In a recent interview, former U.S. President Donald Trump declared that his power as commander-in-chief was constrained only by his “own morality.” He dismissed international law and other checks on his ability to wield military might. This statement, while striking, is not merely rhetorical bravado—it is a profound challenge to the principles that underpin global […]
Rule on Instinct. That is the slogan put down by Trump in his most recent interview. That combined with ignoring international law is setting the precedent for unilateralism last seen with Hitler with Germany. And in this guest post found in CDE News, this could be proven fatal in the global order.
The unlawful slaying of Renee Good in Minneapolis and the justifications made by Trump and Vance signalled a green light for ICE to begin using force at will. In the Glass Empires column, providing ICE with immunity completes stage five of the fascist playbook, signalling America officially becoming a fascist state, even though fighting to stop the regime is still ongoing (see this post here.)
Many have compared America’s fall into fascism to that of the Third Reich 90 years ago. The question is how similar are these two events? George Dumitru did a comparison of the two in his column based on his experience living in Germany, with the green light, it is being shown in this Guest Column:
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I have been living in Germany for almost 17 years. During these 17 years, I have had the opportunity to watch dozens and dozens of documentaries on various German TV channels about the Nazis. About Hitler. About how they slowly took over total power in a democratic way. About the deep social and political causes that lay behind the success of the NSDAP, the Nazi Party. About the scapegoat identified by the Nazis at the time, the Jews or the so-called Jewish question, and how they were made responsible for all the misfortunes of the German people. About the incredible power of the German army after Hitler became chancellor. About his insatiable thirst for so-called living space. And now, pay attention, about the transformation of Ernst Röhm’s SA from a gang of amateur street brawlers into a genuine paramilitary police force.
Unlike many of you, who have probably only watched from time to time memorable documentaries or feature films such as the recent Nuremberg, I believe I am somewhat more familiar with the history and politics of Germany during the interwar period and then the Nazi era. I also had to pass an exam on their history when I obtained German citizenship. Why am I telling you this? Not to show off. That is not my style. I am telling you this to draw your attention to something else. So read carefully.
Being familiar with the history of Germany between 1920 and 1945, I observe with astonishment and sadness the extraordinary similarities between what happened in Germany back then and the political and social phenomenon in the United States starting with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. I will now list the most striking and important of these similarities, mentioning first the phenomenon or event from the past and then its mirror in the present. This may make it easier to understand where we are now.
1A. The political and social climate of the 1920s.
Extremely weak historical parties, with politicians unable to cope with the problems arising from the loss of the First World War, such as the SPD, Zentrum, DDP, and DVP. In contrast, the emergence on the political scene of parties that would later destroy democracy, such as the KPD, the Communists, and the NSDAP, the Nazis.
1B. The political and social climate of 2015 to 2025.
Here, it is true that the similarities with Germany in the 1920s are most striking in Europe. Weak parties, mediocre politicians, unable to properly manage the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 or the Greek crisis. Drastic and completely absurd green economic policies, excessive bureaucracy, and the emergence across Europe of extremist parties on both the right and the left that gain electoral support year after year. In the United States as well, the political scene begins to polarize increasingly with Trump’s first term. After four years of Trump and four years of Biden, the American political landscape is now as tense and irreconcilable as that of Germany in the 1930s.
2A. The financial and economic climate of 1914 to 1923.
Runaway inflation, astronomical price increases, a steadily declining standard of living for the German people, widespread poverty, and economic stagnation. This general dissatisfaction is politically exploited with great success by Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP in the years that follow. In fact, Hitler’s gradual rise in politics begins shortly after 1920.
2B. The financial and economic climate of 2015 to 2025.
While the United States recovers relatively quickly after the financial crisis of 2008 to 2010, Europe sinks deeper into global economic irrelevance and general impoverishment of the population. This becomes fertile ground for right-wing extremist parties in Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, and Eastern Europe. Then comes the UK with Brexit in 2016. These parties grow slowly but steadily everywhere in voter preferences. At present, the AfD in Germany is the leading political force in the country in all national polls.
Even in the United States, however, high food and fuel prices and rising inflation during the Biden administration were important reasons for Trump’s re-election to a second term. It’s the economy, dude.
3A. Ideology and the scapegoat.
In Germany in the 1920s, Adolf Hitler gains increasing political attention by blaming all the country’s problems on the total incapacity of the historical parties to govern or save the country from disaster. Parliamentary elections take place very frequently during the 1920s, yet economically nothing improves. The scapegoat for all these problems becomes the Jewish question. Jews are portrayed as the deep cause of Germany’s disaster and must be removed from all dimensions of social, economic, and political life.
3B. MAGA ideology and the scapegoat.
In the United States of the 2020s to the present, the MAGA ideology represents a protest against Woke ideology and globalism, a brutal break with past Republican politics, and an almost pathological emphasis on isolationism and nationalism in every respect. The scapegoat promoted by MAGA, however, is not only the radical left, blamed for Woke ideology and the state of the economy, but also, in a striking similarity to the NSDAP, Latin American immigrants. They are made responsible for all the evils of America over the past ten years.
4A. Adolf Hitler’s political trajectory.
After becoming party chairman with full powers in July 1921, Hitler is arrested in November 1923 following the Munich Putsch, tried, and sentenced to five years in prison at Landsberg. He serves only six months and is released on bail. He then begins the reform and reconstruction of the NSDAP, leading the party to total victory.
4B. Donald Trump’s political trajectory.
After the violent end of his first term through the attack on the Capitol, which he encouraged, Trump is charged in multiple criminal cases, ranging from hush-money payments related to non-consensual sexual acts and business fraud to the attack on the Capitol itself. In May 2024, he is criminally convicted on 34 counts related to falsifying business documents in connection with hush-money payments to a porn actress. Despite this, only six months after his conviction, Trump wins a second term as President of the United States.
5A. Failed assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler.
Wikipedia lists 42 failed assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler. The most famous, depicted multiple times in films, is Operation Valkyrie, carried out by officer Claus von Stauffenberg in July 1944. He places a briefcase containing an explosive device just a few meters from Hitler. Of the 24 people present in the room, four die, but Hitler suffers only minor injuries. He later declares that Providence protected him.
5B. Failed assassination attempts against Donald Trump.
Now search Google for Security incidents involving Donald Trump and you will be astonished. There are not as many as in Hitler’s case. Still, there are far more than the two most famous ones we all know, the failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the incident in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Trump was playing golf. You all know that the failed assassination attempt in Pennsylvania was used by Trump as an opportunity to claim that he is protected by God for a great purpose, that of making America great again.
6A. Hitler’s SA paramilitary police.
Founded in 1920 and renamed in 1921 as the Sturmabteilung, or assault division, the SA becomes the paramilitary organization that greatly assists Hitler at the beginning of his political career. The SA initially focuses on street fighting against Communists, then also against Jews. The Brownshirts of the SA are responsible for all the violence directed by the NSDAP against Communists and later, after the seizure of power, against other political parties and Jews.
6B. ICE, Trump’s paramilitary police?
Intended to be a federal agency working alongside other state agencies on internal security within the Department of Homeland Security, ICE acquires greater power during Trump’s second term regarding the arrest and deportation of immigrants without valid residency documents. Due to increasing political polarization in the United States, ICE’s actions become increasingly harsh, violent, and morally and legally unjustified, with even American citizens with valid documents being deported, not only green card holders. All this stems from the growing hatred within the MAGA camp toward immigrants, who traditionally bring votes to Democrats. Hatred grows not only against immigrants but also against anyone who opposes ICE’s violent and unjustified actions.
On January 7, following the brutal execution of a woman who was an American citizen and who opposed ICE actions in Minneapolis, the Trump administration, through JD Vance and the White House press secretary, issued a categorical statement supporting the use of brute force by ICE and directly threatening all Americans who oppose this administration’s anti-immigration policies. In other words, not only was the obvious killing of an American citizen by ICE officers justified and defended at the highest level, but threats were also made of even more brutal repression against all who oppose ICE.
7A. Lebensraum.
Adolf Hitler always justified the expansion of the Third Reich with the frequently used term Lebensraum, living space. At first, this referred only to the Sudeten question in Czechoslovakia or the annexation of Austria. After 1939, Lebensraum in Hitler’s vision stretched from the Atlantic to Moscow.
7B. National security strategy.
Donald Trump stated already during his first term that he wanted Greenland. At the beginning of his second term, he openly expressed his desire for Canada and Greenland. After the successful Blitzkrieg-style operation in Venezuela, Trump increasingly and more seriously threatens to take over Greenland, by force if necessary. All in the name of national security. In other words, he seeks to create his own living space that ensures the security interests of the United States.
I will stop here so as not to make this post too long. There are more similarities, but these are the most important in my view. I am curious about your opinions on whether these parallels are justified or exaggerated.
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