Donald Trump apparently doesn’t like being referred to as a “dictator.” As recently as Tuesday, the president was whining to House Republicans, “They always call me a dictator.”
It’s an odd thing for him to complain about, especially because, as a candidate in 2024, Trump more than once talked about creating a temporary American “dictatorship” that he wanted to lead. Nevertheless, one day after making the complaint, the president sounded quite dictatorial in his beliefs about the scope of his powers in a lengthy interview with The New York Times. The newspaper reported:
President Trump declared on Wednesday evening that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his ‘own morality,’ brushing aside international law and other checks on his ability to use military might to strike, invade or coerce nations around the world.
Asked in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times if there were any limits on his global powers, Mr. Trump said: ‘Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.’
As part of the same exchange, the Republican said he doesn’t “need” international law. Pressed on whether he believes his administration must abide by international law, Trump said, “I do,” before adding, “It depends what your definition of international law is.”
Before digging into broader governing principles, it’s worth acknowledging that the incumbent president should probably avoid the phrase “my morality.” We are, after all, talking about a prolific liar and convicted felon who mocks violent-crime victims and people with physical disabilities, and who was found by a jury to have defamed a woman who accused him of sexual assault.
When thinking about Trump, “morality” isn’t exactly the first word that comes to mind.
But in context, the president’s point about his governing vision was even more jarring: To hear him tell it, decisions related to using American might are entirely at his personal discretion. He’s not constrained by laws, norms or institutions; he’s limited only by his whim.
The whole point of our constitutional system of government is to limit officials’ authority by way of the rule of law. In 2026, Americans are led by a president who’s focused instead on the rule of Trump.
As the Times summarized, “Mr. Trump’s assessment of his own freedom to use any instrument of military, economic or political power to cement American supremacy was the most blunt acknowledgment yet of his worldview. At its core is the concept that national strength, rather than laws, treaties and conventions, should be the deciding factor as powers collide.” Around the time of the “No Kings” protests, the president and his team didn’t merely smear American protesters, they also questioned the underlying premise of the protests. It’s one thing to disagree with Trump, they suggested, but it was preposterous hyperbole to suggest he was acting like some kind of authoritarian monarch. Except that the Republican periodically abandons all subtlety and subtext and chooses instead to admit (in not so many words) that his critics are correct. He promotes images of himself in a crown. He makes Napoleonic declarations such as “he who saves his country violates no law.” He talks about “terminating” parts of the Constitution that stand in the way of his ambitions — and he freely admits that he believes (what remains of) his alleged conscience is “the only thing that can stop me.” The next time Republicans express outrage that Trump’s detractors are calling him an “authoritarian,” keep this in mind.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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