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Unhinged Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini

On Veterans Day, the former president vowed to “root out” his liberal opponents, drawing backlash from historians who say his rhetoric is
reminiscent of authoritarians
By Marianne LeVine


Former president Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and
critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other
side of the aisle “vermin” and suggesting that they pose a greater threat
to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea.
That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that
of authoritarian leaders.
Keeping up with politics is easy with The 5-Minute Fix Newsletter, in your inbox weekdays.

“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists
and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of
our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections,” Trump said toward
the end of his speech, repeating his false claims that the 2020 election
was stolen. “They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream.”

Trump went on further to state: “the threat from outside forces is far
less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat
is from within. Because if you have a capable, competent, smart, tough
leader, Russia, China, North Korea, they’re not going to want to play with
us.”

Trump pushes authoritarian agenda for second term
1:53
Since leaving the White House in 2021, Donald Trump has said he would
approach a second term as president with an expansive view of executive
branch authority. (Video: JM Rieger/The Washington Post, Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The former president’s speech in Claremont, N.H., echoed his message of vengeance and grievance, as he called himself a “very proud election
denier” and decried his legal entanglements, once again attacking the
judge in a New York civil trial and re-upping his attacks on special
counsel Jack Smith. In the speech, Trump once again portrayed himself as a victim of a political system that is out to get him and his supporters.

Yet Trump’s use of the word “vermin” both in his speech and in a Truth
Social post on Saturday drew particular backlash.

“The language is the language that dictators use to instill fear,” said
Timothy Naftali, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School
of International and Public Affairs. “When you dehumanize an opponent, you strip them of their constitutional rights to participate securely in a democracy because you’re saying they’re not human. That’s what dictators
do.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at New York University, said in an email to
The Washington Post that “calling people 'vermin’ was used effectively by Hitler and Mussolini to dehumanize people and encourage their followers to engage in violence.”

“Trump is also using projection: note that he mentions all kinds of authoritarians ‘communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left’ to
set himself up as the deliverer of freedom,” Ben-Ghiat said. “Mussolini promised freedom to his people too and then declared dictatorship.”

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, told The Post “those who try to
make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for
anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and
their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.”

Cheung later clarified that he meant to say their “sad, miserable
existence" instead of their “entire existence.”

Trump also received widespread criticism and condemnation recently from
groups such as the Anti-Defamation League for saying in an interview that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens,
the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the country, said at the time
that Trump’s comments about blood indicate his language is “getting more extreme,” comparing it to Nazi propaganda about Jewish people.

Trump’s divisive rhetoric comes as he remains the clear polling leader in
the dwindling GOP primary field and as he and his allies have already
started to plot ways for the federal government to punish his critics and opponents should he win back the White House next November. The Post
recently reported that Trump — who faces 91 charges across four criminal
cases — is naming the people he wants to investigate and prosecute, and
his associates are drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection
Act on his first day in office, which would allow him to deploy the
military in response to civil demonstrations.

In addition to attacking the “radical left,” he also spent part of the New Hampshire speech lashing out at a New York judge overseeing his civil
fraud case, calling New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) a
“disaster” and reiterating his descriptions of Smith as “deranged.” Smith
has brought two indictments against Trump: one in a case charging Trump
with illegally hoarding classified documents and the other alleging he
sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power by seeking to overturn
the results of the 2020 election, leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on
the U.S. Capitol.

“The Trump-hating prosecutor in the case, his wife and family despise me
much more than he does and I think he’s about a ten,” he said. “They’re
about a 15, on a scale of ten. … He’s a disgrace to America.”

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XPost: talk.politics.misc, talk.politics.guns, or.politics
XPost: alt.atheism, alt.atheism

Unhinged Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini

On Veterans Day, the former president vowed to “root out” his liberal opponents, drawing backlash from historians who say his rhetoric is
reminiscent of authoritarians
By Marianne LeVine


Former president Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and
critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other
side of the aisle “vermin” and suggesting that they pose a greater threat
to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea.
That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that
of authoritarian leaders.
Keeping up with politics is easy with The 5-Minute Fix Newsletter, in your inbox weekdays.

“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists
and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of
our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections,” Trump said toward
the end of his speech, repeating his false claims that the 2020 election
was stolen. “They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream.”

Trump went on further to state: “the threat from outside forces is far
less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat
is from within. Because if you have a capable, competent, smart, tough
leader, Russia, China, North Korea, they’re not going to want to play with
us.”

Trump pushes authoritarian agenda for second term
1:53
Since leaving the White House in 2021, Donald Trump has said he would
approach a second term as president with an expansive view of executive
branch authority. (Video: JM Rieger/The Washington Post, Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The former president’s speech in Claremont, N.H., echoed his message of vengeance and grievance, as he called himself a “very proud election
denier” and decried his legal entanglements, once again attacking the
judge in a New York civil trial and re-upping his attacks on special
counsel Jack Smith. In the speech, Trump once again portrayed himself as a victim of a political system that is out to get him and his supporters.

Yet Trump’s use of the word “vermin” both in his speech and in a Truth
Social post on Saturday drew particular backlash.

“The language is the language that dictators use to instill fear,” said
Timothy Naftali, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School
of International and Public Affairs. “When you dehumanize an opponent, you strip them of their constitutional rights to participate securely in a democracy because you’re saying they’re not human. That’s what dictators
do.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at New York University, said in an email to
The Washington Post that “calling people 'vermin’ was used effectively by Hitler and Mussolini to dehumanize people and encourage their followers to engage in violence.”

“Trump is also using projection: note that he mentions all kinds of authoritarians ‘communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left’ to
set himself up as the deliverer of freedom,” Ben-Ghiat said. “Mussolini promised freedom to his people too and then declared dictatorship.”

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, told The Post “those who try to
make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for
anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and
their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.”

Cheung later clarified that he meant to say their “sad, miserable
existence" instead of their “entire existence.”

Trump also received widespread criticism and condemnation recently from
groups such as the Anti-Defamation League for saying in an interview that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.”

Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens,
the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the country, said at the time
that Trump’s comments about blood indicate his language is “getting more extreme,” comparing it to Nazi propaganda about Jewish people.

Trump’s divisive rhetoric comes as he remains the clear polling leader in
the dwindling GOP primary field and as he and his allies have already
started to plot ways for the federal government to punish his critics and opponents should he win back the White House next November. The Post
recently reported that Trump — who faces 91 charges across four criminal
cases — is naming the people he wants to investigate and prosecute, and
his associates are drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection
Act on his first day in office, which would allow him to deploy the
military in response to civil demonstrations.

In addition to attacking the “radical left,” he also spent part of the New Hampshire speech lashing out at a New York judge overseeing his civil
fraud case, calling New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) a
“disaster” and reiterating his descriptions of Smith as “deranged.” Smith
has brought two indictments against Trump: one in a case charging Trump
with illegally hoarding classified documents and the other alleging he
sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power by seeking to overturn
the results of the 2020 election, leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on
the U.S. Capitol.

“The Trump-hating prosecutor in the case, his wife and family despise me
much more than he does and I think he’s about a ten,” he said. “They’re
about a 15, on a scale of ten. … He’s a disgrace to America.”

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)