Fox News host labels Trump a 'dictator' while trying to defend health concerns

Fox News host Jesse Watters appeared to refer to President Donald Trump as a dictator on Wednesday, continuing a trend of several top White House officials and the president himself claiming absolute power over certain matters of governance. Fox host Jesse Watters said, "You can't be a dictator with dementia. The guy has the longest memory of anybody. Trump does not have dementia."

His comment followed a statement from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on CNN this week in which he said Trump has "plenary authority" during an interview on his deployment of federal troops to Portland. Plenary authority refers to a lone government official having complete and absolute power over a particular matter.

Trump in August claimed he was not a dictator, but in the same breath suggested that "a lot" of Americans might prefer to have a dictator rule over them. "They say: 'We don't need him. Freedom, freedom, he's a dictator, he's a dictator,'" Trump told reporters at the White House. "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."

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It was not the first time Trump had sympathized with the idea of being a dictator. During his presidential campaign in December 2023, Trump said on Fox News that he would not be a dictator "except for Day 1," saying "after that, I'm not a dictator."

The president's cognitive stability has also been the subject of speculation since he retook office this year. He has made frequent U-turns on his stances and policies, suffered gaffes during his speaking engagements and floundered during several moments in which he forgot the names of people with whom he is familiar.

Trump has frequently spoken about the possibility of remaining in office past the limits of his second presidential term, and has displayed merchandise inscribed with "Trump 2028" inside the White House. A Public Religion Research Institute poll released on Trump's 100th day in office found that a majority of Americans thought Trump was a "dangerous dictator" who posed a threat to democracy.

Most of the survey respondents said they believe Trump overstepped his authority in pursuing mass firings of federal workers, funding mass deportations, imposing blanket tariffs, exerting control over universities, ending diversity and equity programs, canceling student visas, and deporting people such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia without due process.

Trump has long expressed regard for authoritarian leaders and the power they wield, according to The Associated Press. In the run-up to his second term, he vowed vengeance and retribution as he outlined an agenda marked by an unprecedented expansion of executive power, unparalleled interference in the justice system, and a massive purge of civil servants.

He faced his second impeachment in 2021 for inciting an insurrection after a violent crowd of his followers attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as he falsely alleged the 2020 election results had been rigged. The assault led to five deaths within 36 hours and left 174 police officers wounded.

Trump has subsequently promoted a distorted version of what happened that day.

He and several Republican leaders have claimed that the rioters who used flagpoles as weapons, brutally assaulted police officers and chanted about hanging Vice President Mike Pence were somehow acting peacefully in their violent attempt to overturn Joe Biden's election.

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On his first day in office in 2025, Trump granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 individuals convicted or awaiting trial for offenses related to the attack, giving most of them a full pardon. Over 600 of the rioters had been convicted or pleaded guilty to assaulting or obstructing law enforcement officers, with 170 charged with using a deadly weapon.

Fox Host Watters' most recent public condemnation came last month when he suggested that the United Nations in New York should be bombed for allowing one of its escalators to stop operating as Trump and first lady Melania Trump stepped onto it, calling the mechanical malfunction an act of "sabotage" and "an insurrection."

"They could have hurt the first lady. Trump would've fallen and would've gotten back up," said Watters, who has for years faced criticism for comments some deem to be sexually explicit, encouraging violence or based on conspiracy theories. "This is an insurrection, and what we need to do is either leave the U.N. or we need to bomb it. It is in New York though, right? So there'd be some fallout there."

In calling for a bomb to be dropped on the headquarters of the U.N., Watters continued a pattern of appearing to encourage violent acts.

He supported a military invasion of Canada in comments during a broadcast days before Trump's return to the presidency in January, following news of an idea by Trump to turn Canada into the 51st U.S. state.

"Canada... the fact that they don't want us to take them over makes me want to invade. I want to quench my imperialist thirst," Watters said.