Trump utilizes Hitler’s fascist tactics

By Emily Wissemes, Editor in Chief

Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler may not be exact replicas of one another, but they sure do rhyme.

But both Trump and Hitler’s rhetorical marginalization of groups, lifestyles, and political beliefs correlate in a way.

According to Newsweek, their campaigns were both run on a new vision of leadership, portraying the existing political systems fundamentally corrupt, incompetent, and unable to make decisive actions under pressure.

Both used personal biographies to show how their “struggles” shaped them into authentic leaders.

Take Hitler’s famous autobiography for example. It was called “My Struggle” (“Mein Kampf”) for a reason.

According to Newsweek, 12.5 million copies were distributed in the Third Reich and continues to gain popularity in many countries throughout the world– even being used as a textbook on leadership in business schools.

That should concern people.

Both integrated emotion in their rise to power.

Trump used the notion that foreign cultural and foreign states are stealing American jobs and markets to threaten American culture.

For Hitler, the crisis was the threat of Jews and the thought that German people were facing cultural and racial extinction.

They used the mobilization of politics as an insult and drilled that belief into people.

Trump’s policies (as interpreted) call for a wall along the southern border of the United States, more ICE officers, nationwide e-verify,  the deportation of undocumented immigrants, the end to birthright citizenship, and preventing Muslims from entering the United States. At no point does Trump call for delegitimizing Muslims or Latinos/Latinas all together, as did Hitler with the Jews.

According to Huffington Post, Hitler and the Nazi party used a private army, the Sturmabteilung (SA) to enforce their political will and, in an organized way, terrorize Jews economically and religiously. The SA intimidated political opponents and Jews with violence.

The biggest worry comes as a result of Trump’s comments about a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Some people are even going to the lengths of likening his proposal to the World War II internment of Japanese residents in the United States.

When asked whether Trump would have supported Japanese internment camps, he told Time that he could not say for certain.

“I would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer,” he told the magazine. “I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer.”

Hitler was the creator of a mass genocide; the Holocaust. He imprisoned millions of Jewish citizens all because they were not the “superior” race.

Trump’s answer to Time was, to say the least, very vague. He does not support them, yet he needs to be there?

One has to wonder what he will say/do next. What is left for him to do? Are we talking the final “solution” to Trump’s perceived Muslim problem: holding camps?

Nonetheless, both used racism to rise to power, proposed mass deportations, promised to make their country great again, have been seen as anti-any religion other than Christian, have blamed others for their country’s problems and thought anyone of a different religion should have distinctive identification logos, according to The Guardian.

Anyone who refutes this claim can say “oh he didn’t do this, he didn’t do that.”

But give him a chance and Trump may end up as the modern day Hitler. Hitler didn’t kill the Jews on the first day; he worked up to it.