Donald Trump has shown time and time again that he has a soft spot for dictators. And the president went full Trumpillo this morning, seemingly threatening that the whistleblower who filed a complaint against him should be executed. At a private breakfast in New York, Trump likened the filing of a just released complaint to treason.

“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”

He seemed to suggest that a third party, who gave the information to the person who filed the complaint was a spy. And for once, it seems he was close to the truth. While no third person has come forward, the New York Times has identified the whistleblower as someone in the spy business: a CIA analyst with an expertise in Ukraine.

Trump's threat to people who would share when he was doing wrong did not sit well even among conservatives. Whether they are reacting to Trump's words or merely reading the tea leaves as the impeachment push becomes real is up for debate. Either way, they spoke out about it on Trump's favorite platform the prospect of the death penalty for putting the country over despotism. Tweets suggest he must be impeached and removed.

Elsewhere at the event, Trump continued his lugenpresse schtick, calling reporters "scum."

“You know, these animals in the press. They’re animals, some of the worst human beings you’ll ever meet,” he said. “Many of them are scum, and then you have some good reporters, but not many of them, I’ll be honest with you.”