Recently, a friend of mine commented on Facebook, responding to someone who said that when those on the right don’t have a decent argument, they resort to name calling. This comment was made after a series of comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. My original post was meant to denounce political violence, regardless of the party affiliation of the victim or the perpetrator. Here’s what I said:
“No matter the victim, no matter the perpetrator, no matter the politics, and no matter the motivations, political violence is wrong.
“You may have thought Charlie Kirk was great or you may have thought he was evil. It doesn’t matter. Either way, political violence is still wrong.
“It doesn’t solve anything, it doesn’t improve anything, and it doesn’t make the world a better place. It only leads to more violence, more hatred, and more bloodshed.
“If you’re going to speak out against political violence when your ally is the victim, be sure to speak out when the victim is your opponent. Because if you can’t condemn all political violence, you’re not really opposed to it. And we should all be opposed to it.”
As so often happens on social media, commenters chimed in and took the conversation in a direction it was never intended to go. I won’t get into the whole thread, but one person started name calling, another person called him our for the name calling, and then my friend, Bob, responded with the following comment:
The left (have) their share of name callers. TV commentators, on MSNBC, Joy Reid and Nicole Wallace have compared Trump to Hitler and carrying out a holocaust. They have the right to say it but is it responsible? Plenty of people have called Trump and his supporters fascist and now one of Trumps biggest supporters has been murdered by an person quoting an antifacist anthem. Hate is not reserved to those on the right.
The part about Bob’s comment that stuck out to me was his contention that comparing Hitler to Trump is irresponsible. This is an area I’m very interested in and have done quite a bit of reading about. In a nutshell, my opinion is that it is irresponsible not to bring up the similarities between Trump and Hitler. What similarities, you might ask. Let’s take a look.
There are several areas where there are significant similarities between Hitler’s time in Germany and Trump’s second term in office. One obvious similarity is that they both came to office through legitimate democratic means and then attacked the very democracy that brought them to power. However, the similarities go far beyond how they came to power, For instance:
Populist Leaders – Both Trump and Hitler portrayed themselves as strong, charismatic leaders. They appealed directly to mass audiences (often to the exclusion of popularly elected officials, such as the Reichstag and the Congress), and often conducted large rallies where they gave emotional speeches claiming they were the “voice of the people” and they promised national renewal.
Nationalism and Identity Politics – Both Hitler and Trump used nationalism as a means to galvanize support. Hitler’s brand of nationalism was based around the humiliation Germany suffered in World War I as well as the treatment of Germany following the war. Trump points to alleged poor treatment of the United States by other countries, particularly as it relates to trade and our relationship with partner nations in NATO. His brand of nationalism—namely “America First”—stresses blood and soil patriotism, control of the border, and suspicion of immigrants, which is similar to Hitler’s use of nationalism and racial identity.
Us vs Them – Both Hitler and Trump scapegoated “others,” blaming them for the ills of the nation. For Hitler, it was Jews, communists, Roma, gays, and political dissidents. For Trump, it is immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ people, people of color, women, and political opponents. Both Hitler and Trump used “Us vs Them” rhetoric to energize their base and create a common enemy. Both men built concentration camps, first outside the country (Hitler-Poland, Trump-El Salvador), then within the country (Hitler-Dachau, Trump-Alligator Alcatraz), to house people each man felt were enemies of the state. Both men also relied on rhetoric that painted marginalized groups as existential threats to the nation as a way to unify their political base. In addition, both men expanded detention and punitive systems as a way to both detain their perceived enemies, as well as a way to signal power and control.
Attacks on the Press and Democratic Institutions – Both Hitler and Trump referred to the free press as enemies of the state. Both men worked to dismantle checks on their authority and to punish any press outlet or institution in a position to hold them accountable. Trump in particular has referred to unfavorable press as “fake news, and has questioned the legitimacy of the courts, elections, and other democratic institutions. Hitler was more successful in eliminating checks on his power than Trump has been so far, but Trump continues to rhetorically attacking the press and democratic institutions as a way to erode public trust. In this way, Trump’s actions mirror Hitler’s early efforts to establish authoritarian rule.
Militarization of Politics – Hitler had the Brown Shirts (SA), which blurred the line between political supporters and the military. While Trump did not create the Proud Boys or other militia-style groups, he did support them and defend their actions, treating their violence as a defense of the nation. In addition, Trump has converted ICE into a police force larger than many country’s military, and he has illegally used the armed forces for domestic law enforcement. Rather than creating a paramilitary force outside the government as Hitler did, Trump is creating an equivalent force within the government, controlled by him and potentially loyal to him over their oath to the Constitution (this is still an open question). Both men used their respective military/paramilitary forces to show strength, tamp down resistance, and create an environment of fear and distrust.
Cult of Personality – Hitler created the Fuhrer cult, demanding absolute loyalty to himself, as opposed to the country or the government. Much like Trump, he did not see any separation between himself and the country. Hitler was Germany just as Trump feels he is the United States. Like Hitler, Trump demands personal loyalty from subordinates, and works to profit his supporters while punishing his dissenters. Two top-of-mind examples of this trait are John Bolton (dissenter) and the January 6 insurrectionists (supporters).
Consolidating Power Through Crisis – Hitler exploited the economic depression and political instability in Germany that followed World War I to consolidate power for himself. Trump hasn’t had these types of circumstances to draw upon, so he has tried to manufacture them, using emergency powers where no emergency exists; claiming a terrible economic situation, despite inheriting the strongest economy in the world; and contending that crime is out of control, despite crime being at a 50-year low across the country. Both men used their circumstances (one real, one fabricated) to consolidate power and take control of the levers of government.
Undermining Democracy – Both men came to power legally, but once in office (or even before taking office), they both worked to undermine free elections and delegitimize results. For his part, Hitler used intimidation, propaganda, and suppression of opposition parties to undermine elections, Trump has claimed that the elections he has participated in are “rigged (even when he won in 2016 he claimed that he had won by a margin larger than the official results indicated), and he continues to erode faith in elections. In this way, Trump’s efforts parallel Hitler’s efforts to delegitimize election integrity.
As you can see, there are several areas in which Hitler and Trump are extremely similar. It’s easy to forget that Hitler did not start by killing millions of Jews, Roma, gays, and political dissidents. That was how things ended up, not how they began. In fact, in some ways, Trump has moved in an authoritarian direction much more quickly than even Hitler did. Of course, you don’t have to believe me. It was Trump’s own Vice-President who referred to him as “America’s Hitler” way back in 2016. Vice-President Vance may have had a change of heart since then, but the comparisons between Hitler and Trump have only grown stronger.
