Its like Hillary walking into a working class kitchen for the first time.
They've been shielded from even critical support of China and other AES for so long they literally, not figuratively, literally cannot process that people exist that have beliefs that aren't Reddit Approved. They immediately assume it's bots or wumao. Human beings can't possibly hold these beliefs, so they must be Oriental hordes or actual robots.
Being a dictator is when you're appointed by a democratic body and then there is a confirmation vote and the more democratic the body is and the lower the vote against confirmation the more of a dictator you are.