Donald Trump’s arrogance has been legendary since long before he was ever President of the United States. He put his name and his face on everything he could possibly think of, from hotels to neckties, steaks to vodka. He even briefly had a “university” he claimed was going to churn out successful business types like him.

Not that he’s been successful. There just aren’t that many people who have bankrupted casinos.

One thing he has been good at, however, is getting people to give him money. That’s what he was up to this week at his Florida resort, with a MAGA-studded fundraiser for the ages. And what he said while he was on stage there may explain some of why he thinks he’s so good at everything else.

“I always say we have problems from within and from the outside. But the outside are easier — Russia, China, Kim Jong Un, North Korea — these are much easier problems than dealing with some of the maniacs we have to deal with in our own country.”

We can see that Trump considers himself either a heavy-handed leader who’s “dealing” with foreign leaders in a way that makes them bow to him, or some kind of diplomat that makes ostensible enemies look at us as a friend, so long as he’s at the helm.

He doesn’t see that sort of thing here in America because he can’t simply pretend he went somewhere and “won” the global chess game that is the US presidency. He has to actually get things done here. And he is subject to the laws here, where in other countries he’s not. In some cases, the behavior he displays here that got him facing 91 felony counts in 4 indictments is either standard practice or something that a dictator might admire anyway.

Shady land deals? Putin’s all over that. Working over the working class to enrich the rich? Xi Jinping is right there with him. Saber rattling to keep his subjects in line? Kim Jong Un knows a thing or two.

But the “maniacs” at home? That’s where Trump wishes he was like the other guys he named, mostly because they’re able to simply silence their opponents. If Putin doesn’t like what’s being said about him in the press, he just makes them change it.

God, what Trump wouldn’t give for power like that.

Watch:

Last night, at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, Donald Trump claimed it’s easier to deal with Russia, China, and North Korea than the “maniacs” within our country. pic.twitter.com/GQxwrteJVr

— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) October 27, 2023