‘I’m not a dictator’: Trump repeats claim on second day, says he just knows how to stop crime

“But I’m not a dictator. I just know how to stop crime,” Trump said.

This is the second time in as many days, Trump has addressed the criticism over the federal takeover of Washington, DC, which many have termed dictatorial.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington, as from left, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, look on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“They say, ‘We don’t need him. Freedom. Freedom. He’s a dictator. He’s a dictator. Maybe we’d like a dictator. I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator,” Trump said on Monday.

“And when I see what’s happening to our cities and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they’re saying you’re trying to take over the republic,” he added.

Trump wants reinstatement of death penalty in Washington

During the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump also said that his administration wants the reinstatement of the death penalty in the nation’s capital.

“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty, and that’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it,” Trump said.

He added, “We have no choice… But if somebody kills somebody… it’s the death penalty.”

Trump’s Washington takeover

Trump has come under criticism by Democrats for the deployment of some 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington, DC, earlier this month.

Even as criticism mounts, Trump has suggested that he is willing to expand the US military’s role in domestic law enforcement activities across the country.

Trump establishes specialised units in National Guard

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order establishing “specialised units” in the National Guard to address crime in cities.

Trump also suggested that he could deploy the National Guard in Chicago next, saying they are “ready to go anywhere,” with “less than 24 hours’ notice.”

Armed National Guard soldiers from West Virginia patrol the Mall near the Labor Department in Washington, where a poster of President Donald Trump is displayed, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

He said he “may or may not” wait until governors request National Guard troops before ordering deployments to address crime.

“We may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do,” Trump said.