What did Donald Trump do today?

He once again said, in public, that Americans want him to be a dictator and that he can be if he wants to.

Trump held a Cabinet meeting today. Even more so than in his first term, these have become less about policy and more about a public competition between his appointees to flatter him the most—a role that Trump, a former reality game show host, clearly loves. It took more than two hours to complete one circuit of the table, with top Trump administration officials vying to out-schmooze one another. 

In the midst of it, Trump repeated a shocking claim that went largely unnoticed in the barrage of weird, confused, and false statements he made yesterday. It began with a rehashing of a "sir" story about the Democratic governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, who he has been fighting with over the latter's criticism of Trump sending military forces to patrol peaceful American cities. Trump was so angry over Moore's remarks that he threatened to kill funding to rebuild the critical Key Bridge, which was destroyed in a barge accident in 2024.

I watched a man from Maryland who said to me, "Sir, you’re the greatest president, you're doing an unbelievable job. What a great job." Governor Moore. Has anyone heard of him? He's another hopeful for president. I don't think so. But I met him, and I didn't realize it was on camera, Did you see, they caught him on camera. I was at a game, I don't know, like the Army-Navy game or something. And I met him in a hallway. And as usual, ‘You do your job very well.’ One of these great cameramen, had it on tape. 

No such recording exists. Moore did say to Trump "It's great to have you back here," meaning in Maryland for the Army-Navy football game.

Trump continued, after repeating a few sentences he'd just said: 

But I met this gentleman. I never met him before. "Sir, you're doing a great job. You're doing an unbelievable job. Thank you very much." But then he goes on television, says, "Oh, Trump is a dictator." And a lot of people get — get — so the line is, I'm a dictator, but I stopped crime. So a lot of people say you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator.

Today, National Guard troops activated from all around the country—most of them part-time and missing work in their own communities—"stopped crime" by putting on high-visibility vests over their camouflage BDUs and picking up litter in a park adjoining the White House. 

Trump also insisted that he has a dictator's powers whether or not anyone wants him to:

I have the right to do anything I want to do. I'm the president of the United States. If I think our country's in danger — and it is in danger, in these cities — I can do it. …But it would be nice if they'd call and say, "Would you do it?"

In reality, he can't just do whatever he wants.

Why does this matter?

• The United States of America is not a dictatorship, and its president is not a king or any other kind of despot, no matter how badly Trump wants to believe it is. 

• Nobody who needs two dozen people publicly kissing his ass every few weeks is emotionally stable enough to be president. 

• Nobody who speaks with this much contempt about Americans and their love of freedom is, either.