It's Still Not Hyperbole to Compare Trump (& Team) to Hitler
If you want people to stop comparing you to the world’s worst person in history, stop acting like him.
About a month ago, I wrote a piece comparing Trump to Hitler. I’m not going to lie; the feedback was some of the most mixed of any piece I’ve written for The Arena. But someone has to say it, so if no one else will, allow it to be me.
There’s a historical poem that is often shared amongst those remembering the Holocaust entitled “First They Came For” by a German pastor. If you aren’t familiar with it, here it is in its entirety:
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.”
I regularly carry the theme of this poem with me, and I would like to think it guides me in a lot of my work. In 2024, this couldn’t ring truer to me as a Jew in America.
Yesterday, Trump and his team, for the umpteenth time, came for Latinos. This time, explicitly calling out Puerto Ricans (ironically at almost the exact moment that VP Harris released her plan to support the U.S. territory), who, in case anyone has forgotten, are American citizens. 5.8 Million Puerto Ricans are residing in the 50 states of the USA, and this disgusting statement was met with pushback from notable Puerto Ricans such as Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, Ricky Martin, Geraldo Rivera, JLo, and Marc Anthony (both of whom have parents from Puerto Rico).
Yet, as has been well documented, Trump and his team never let stats or facts stop them from creating any storyline they want. The guy who made the now-viral commentary was Tony Hinchcliffe, whose Twitter bio states, “comedian from Texas.” Hinchcliffe took to Twitter after getting off stage and posted that Tim Walz had “no sense of humor…to analyze [the] joke.” Racism isn’t funny. Ever. Period. However, the Trump team knew precisely what they were doing, letting him open up for a Trump rally on October 27th in Madison Square Garden.
Sorry folks, you don’t get to have it both ways. You don’t get to have a leader who praises Hitler and makes statements such as “I need the kind of generals Hitler had,” or whose supporters hoist swastika flags at parades, and then get mad when apparent comparisons are made.
My hot take (I don’t think it’s that hot, but I also didn’t know my first piece comparing Trump to Hitler would get the feedback it did) is that Trump knows he’s losing in 8 days. He and his team are paving the way for massive violence as a result, with certain groups targeted in their crosshairs. The only thing that makes me more anxious than Trump winning is what happens when Trump loses.
So first, this time, they came for Latinos. You won’t catch me not speaking out because I’m not Latino. I’ve learned from history, and I’ll be damned to let it repeat. Join me in using your voice to speak out before they come for us next.
Writer’s note: the poorly delivered “joke” by Tony Hinchcliffe has been denounced by GOP notables such as Senator Rick Scott (retweeted by former RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel), Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-26), and the Chairman of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico.
Make America Hate Again
This wasn’t an accident. It was the point. It’s what MAGA was built on—a message to the white, the bitter, and the fearful that their ginned up anger is a rallying cry, a political stance, and a weapon. It's a promise that America belongs to them and no one else. It’s why Trump’s rallies don’t even try to reach beyond his hardcore base. The sad part is that, for as many reasonably-minded people as he'll lose because of this abomination, he'll gain just as many who want nothing more than a fourth Reich.
An Open Letter to Your Friend or Relative Planning to Vote for Trump: Your Vote for Trump Is an Endorsement of Bigotry, Cruelty, and the Erosion of Rights—No Matter the Reason You Give.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-150725410?r=4d7sow&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Great piece - and I'm sorry to hear your first one in this got mixed feed back! Hard to believe!