Hunter Biden said on Ana Navarro’s podcast that President Donald Trump was already acting as a dictator and that US democracy had effectively been lost. Navarro disagreed with that conclusion, saying Trump appeared to want fewer constraints on his power but that elections, courts and a free press still existed; the exchange highlights differing views over the strength of US democratic institutions.

Biden cited Trump’s choice of former personal attorney Todd Blanche as attorney general, the federal case involving journalist Don Lemon, and Trump’s reported remarks to a female reporter. Navarro, who said she had fled Nicaragua’s Sandinista dictatorship, argued that the greater concern was limited Republican congressional oversight and questioned how forcefully Democrats would act if they regained control of Congress. The article notes that Navarro has previously described Trump as a “wannabe dictator” and compared aspects of his conduct to authoritarian leaders.