Harris says Trump 'wants to be an autocrat' and tyrants are 'rooting' for him

Vice President Kamala Harris said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "wants to be an autocrat," as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago on Thursday night.

"I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump," said Harris.

"Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors," the vice president said.

"They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable — because he wants to be an autocrat," Harris said of her Republican opponent.

"As President, I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals."

Shortly after Harris delivered these lines, Trump replied to her critique in a social media post.

"The Tyrants are laughing at her, she's weak and ineffective, and for three and a half years she has done nothing except enabled them to get STRONG, RICH, and POWERFUL!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Harris' sharp criticism of Trump's well documented admiration for dictators and autocrats hostile to U.S. interests built on a theme established earlier in the night.

The convention's speaker list on Thursday included a half-dozen veterans of the American military and intelligence community. One by one, they portrayed Trump as a threat to national security, and Harris as a staunch defender of America's ideals.

"I want to talk tonight about national security," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the Democratic nominee for a Senate seat from that state this fall.

"Because the choice in November is stark: America retreating from the world, or leading the world. Trump wants to take us backwards," said Slotkin, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who worked alongside the military during three tours in Iraq.

"He admires dictators, treats our