Trust in police drops

STATS SA: HALF OF THEFT AND ROBBERY VICTIMS DON'T REPORT INCIDENTS

- Jarryd Westerdale

Washington - US President Donald Trump on Monday suggested many Americans would like a dictator as he signed orders to tighten his federal clampdown on the capital Washington and to prosecute flag-burners.

During a rambling 80-minute event in the Oval Office, Trump lambasted critics and the media as he complained that he was not getting credit for his National Guard-backed crackdown on crime and immigration.

"They say 'we don't need him. Freedom, freedom. He's a dictator. He's a dictator.' A lot of people are saying: 'Maybe we like a dictator'," Trump said.

"I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense and a smart person."

Trump, who attempted to overturn the results of his 2020 election defeat by Joe Biden at the end of his first term, said before winning a second term in November that he would be a "dictator on day one".

Republican Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington earlier this month to counter what he alleged was an out-of-control crime problem, also taking federal control of the city's police department.

Trump said he was also considering sending the military into Chicago and Baltimore as he targets a series of Democratic strongholds.

He sent the National Guard to Los Angeles - against the mayor's and California governor's wishes - in June.