Former Trump Aide Say President Privately Admired Dictators' 'Total Control'

A former senior Department of Homeland Security official said that, during his first presidency, Donald Trump privately admired the ability of foreign dictators to "exert total control" over their populations and that some of the president's recent rhetoric "would indicate his interest in being a dictator."

Miles Taylor, who served as deputy chief of staff at DHS during Trump's first term, said that Trump "would wax poetic in private about foreign dictators he admired."

He then added:

"He is not joking. When he said he was going to be Americans' retribution, people said 'no, he's joking about that.' When he said he was going to lock people up, they said he was joking. When he said he was going to send in the troops, people said, 'no, he's joking. He's doing all those things"

Taylor's comments follow remarks Trump made in the Oval Office on Monday while signing executive orders, dismissing critics who call him a dictator while still suggesting that some Americans wouldn't mind having one:

"A lot of people are saying, 'Maybe we like a dictator.' I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense and a smart person"

As TIME points out, back in December 2023, Trump said on Fox News that he would not be a dictator "except for Day 1," adding "after that, I'm not a dictator." Trump clarified that 2023 remark in a 2024 TIME interview, saying that he said it "sarcastically" but also that he thought that "a lot of people like it."

Accounts from other former aides also highlight Trump's interest in strongman leaders. Olivia Troye, who served as a national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, said last October that Trump referred to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a "strong man" in private meetings, despite publicly opposing his government.

John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, echoed Troye's sentiment at the time:

"Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he's certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure"

Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Washington and threats to expand operations to Democratic-led cities despite falling crime rates have fueled criticism that he is overstepping presidential authority.