Trump campaign is accused of emulating fascists and warns his critics will be ‘crushed’
Former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign dismissed criticism that he was echoing the language of fascist dictators with his vow to exterminate his political opponents like “pests,” then doubled down, saying on Monday it was a “sad, miserable existence.” of those who would make such comparisons would be “crushed” with Mr. Trump in the White House.
“Those trying to make this ridiculous claim are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, “and their sad, miserable existence will be crushed if President Trump returns to the USA White House.”
At a campaign event Saturday in New Hampshire, Mr. Trump vowed to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and radical left thugs who live like vermin within the borders of our country.” He then said that his political opposition was the most urgent and pernicious threat facing America.
“The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and serious than the threat from within,” Trump said. “Our threat comes from within.”
The former president’s comments drew criticism from some liberals and historians who pointed to echoes of the dehumanizing rhetoric of fascist dictators like Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
An earlier version of Mr Cheung’s statement, in which he said the “entire existence” of these critics would be crushed, was reported by The Washington Post on Sunday. Mr. Cheung said on Monday that he amended his original statement “seconds” after sending it, and The Post amended its article to include both versions.
Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for President Biden’s re-election campaign, said in a statement that during his Veterans Day speech, Mr. American ideas that Trump now defends.”
While violent language has been a hallmark of Trump’s last two campaigns, his speeches have become more extreme as he tries to win a second term.
At recent rallies and events, Trump has compared immigrants crossing the border to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer and cannibal from the horror film “The Silence of the Lambs.”
He called for shoplifters to be shot during a speech in California, and over the weekend in New Hampshire he again called for drug dealers to be subject to the death penalty. He has insinuated that a military general he appointed should be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff executed for treason.
Last month, Mr. Trump told a right-wing website that migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” a phrase reminiscent of white supremacist ideology and Hitler’s comments in his “Mein Kampf” manifesto.