Supporters of former US President Donald Trump came out in large numbers braving the cold winter, saying “they are not concerned that Trump would truly lead as a dictator”.
In one of the two caucuses after Iowa for the primaries; Trump supporters came in droves for his campaign rally at the University of Hampshire, saying Trump meant it as a joke to provoke his rivals within the GOP and the Democrats.
“He’s (Trump) is like a guy with a laser pointer, and on the left is a cat,” said John LaClair, who drove from Barrington to attend the rally with his brother.
Over a dozen people, who spoke with USA TODAY outside the rally, said they believe the presidency would give Trump enough power to legally accomplish what is most important to them.
“That ranges from strengthening the economy to stopping migration at the southern border and preventing US participation in foreign conflicts.”
Shelly Temple, who volunteered for Trump’s campaign in New Hampshire in 2016 and attended the rally on Saturday, said the nation’s energy production and border security are among her priorities ahead of 2024.
But Trump would have plenty of authority under US’ current system to address those issues, she said.
“I don’t see that as a dictator, I see that as being a leader and to protect his country… I like a President that respects the Constitution,” she said.
“Let the government work the way it’s supposed to. Let there be checks and balances.”
Interpretation of Trump’s comments made in a TV interview recently ranged from little concern among his supporters and rising alarm among authoritarianism experts. Some have issued warnings about US institutions.
“Two things about Trump. One, he often says what he means and he often says it in the form of a joke,” said Mabel Berezin, a sociology professor at Cornell University, who studies nationalist and populist political movements.
“The second part of it is, I don’t think we should discount him.”
Trump’s allies are planning ways to bypass some of those checks and balances, Berezin said, even if consolidation of power couldn’t happen overnight.
Trump on his new look at the presidency has proposed a series of measures that would grant the President additional powers.
“I think it’s one of those classic Trump things which have two meanings: It has a grain of truth in it, and it’s also a joke,” she said.
“Trump’s most outrageous statements are worth paying attention to.”
The frontrunner in the GOP race in the primaries for the US Presidency in 2024, Trump seeks a second term in office, he has eyed using the presidency to investigate and potentially prosecute his political enemies, media reports said. .
Trump writing on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ and addressing participants at his campaign rally at another New Hampshire rally said that he would “root out the Communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country”.
The former President has said he will make it easier to fire tens of thousands of federal workers, end birthright citizenship and carry out a mass deportation campaign.
At a town hall event in Iowa earlier this month, Popular once Fox TV host Shawn Hannity asked Trump about some of these pledges and whether he planned “to abuse power as retribution against anybody” if he regains the presidency.
“Except for day one. I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump responded.
“He says you’re not going to be a dictator, are you? No, no, no — other than day one… after that, I’m not a dictator.”
Trump doubled down on the comments a few days later at a speech to the New York Young Republican Club after his statement drew a storm of protest from Democrats and their supporters as also from some Independents.
Trump has also repeatedly praised authoritarian leaders in other countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and North Korean President Kim Jong Un. Trump reiterated his statement on Saturday, saying Kim was “very nice”.
Trump again pledged to “drill, baby, drill,” but did not visit his previous “dictator” comments. Instead, he pointed a finger at President Joe Biden and Democrats.
“Biden and the far Left lunatics are desperate to stop us by any means necessary. They’re willing to violate the US Constitution at levels never seen before in order to win,” he alleged.
Multiple rally Trump supporters participants told USA TODAY their concerns about democracy don’t lie with Trump, but with the current president.
“I’m not at all worried about that,” Charles Martin, an engineer from southern New Hampshire said when asked about Trump’s comments about being a dictator.
The split reflects recent polling from the NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research with a news agency that found that a majority of Republicans and Democrats felt democracy is at risk in the 2024 presidential election — but for different reasons. Eighty-seven per cent of Democrats said Trump would threaten democracy, and 82 per cent of Republicans said Biden would.
Nori Kozuma and Sarah Kozuma, who own a cafe in Newmarket in North Hampshire, said: “You have to demolish your whole house to build a brand new house that’s really good for you.”
“In order to destroy the whole house, it takes a long time and it takes leadership. (Allegations of dictatorship are) fanned by the media,” he added.
“He hasn’t done one single thing that makes me think he’s a dictator.”
