Contrary to the opinion of his detractors, former President Donald Trump has said he will not become a dictator if he secures the White House one more time. However, as he said during his town hall meeting on Tuesday, he only plans to be a dictator once.

Fox News host Sean Hannity had asked him, “under no circumstances. You are promising America tonight. You would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”

In response he said, “Except for day one.”

When Hannity asked him to clarify what he meant, the former president said, “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”

He went further, “I’m going to be — I’m going to be, you know, he keeps — I love this guy. He says, you’re not going to be a dictator, are you? I said, no, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator, okay.”

Before that particular line of questioning, Hannity had asked the GOP front runner if he had plans to “ abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people” if he won the election.

“You mean like they’re using right now?” Trump responded.

Trump’s remarks come amid warnings that he is a threat to America’s democracy and would be a dictator once he wins next year’s election, a talking point for President Joe Biden. His campaign did not fail to seize on the former president’s remarks, with the campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez saying in a Tuesday statement that “Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s reelected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one.”

“Americans should believe him,” he added.

In an attempt to justify accusations that Trump has the tendency to abuse power, the left has pointed to his promise to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden and his family for corruption.

Trump did say in a Truth Social post in August that “the Biden crime family will pay a price like other people are being forced to pay. And that price will be very, very substantial.”

However, he also added that the probe “will be fair.”