it.”said Ron DeSantis on Tuesday in Florida.
After the recording of the Sean Hannity interview, Donald Trump visited the Front Street Pub & Eatery in Davenport, where he stopped at tables and signed red “Make America Great Again” caps.