Trump and Hitler: Drawing the Parallels 

A fascist is defined as a “follower of a political philosophy characterized by authoritarian views and a strong central government – and no tolerance for opposing opinions.” Recently, after Trump called himself a king, a new photograph of Donald Trump was posted by the White House titled “Trump: Long Live the King.” Trump poses a large threat to democracy and exhibits clear fascist traits, similarly to a man who took control over a country many decades ago: Adolf Hitler. 

Trump and Hitler arose to power using similar tactics. For example, both of them promised that they would fix the economy. 

Before Hitler took control over Germany, the economy was struggling. Issues such as “unemployment, hunger, poverty, and homelessness” were common. The country was also extremely politically divided. Hitler utilized the economic and political crises to his advantage to gain power and control. He promised to fix the economy and “return Germany to the status of a Great European power.” 

That sounds awfully familiar to me. After all, Trump’s infamous slogan is “Make America Great Again.” To do this, Trump has promised the American people to end the inflation crisis, provide tax relief and cut prices. However, Trump’s economic plan is not designed to help the middle class. The Americans for Tax Fairness estimate that in 2026, Trump’s proposed tax and tariff policies will benefit only the top 5% income households who make over $360,000 per year while the other families will lose around between $600 and $1,800. 

Additionally, both Hitler and Trump place a large focus on purifying the blood of their countries. The Nazis regarded anyone who had “non-Aryan” blood as “inferior and a threat to the purity of the race.” They also considered Jewish people, especially black Jews, to be less than fully human. Many were deported and packed into concentration camps with horrific conditions. 

Trump’s new plan for deporting illegal immigrants is to open deportation camps, one being Guantánamo Bay. Suspects of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were held at this Naval Base. Trump wants to cram up to 30,000 detained migrants into this base with terrible conditions, the extent of which are still unknown. This detention center has been called “a symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention.”  Trump claims illegal immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” 

Scapegoating minorities is another similarity Hitler and Trump share. Illegal immigrants are one example of a group that is scapegoated in the United States, but there are several others. Hitler and Trump also spread propaganda about minority groups to sway citizens in their favor. 

Following World War I, the Nazis blamed Jewish people for Germany’s loss. There was a very small population of Jews in Germany, and many helped to fight and even lost their lives in the war. The Nazis targeted other groups, such as gay people, black people, people with disabilities and people who opposed Hitler’s political ideologies. 

Trump blames marginalized communities for problems in the United States. Only about 1% of Americans identify as transgender, yet they are who are often blamed for sexual assaults that take place in women’s restrooms. There has been no evidence that “suggests a rise in violence within restrooms, let alone violence caused by transgender and non-binary people.” Trump has also made major cuts to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), a framework of organizations that promote fair treatment and equal opportunity for all. For example, Trump recently revoked President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246. This order required the government to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color or national origin.” Regarding detesting people of other political ideologies, Trump also recently warned that in the midterm election next year, blue states will “totally disappear off the map.” 

Hitler and Trump have also used censorship through the form of book bans to manipulate voters. Nazis burned and banned books that were determined “un-German.” Books by popular Jewish, leftist, and liberal authors were burned in 34 university cities and towns. In the U.S., a book called “Freckleface Strawberry” has just been banned by the Department of Defense who claim that library books “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics” are being investigated. This book literally describes a girl’s journey to learning to love her freckles. The Hunger Games series and The Handmaid’s Tale , two relevant dystopian novels are just a few examples of other books that have been banned in parts of the U.S. 

Shockingly enough, Trump’s own administration has associated Trump with Hitler. J.D. Vance, Trump’s Vice President, compared Trump to Hitler in 2016. Vance wrote to an associate on Facebook that he goes “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad or that he’s America’s Hitler.” Trump has also outwardly supported some of Hitler’s actions. His longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, has warned that Trump meets the description of a fascist. Trump also told Kelly that “Hitler did some good things too” and proposed the idea of needing “German Generals,” even clarifying his statement by saying “yeah, yeah, Hitler’s generals.” 

Currently, the U.S. is on genocide watch. A Red Flag Alert was sent out by the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention after Elon Musk gave two Nazi salutes following his speech at Trump’s inauguration. As the Lemkin Institute put it, the salute is “an insult to this country, to its Constitution, to its veterans, and to the many survivors of the Holocaust who created new lives and new families within our safe borders.”  

Now, I urge you to do research, check your sources, stay informed and have some empathy. Just because something doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it does not matter, and it doesn’t mean your rights aren’t up next on the chopping board. This is just the beginning of a power-hungry presidency. The future can feel frightening and uncertain, so we must turn to one another in this time of need. I recommend attending protests, signing petitions and making sure you know your rights. We learn history for a reason, and we must not repeat it.