Thoughtful people have claimed that it is inherently wrong to compare any current leader to Adolph Hitler. It’s too easy, they say. Too glib.
I used to agree.
But when supporters of Donald Trump decide that they dislike something written about their hero, their behavior makes it impossible to ignore the similarities between Hitler and Trump.
Freelance journalist Julia Ioffe wrote a piece about Melania Trump in GQ Magazine a few days ago. In it she profiled the beautiful and reserved Slovenian model. But Melania was displeased.
According to Addicting Info, that brought out the rage in Trump’s anti-Semitic base. They seemed to have taken a page directly out of Hitler’s playbook.
.@GideonResnick @OKnox Oh, I thought this one reminding me to swallow my diamonds was from you! pic.twitter.com/Ri6tZsyHXx
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 28, 2016
Ioffe, a Russian Jewish immigrant, was the target of vicious anti-Semitic attacks almost immediately after the piece was published.
Threatening images littered her Twitter feed, including a horrific sketch of a gunman shooting a kneeling Jewish man through the back of the head. Her face was photoshopped onto an Auschwitz inmate’s body. There was a photo of her with the Star of David that Hitler forced all of the Jews to wear.
From my inbox. Subject line: "They know about you!" pic.twitter.com/zp3v2GjTeI
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 28, 2016
She received anonymous phone calls. Her life was threatened by someone named “Overnight Caskets.” At least one caller played her tapes of a Hitler speech.
They played her a Hitler speech!
The White Supremacist website the Daily Stormer wrote “Empress Melania Attacked By Filthy Russian K*ke Julia Ioffe in GQ!”
THESE are the people who are inspired by Donald Trump. They hate. They hate Mexicans (rapists!), Muslims (terrorists!), the press (liars!). They hate Jews.
And make no mistake; they get their ideas from Donald Trump. He has set the tone and laid out his expectations for his supporters.
He’s promised violence at the Republican Convention if he doesn’t get his way. He’s encouraged his followers to beat up anyone who protests at one of his rallies. He repeatedly blames all of America’s problems on “others.”
I find it very hard not to make a direct comparison between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler. Look at the video below, and see if you disagree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkyEbctJNv0
Featured image is a screengrab via YouTube.
