Donald Trump’s latest late-night rant took a darker turn this weekend when he claimed that criticizing him might actually be illegal.
The president went after Late Night with Seth Meyers, calling the NBC host “the least talented person to ‘perform’ live in the history of television.” Trump, who said he tuned into the show for the first time in years, accused Meyers of obsessing over his complaints about Navy aircraft carriers.
“In it he talked endlessly about electric catapults on aircraft carriers which I complain about as not being as good as much less expensive steam catapults,” Trump wrote. “On and on he went, a truly deranged lunatic.”
Then came the kicker: “NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!”
That last part — suggesting that mocking or criticizing him could break the law — triggered alarm bells from Capitol Hill.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) didn’t mince words. “You need to understand that he actually believes it is illegal to criticize him,” Murphy wrote on X. “Why? Because Trump believes he – not the people – decides the law.”
Murphy didn’t stop there. “This is why we are in the middle of, not on the verge of, a totalitarian takeover,” he warned.
Murphy’s comments underscore what many critics have been saying for years — that Trump’s public outbursts aren’t just harmless bluster, but a window into how he views power and dissent. When a political figure openly suggests that ridicule or opposition could be criminal, it’s not just another headline-grabbing tantrum — it’s an attack on one of the core principles of democracy.
