Trump's rhetoric is increasingly mirroring Nazi talking points, and nobody is paying attention, an expert on extremism warns
Trump's rhetoric is increasingly mirroring Nazi talking points, and nobody is paying attention, an expert on extremism warns
Extremism expert Peter Simi told Business Insider why Donald Trump's increasingly extreme rhetoric keeps falling on deaf ears.
It's a dumb headline because there are definitely people paying attention, just not the right people.
The people that support him are paying attention too, and it's exactly what they (think they) want to hear. They assume under a dictatorship they will be immune from ramifications.
As with everything else, they vote against their own best interests but don't realize it.
It's kinda sad that they don't realize Trump hates them.
His followers are listening too. The issue is that to them "sounds like Hitler" is a feature not a bug.
If it looks like a nazi, walks like a nazi, smells like a nazi, well...
I mean... he looks like a morbidly obese oompa loompa, can barely walk up a flight of stairs, and by recent accounts smells like a combo of a McDonald's restroom, BO, and sour milk.
...and all of that is moot anyway: the important bit is that he acts like a nazi and inspires others to do the same.
Jason Stanley has been talking about this for yearsl.
Patricia Roberts-Miller has been talking about demagoguery generally also since forever, which laid the conditions for Trump to rise as the eminent demagogue. In fact, I prefer her analysis over Stanley's. Stanley, and many historians, think of fascism from the top down: Mussolini or Hitler showed up and charismatically led otherwise good people into evil.
Not so. People were already scapegoating Jews and minorities and dissatisfied with their lives. Hitler and Mussolini just stepped into the a pre-existing national political role. Similarly, Trump's racism and fake news and whatnot were already trends in American society. He just took what was there an ran with it.
It's why, even if Trump goes to jail, American fascism will stick around. There are plenty of regular people willing and able to undermine liberty for their personal security.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has doubled and even tripled down on the charged rhetoric that critics have lamented sounds like it's coming from the mouth of an authoritarian leader as opposed to a candidate for president of a democracy.
On December 6, when asked if he'd abuse his power as retribution against his political foes, the former president told Fox News host Sean Hannity that, should he be re-elected in 2024, he'll only be a dictator "on day one."
On December 17, Trump declared immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," a statement that drew ire from the Biden White House, which said the comments "parroted Adolf Hitler."
Peter Simi, a professor of sociology at Chapman University, has studied extremist groups and violence for 25 years and has co-authored two books about white supremacy in America.
Simi spoke to Business Insider to explain why, even as Trump's rhetoric becomes increasingly extreme and highlights themes of fascism and authoritarianism, the former president's violent speeches aren't demanding the world's attention like they used to.
They maintain their support for him and it's hard, at this point, to see what it would take to change that for the core base of true believers who are unwavering and fully committed in his camp.
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I dont think its falling on deaf ears. Its just that the obly people reasonably in a position to stop him either dont want to or cant get enough support. This wont change by politely asking these people to stop because thy get no real pushback when they cross lines.
Please stop spamming this dumb article.