 One-dimensional rational characters of the general linear group

Every one-dimensional rational $G{L}_m$ representation is ${\det }^r$ for one integer $r$. Its restriction to the diagonal torus is a Laurent monomial. Invariance under conjugation by permutation matrices forces all its exponents to agree, and density of diagonalizable invertible matrices gives the result on the whole group. For $G{L}_1$, the character identity $p(zw)=p(z)p(w)$ directly forces a Laurent polynomial to be one monomial with coefficient one.