“The View” co-host Joy Behar sounded the alarm on the increasingly dehumanizing rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump and his allies.

Behar warned Wednesday that tactic has historically preceded waves of state-sanctioned violence, as Trump and his apologists defend child detention centers for immigrants.

“It seems as though the rhetoric is getting worse, to me,” Behar said. “We have Ann Coulter — nobody takes her seriously any way — she says they are actors. We have Laura Ingraham saying this is summer camp. We have Corey Lewandowski (saying) ‘womp-womp’ on a Down syndrome child.”

She then quoted the president’s tweet from Tuesday, blaming Democrats for the directive he ordered and could end.

Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018

“Now, the word ‘infest,’ I think, is a buzzword,” Behar said. “The Nazis used it against the Jews, they said vermin. In the Vietnam War, they were calling the North Vietnamese the gooks. This is a way to dehumanize human beings.”

“Once you start calling people names about that they’re insects, vermin, that they’re lower than humans — then the murders can begin,” she added. “I’m not saying that’s happening, I’m not saying that’s happening. I’m looking at history. I want people to notice the rhetoric.”

Enjoy good journalism?

… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has cut advertising rates in half, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

Value Raw Story?

… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has cut advertising rates in half, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.