Trump bragged that German leader said his crowd sizes were as big as Hitler's: reporter
A Republican member of Congress "close to Donald Trump" relayed a story to ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl for his new book Tired of Winning in which Trump was compared to Adolf Hitler by the German chancellor — and took it as a point of pride.
Reading the clip of the story, MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace recalled that it was always assumed Trump was simply too stupid to know or understand the language he was using was echoing that of Hitler. But Karl's book makes it clear he knows exactly what he's doing, and he loves the idea of being a "big, strong leader," she said.
"One prominent member of Congress — a Trump ally — told me that the president, on two separate occasions, claimed [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel had complimented him on the large crowds he attracted when he spoke. 'She told me that she was amazed at the size of the crowds that came to see me speak,' Trump told the Republican Congressman," according to the book.
"She said she could never get crowds like that. In fact, she told me that there was only one other political leader who ever got crowds as big as mine," Trump reportedly said.
"Only one!" Karl exclaimed in his book. "In history! The Republican congressman couldn't believe the insinuation was lost on Trump. 'And I'm thinking,' he told me while recounting his interaction with Trump, 'you know who she's talking about, right?'"
Karl described the member as "very prominent" and "absolutely blown away by this."
"But he's recounting the story that the chancellor of Germany, telling him only one person can get crowds like yours," said Karl, recounting the conversation. "It's obvious what she's trying to talk to him — and Trump is bragging about the crowds. So, you know, I mean, this ally felt that Trump enjoyed the idea of being compared to Adolf Hitler, at least the aspect of him attracting all those huge crowds."
He went on to note that Steve Bannon is describing the MAGA world as "The Trump Davidians" after the Branch Davidians cult at Waco.
"In 2016, I declared, 'I am your voice.' Today I add: 'I am your warrior. I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,'" Trump said when he held a rally in March 2023. Bannon called it the "Come Retribution" speech.
"What I didn't realize was that 'Come Retribution,' according to some Civil War historians, served as the code words for the Confederate Secret Service's plot to take hostage — and eventually assassinate – President Abraham Lincoln," Karl writes in the book, ABC says.
"They are embracing this idea that they are out to get retribution against the deep state, against the communists, the radicals, the vermin," Karl said, quoting another speech Trump made over the weekend. "They are embracing this idea. The amount of pushback is remarkably little."
Karl explained that Trump thinks the "big, strong leaders" accomplish their power through that strength, and he desperately wants to be seen as that.
"This is why he actually was praising Hezbollah recently for being smart, but he talks about his praise for Kim Jong-Un, for Putin," Karl said. "He wants to emulate these people. I'm not saying that Donald Trump is a Nazi. But there is this infatuation that he has, and he affects his language."
"That's when you were talking about rooting out the vermin. Even the phrase 'the enemy of the people,' which he used to describe the press, is something that is drawn from Nazi Germany. It's also drawn from Stalin. This is a dictator's phrase. It's one that he eagerly embraced. Does he know the history of it? I don't know, but the parallel is clear."
When asked to confirm Trump's comments, a campaign spokesperson said of the critics who were pointing out parallels with Hitler: "Their existence will be crushed."
Karl's book will be released at midnight.
See the full conversation below or at the link here.
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