Journalist Dan Rather told CNN's Don Lemon this week that President Trump's call to take away the legal process for processing illegal immigrants is contrary to American ideals and classic authoritarianism.



"In other countries, it's called, 'I'm sorry, you can't come in, you have to leave,'" Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "[In the U.S.], we have judges. If they step on our land we have judges. It's insane. So we're going to have to change our whole immigration policy."



"We had again [this week] the president saying he wants to make the law. This is completely contrary to American ideals and the American idea," Rather said. "He is basically saying he is above the law. One of our fundamental tenets is no man, no person is above the law."











"The president of the United States is not the descendant of some Sun God, and he is inserved because of some divine mandate," he continued.



The earliest Kings claimed to be descended from Gods, which were often associated with the Sun.



"He serves because he's been elected by the people," Rather said. "To say what he said about the courts, about the law, this is a paraphrase of course, 'I'm going to do it my way.' And I think everybody recognizes this, or should, this is classic authoritarianism, which could lead to dictatorship."



"The president has a leadership responsibility, he sets a tone. And his tone is one that caters to his supporters, he damns everybody and everything that gives even one scintilla of questioning, and this is why we are in a critical point in this country," Rather said about Trump.



"It is not an overstatement to say that what is going on now is a great and decisive battle for the soul of this country."