Scholars say Trump took a page out of the Nazis' playbook.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung pushed back on those condemning the former president’s choice of “vermin” to attack his opponents, telling the Washington Post that critics “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 to the Post that he meant to say their “sad, miserable existence” instead of their “entire existence.”)
Calling his opponents vermin is a classic dehumanizing technique. Viewing a group as sub-human makes it easier to justify cruelty, and is a component of most genocidal regimes.
And that's totally in line with trump's open love and praise of murderous, genocidal dictators across the globe. Like most everything trump does, it's sickening and blatantly obvious.
That's what used to be called a "Freudian Slip". These days, it it's just standard GOP tactics to testing the waters to measure the amount of support for fascism.
That's more clever than the words a lot of these assholes use... like 'ghetto.' I was talking to someone like that earlier, about how the kids who went to the 'ghetto schools' were part of a community that didn't value education. And then he started trying to sell me on fucking Thomas Sowell.
This is a display of power, and dominance. It's a taunt.
To "clarify" by both denying the claim and doubling down on the claim at the same time. To state that people taking the words as a threat are snowflakes, while immediately threatening them again. And to do it twice over, reclarifying his original threat with another one.
He knows that makes no sense. But words don't have to make sense under fascists. Only power makes sense. He knows he can get away with it. That's the point.
The journalist should have drilled him on the spot.
I mean, January 6th was what a rational people could call "crossing the line." Prior to that, you literally had these nazi groups trying to insight violence in protests everywhere. They literally buy too many guns to use.
These people are violent, intend to use violence, and it is not an exaggeration. When they do start killing people, there will be a lot of surprised Pikachu faces, but its not like they didn't vote for a president who said he could shoot someone on 5th ave and not lose any supporters.
I mean, when I read Trumps quote, before I had seen any mention of nazis or Hitler in relation to his quote, I literally paused to myself and thought "that... sounds like a Hitler quote"
And 15 seconds later, I saw the comments comparing it to actual Hitler quotes.
There is no grasping. The very first, uninfluenced, impression of his quote was that it sounded like Hitler's words.
Trump Derangement Syndrome dropped just in time for the special moments of holiday conversations. This is that comeback from that uncle in the FJB shirt, hat, shitty bumper sticker, it is coming folks so be ready.
They still talk about Hillary calling Trump's supporters "deplorables", but when Trump not only calls liberals/leftists "vermin" but implies that they will be in some way discriminated against, maybe even genocided, it barely makes the news.
Seriously, American politics are just completely embarrassing at this point. It has been completely reduced to mud-slinging and insults. In the gutter all the time. Taking the high road is not an option. Why anyone would vote for this is beyond my comprehension.
This is the presumptive nominee for President for the Republican party, and almost all of the also-rans are exactly as bad. (Chris Christie is a piece of shit, just not for this specific reason.)
Unfortunately, the power to solve this fascism crisis resides in people leaving the Republican American Fascist Party, and actually turning against it. Yeah, we're fucked.
Most conservatives support fascism. They don't call it "fascism", so they will deny being fascists. But conservatives always vote for whomever is the most harmful, oppressive, fascist candidate.
Conservatives are fascists. They will never leave the fascist party.
Hear me out, vote for Christie in the primary. He's a piece of shit but infinitely better than Trump. If everyone does this, Trump is toast. Then vote for Biden in the general.