# Are Trump/Hitler comparisons valid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 14, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753 "2016-08-14T03:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/21 "2016-08-14T14:16:05Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > IMO it’s not really instructive to compare Trump and Hitler as individuals. > > But if you look at the _followers_… here are two disturbingly similar groups of people who will say and do anything for the right leader. The only difference is that Hitler built his following, whereas in the US we have a following in search of their Hitler. > > I don’t think Trump is Hitler, because he isn’t going to gain power, and if he did, he wouldn’t be able to execute. But right now we have a perfect storm that someone smarter and more charismatic might be able to exploit. That’s the part that scares me. Both Trump and Hitler (and whatever other fascist movement you can think of) probably has support from people who score high on right wing authoritarianism. [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-2016-authoritarian-213533](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-2016-authoritarian-213533) > **[The rise of American authoritarianism](https://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism)** > > A niche group of political scientists may have uncovered what’s driving Donald Trump’s ascent. What they found has implications that go well beyond 2016. > **[Right-wing authoritarianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_authoritarianism#Attitudes)** > > In psychology, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a set of attitudes, describing somebody who is highly submissive to their authority figures, acts aggressively in the name of said authorities, and is conformist in thought and behavior. The prevalence of this attitude in a population varies from culture to culture, as a person's upbringing and education play a strong role in determining whether somebody develops this sort of worldview. > The right-wing authoritarian was defined by Bob Altemeyer ... This has been verified with Trump. It really isn’t race, education, income, etc. like people say. What really matters on whether you support Trump or not is whether you score high on authoritarianism. They make up maybe 20% of the country and are terrified of threats and change, are hostile to minority groups and support strong measures to deal with these threats including clamping down on civil, human and political rights. However some people say that this isn’t the case. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/03/09/trumps-voters-arent-authoritarians-new-research-says-so-what-are-they/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/03/09/trumps-voters-arent-authoritarians-new-research-says-so-what-are-they/) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/22 "2016-08-14T15:19:36Z")
A true Hitler is only recognizable in retrospect. To prevent the end, we must recognize the beginning. Trump himself may not be truly Hitlerian, missing at the very least the eloquence, but his electoral success might be indicative of a Hitler-shaped hole in our body-politic that needs to be addressed before someone does come along better capable of filling it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/23 "2016-08-14T15:36:06Z")
You know who else was like Hitler? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/24 "2016-08-14T16:12:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You know who else was like Hitler? Ed Zotti? I mean, think about it. I don’t really see Trump as an analogue of Hitler. He’s much more in the tradition of home-grown demagogues like Father Coughlin or George Wallace. Americans don’t want to band together into armies; they want a fair deal but are all too willing to scapegoat Others if they think that fairness has been denied them. It’s a distinct pattern that keeps replaying itself and is far from European fascism. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/25 "2016-08-14T16:24:11Z")
The more accurate comparison is with the rise of Mussolini but it’s the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/26 "2016-08-14T16:31:18Z")
> [@opinionator](#): > > For all of those who just can’t stomach a Clinton presidency, there is a viable alternative. Gary Johnson is a common sense candidate right in the middle between the two extremes. He is the only one actually for less government. If you are a conservative who thinks Trump shares your values on that score, well, you’re sadly mistaken. Gary Johnson is the only true freedom candidate. He is the only small government candidate. He is the only common sense candidate. Except for of course, he cant win. And in a swing state, a vote for Johnson does give Trump a chance of winning there. Whether or not you like Clinton, the disaster of a Trump presidency has to outweigh that animosity for any sane American. OK, hold your nose when you vote, fine. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/27 "2016-08-14T16:49:04Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hitler wasn’t trying to gain media attention for his reality TV show(s). He did write a little book that brought him lots of royalties once he gained power and it became a must-[del]read[/del]display-on-bookshelf title. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/28 "2016-08-14T17:39:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hitler wasn’t trying to gain media attention for his reality TV show(s). Maybe you jest, but it is not well known that Hitler did use TV for propaganda purposes. One of his reality shows was to use the Olympic games of 1936 to press his supremacist message, of course Jesse Owens had to meddle with his plans. While those live broadcasts had few viewers, radio then was used to transmit what many could not see. The Nazis though had bigger plans in mind regarding television. > **[Adolf Hitler 'planned propaganda cable TV'](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/3239289/Adolf-Hitler-planned-propaganda-cable-TV.html)** > > Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were working on a Big Brother-style cable television propaganda industry to be broadcast across Germany. > [@](#): > > Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were working on a Big Brother-style cable television propaganda industry to be broadcast across Germany. > > Plans for the system were first found when Soviet soldiers entered Berlin but have recently been reexamined by researchers for a new Russian documentary. > > The Orwellian screens would have been set up in public places and would show “people’s television”, depicting how the Aryan race should live, with the Nazis focusing on news, sport and education. > > Ideas included building rooms beside laundries so women could gather round the TV to watch the broadcasts. > > Prototype programmes included Family Chronicles: An Evening with Hans and Gelli, which was an early reality TV show depicting a wholesome Aryan life of a young German couple. > > Engineer Walter Burch was asked to make the idea a reality, and tabled a document to Hitler called “Plan to supply people’s transmitter to German homes” which would result in the laying of a broadband cable between Berlin and Nuremberg. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/29 "2016-08-14T22:44:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hitler wasn’t trying to gain media attention for his reality TV show(s). Hitler did use the types of media available at the time to manipulate the public. The documentary /film Triumph of the Will is an example. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/30 "2016-08-14T22:56:13Z")
I don’t think that Trump is Adolf Hitler. He’s closer to Benito Mussolini than Adolf Hitler, but Hitler and Mussolini were more ideologically driven (Hitler more so). They had political designs. Trump, by contrast, just seems to be in love with himself. That said, he’s clearly using fascist rhetoric and has authoritarian impulses. But I suspect that when this race is finished, it’s pretty much the end of his political career. The danger is that there are ideologues out there who are watching this, and they will pick up where Trump left off. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/31 "2016-08-15T00:01:04Z")
I think it’s pointless to compare anybody to Hitler, because there are always a million ways that anybody is different to the man who has come to embody evil. On the other hand, some of Trump’s actual statements and policty positions tend to make you raise your eyebrow: - Questioning whether Freedom of Press should include the freedom to criticize him; - Stating outright that the electoral system is rigged and that if he loses, it will be an invalid result; - Stating that the Judiciary is illegitimate based on the race of a judge; - Stating outright that there should be a racial or religious based immigration policy; - Stating that treaties that the US has signed are illegitimate and can be ignored or set aside; - Repeatedly stated that his opponent is a criminal and a supporter of terrorism; I could probably go on, but that’s not a bad start. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/32 "2016-08-15T00:51:31Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Maybe you jest, but it is not well known that Hitler did use TV for propaganda purposes. One of his reality shows was to use the Olympic games of 1936 to press his supremacist message, of course Jesse Owens had to meddle with his plans. My point was that I don’t believe Trump really wants to be president, and that he’s just looking for publicity. Hitler really did want to be _Der Fuhrer_! ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/33 "2016-08-15T02:25:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > My point was that I don’t believe Trump really wants to be president, and that he’s just looking for publicity. Hitler really did want to be _Der Fuhrer_! Trump doesn’t want to be the President, he want’s to be a dictator who doesn’t have to do boring things like compromise to get laws passed. I’m sure he had very little idea of the limitations of the President’s power or how long and tedious political processes can be. I think now that he has some realisation he doesn’t want to be President anymore, but he’d love to be in absolute power just issuing commands and letting other people do all the hard work. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/34 "2016-08-15T02:55:59Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Trump doesn’t want to be the President, he want’s to be a dictator who doesn’t have to do boring things like compromise to get laws passed. I’m sure he had very little idea of the limitations of the President’s power or how long and tedious political processes can be. I think now that he has some realisation he doesn’t want to be President anymore, but he’d love to be in absolute power just issuing commands and letting other people do all the hard work. I think it’s more that Trump is finding out that politics is not like business or entertainment. People take politics very, very seriously. Every word does count. And most people are not under your control. You can’t fire the press. One thing that might turn out for good from the Trump debacle. Perhaps in the future fewer business people will try to leap directly into politics. The government is not a business and can’t be run like a business. None of their experience counts, and may even be counterproductive. And their skins are too thin. ---
**Author:** ![Sputnikkk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Sputnikkk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sputnikkk)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/35 "2016-08-15T07:02:43Z")
Trump’s childhood was one of privilege. Hitler’s childhood was much darker, his brother ran away because his father beat him, his other brother died at 6, Hitler failed in school, and as a teenager he left home went broke and was in a homeless shelter, where he said he developed his antisemetic ideas, then he went on to become a soldier fighting/killing in WW1. Without this sort of trauma I don’t think Trump could ever become quite as psychotic and evil as Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/36 "2016-08-15T08:06:19Z")
Hitler is not a unique case in history, he’s just the most notorious because he was really, really good at what he did. Trump, not so much. Trump is more of a banana republic strongman wannabe in the vein of your average right-wing Latin American dictator. He doesn’t even rise to Pinochet levels, much less Hitler. Actually, the best comparison to Trump is FDR and Ike. FDR was certainly not above rounding people up and putting them in camps, and Ike orchestrated the largest deportation campaign in history. FDR and Ike are idolized because they were products of their time. Their schtick would be less cute transplanted into the 2016 campaign. Rounding up Japanese people, deporting Mexicans, and using captured Muslim terrorists as slave labor wouldn’t be offensive to FDR, Ike or any of their supporters at the time. I think that’s one thing people seem to miss about Trump in all the Hitler comparisons. You don’t need to cast about for foreign leaders to compare him too. Trump represents a very American type of leader going back to Andrew Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/37 "2016-08-15T10:36:24Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I think it’s more that Trump is finding out that politics is not like business or entertainment. People take politics very, very seriously. Every word does count. And most people are not under your control. You can’t fire the press. > > One thing that might turn out for good from the Trump debacle. Perhaps in the future fewer business people will try to leap directly into politics. The government is not a business and can’t be run like a business. None of their experience counts, and may even be counterproductive. And their skins are too thin. Excellent thought (and original, too, AFAIK). Assuming things work out okay in November, this could be a good inoculation against vastly unqualified people running for major office. (Not that I’d want the pendulum to swing _too_ far the other way – it’s good that the US has some former “soccer moms,” doctors, soldiers, teachers, and even a few entertainers and athletes at various levels of government – but at the presidential level, there’s gotta be more on-paper credentials than what the Donald has.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/38 "2016-08-15T15:29:16Z")
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that any business leader would be unable to govern effectively. Someone grounded and intelligent like a Warren Buffett-type might have a chance. Most of them probably wouldn’t be interested in running, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/39 "2016-08-15T16:41:25Z")
Bloomberg did a decent job in NYC. No, Trump is not like Hitler. He has no ideology. He would be very disappointed if he won. He would order, say, Medicare disbanded and would discover that would take an act of Congress. Which the Dems would filibuster to death. He would order all Muslims deported and discover that could not do that unilaterally. He would blow his stack. And eventually quit. Incidentally, although he might have gotten into the game for publicity, I think he has done immense damage to the Trump brand. It is now common knowledge how he stiffs his contractors, his workers, and investors. His brand is now toxic. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753/40 "2016-08-15T18:56:52Z")
> [@opinionator](#): > > For all of those who just can’t stomach a Clinton presidency, there is a viable alternative. Gary Johnson is a common sense candidate right in the middle between the two extremes. He is the only one actually for less government. If you are a conservative who thinks Trump shares your values on that score, well, you’re sadly mistaken. Gary Johnson is the only true freedom candidate. He is the only small government candidate. He is the only common sense candidate. What if I want a big liberal government and more regulations? What if I think big government is the only thing that can fix a host of problems we have, from the anti-science attitude in many red states to the fake “religious freedom” pushed by fundamentalists that only seek to glorify their own religion. Those need to be stamped out and made illegal, and every child should be forced to get a vaccination. Which candidate would that be? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-trump-hitler-comparisons-valid/762753.md?page=3)