US President Donald Trump on Monday defended his unprecedented federal takeover of policing in Washington, DC, whereas suggesting that some People might even welcome authoritarian management.“They are saying ‘we don’t want him. Freedom, freedom. He’s a dictator. He’s a dictator.’ Lots of people are saying, ‘Possibly we like a dictator,’” Trump advised reporters throughout a wide-ranging 80-minute Oval Workplace occasion, as reported by information company AFP. He instantly added, “I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a person with nice frequent sense and a sensible individual.”The feedback got here as Trump signed a collection of government orders to escalate his clampdown on crime and immigration within the capital. One directive orders the lawyer basic to prosecute flag-burning, regardless of a 1989 Supreme Court docket ruling defending it as free speech. “Should you burn a flag you get one 12 months in jail, no early exits, no nothing,” Trump declared.He additionally instructed defence secretary Pete Hegseth to create a particular Nationwide Guard unit in Washington for public order and introduced the tip of cashless bail, whereas vowing to rename the Pentagon’s division the “Division of Struggle.” “Protection is simply too defensive,” he argued.In keeping with Forbes, Trump stated he might replicate the mannequin in different Democratic-run cities, particularly naming Chicago and Baltimore. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker branded him “a wannabe dictator” who desires to make use of troops to “punish his dissidents and rating political factors.” Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson warned that the president’s proposal would mark “probably the most flagrant violation of our Structure of the twenty first Century.”Round 2,000 Nationwide Guard troops are already deployed in Washington, with some authorised to hold firearms, despite the fact that violent crime within the metropolis has fallen to a 30-year low. Civil rights advocates have additionally criticised the elimination of homeless encampments underneath the brand new crackdown.Democrats, together with Senator Ed Markey and California Governor Gavin Newsom, have accused Trump of militarising US cities for political achieve. “It’s what dictators do,” Markey posted on X, whereas Newsom referred to as the Los Angeles deployment “the beginning of an authoritarian takeover.”Regardless of mounting criticism, Trump dismissed detractors as “sick” and doubled down on his strongman type. He even repeated his admiration for North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, telling reporters, “I get alongside nice with him.”
