There is no question that the current presidency is unlike any other in our nation’s history. Since Donald Trump announced his run, there have been numerous comparisons between him and former fascist dictators, particularly Adolf Hitler, but how many of these comparisons ring true? Although Trump often voices racist sentiments, how closely do his actions mimic the totalitarian leader of the once-powerful Nazi regime?
   Many historians agree that the rise of a right-wing populist (a politician who preys on making false promises to look out and care for the “everyday people”) comes after years of growing unhappiness with the political system as a whole. Instead of rallying to rid the government of corruption, the public often looks for a “savior” figure. In the words of Daniel Ziblatt, the Professor of Government at Harvard University, “So I think institutional dysfunction ... gives rise to this kind of temptation to have a single leader solve all of our problems for us." Much like Germany in the 1930s, Americans were sick and tired of being disappointed by their representatives in Washington, opening up the perfect opportunity for a polarizing figure such as Donald Trump to swoop in and appeal to the masses. Whereas his run should have been considered a joke, he quickly gained both legitimacy and support due to his divisive tactics and instantaneous platform that came as a result of the sheer enigma of his campaign.
   A major component of Hitler’s rise to power came from the fact that the press was controlled by his own party, causing the public to be misinformed about what was truly going on within their nation’s borders. Similarly, Donald Trump treats Fox News as his personal version of state-run media, due to the fact that the channel often ignores Trump’s many shortcomings’. A key difference, however, between the United States and Germany at the time? We have freedom of the press. As a result of this, the Trump Administration’s policy of “alternative facts” is only capable of fooling its most loyal supporters - those who insist on turning a complete blind eye to the possibility that any other news outlet is telling the truth.
   The most obvious similarity between Trump and Hitler stems from the fact that both men's rhetoric was and is rooted in the division of the people they were or are supposed to govern. The biggest threat that Trump poses to our nation is “the erosion of the bonds of mutual respect and common decency that hold constitutional democracies together.” Just as Hitler told Germany that he could restore their country to its former glory, Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” shows uncanny similarities. Additionally, like Hitler ousted those who opposed his notions that Germany’s economic downfall was the result of marginalized minorities, Trump has had more turnover than any of his predecessors in the first two and a half years of his term - his most recent firing of the National Security Advisor (the third since Trump was elected), in his own words, being due to the fact that he, “disagreed strongly with many of my suggestions.” Almost unbelievably, Trump refuses to believe that climate change is real, tweeting this past March, “..."The whole climate crisis is not only Fake News, it's Fake Science. There is no climate crisis, there's weather and climate all around the world, and in fact carbon dioxide is the main building block of all life.” Overall, the most alarming thing about the Trump Presidency in relation to Nazi Germany is the constant dehumanization of anyone and everyone who doesn’t fit into the administration’s ideology, ranging from illegal immigrants to elected officials. Even more troubling is the flagrant racial undertones that can be found in almost everything Donald Trump says, and just as often, tweets. To examine merely one of the countless examples, take Trump’s tweet about four ethnically diverse female Democrats in Congress, in which he states, “So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all) now loudly… and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came…” There are so many things wrong with this statement, the primary issue being the fact that he is suggesting that these women, all of whom are citizens of the United States, are not truly Americans, due to their heritage and the color of their skin. In the same way, Hitler called Jews, homosexuals, and other discriminated groups “scum, vermin, and parasites.” These name-calling tactics are used to objectify specific groups of people over time, gradually numbing the general public to policies later down the road that would’ve once been seen as harsh and unacceptable.
   All of this leads to the vital question; is Donald Trump a fascist? The answer to that question is a resounding no. To be fascist, you have to be against the core ideas of democracy, something that Trump has never denounced. This fact is one of the most definitive differences between Trumpism and Nazism. While this should serve as a small comfort, don’t allow it to let you make light all of the other parallels between the current President of the United States and the former dictator of the Third Reich. Instead, let the similarities serve as a constant reminder to stay vigilant and to hold those who abuse their power accountable for their actions.