No, Trump is not Hitler, that is not the point.
The point is that Trump used propaganda, lies, scapegoating and other tactics as did Hitler to gain acceptance by a large segment of the population and control of government. The common tactics are obvious and it is equally disturbing that so many people were persuaded and still are. 🥵
The Populist Rhetoric: “Only I Can Fix It”
The most prominent similarity observed by political scientists is the use of classical demagogic and populist messaging.
The Political Outsider: Both positioned themselves as untainted outsiders fighting against a corrupt, out-of-touch political establishment. Hitler relentlessly attacked the “November criminals” and the parliamentary elites of the Weimar Republic. Trump campaigned heavily on “draining the swamp” of Washington insiders. Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University+
The Messianic Appeal: Both utilized a leadership model where the leader claims a singular, mystical connection to the true will of the people. Scholars point to Trump’s 2016 declaration, “I alone can fix it,” as echoing the authoritarian premise that a nation’s complex institutional problems can only be solved by the willpower of a strong leader rather than traditional democratic deliberation. Society for US Intellectual History
Exploiting Economic and Social Anxiety:
Neither leader rose to power in a vacuum; both capitalized on widespread feelings of national decline, anger, and betrayal among specific segments of the population.
The Landscape: Hitler exploited the catastrophic economic ruin of the Great Depression and the national humiliation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Trump capitalized on the economic displacement of the American working class following decades of deindustrialization, the 2008 financial crisis, and shifting cultural demographics. Holocaust Encyclopedia – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
A Nostalgic Past: Both relied on restoring a mythologized era of historical greatness. Trump’s foundational slogan, “Make America Great Again,” parallels the core theme of Nazi propaganda that promised to restore Germany to the proud, mythic greatness of the pre-World War I era.
Scapegoating and “The Enemy Within”
A central mechanism for building a mass movement in both cases was the clear identification of internal and external adversaries responsible for the nation’s struggles.
The Us vs. Them Binary: Demagogues rely on strict tribalism. For Hitler, the primary scapegoats were Jewish people, Marxists, and foreign powers. For Trump, the rhetoric has frequently targeted illegal immigrants, foreign trade partners, globalist institutions, and mainstream media outlets (which he labeled the “enemy of the people”).
Dehumanizing Language: Historians and linguists have noted specific rhetorical parallels in language. For instance, Trump’s campaign-trail characterizations of political opponents as “vermin” or statements that undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” directly mirror the bio-medical and dehumanizing metaphors used extensively in 1930s fascist propaganda. Gardner-Webb University+ 1
Mass Rallies and Media Manipulation:
Both leaders bypassed traditional institutional gatekeepers by mastering the dominant communication tools of their eras to connect directly with the public.
The Cult of Personality: Hitler’s rise was fueled by highly choreographed mass spectacles and stadium rallies designed to generate overwhelming emotional fervor and a sense of collective belonging. Trump similarly made massive, unstructured stadium rallies the absolute bedrock of his political identity.
Media Strategy: Hitler was one of the first politicians to aggressively use airplanes to blanket the country and radio to project his voice directly into citizens’ homes. Trump effectively bypassed traditional media filters by using his own TruthSocial and cable news amplification to dominate the daily information ecosystem.
Trump is now kicking it up a notch in advance of November elections with his socialist and communist rhetoric scaring voters and undermining confidence in government.
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