Former President Donald Trump’s recent comments, in which he claimed immigrants are “poisoning” the blood of America, have sparked a heated debate over his use of rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi propaganda. The White House, along with President Joe Biden’s campaign team, has vehemently condemned these remarks, accusing Trump of fostering division and hatred among Americans.
Andrew Bates, Deputy Press Secretary for the White House, criticized Trump’s statements on December 17, as reported by POLITICO, stating, “Echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all Americans, on our democracy, and public safety. It’s the opposite of everything we stand for as Americans.”
At a rally in Durham, New Hampshire, Trump intensified his controversial stance on immigration. He claimed, without providing evidence, that an influx of 15 to 16 million people into the U.S. has had detrimental effects. “They’re poisoning the blood of our country,” he asserted, alleging that these immigrants come from mental institutions and prisons globally, including regions like Africa and Asia.
Additionally, Trump’s speech included praise for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known for their autocratic leadership styles, as noted by NBC News. This statement from the White House came after Biden’s campaign had also drawn parallels between Trump’s rhetoric and that of Adolf Hitler.
Ammar Moussa, the spokesperson for Biden-Harris’s 2024 re-election campaign, sharply criticized Trump, likening his language to that of dictators and Nazis. “Tonight, Donald Trump channeled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong Un, and quoted Vladimir Putin while running for president on a promise to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy,” Moussa commented on the evening of December 16.
In response to these criticisms, particularly regarding his comments about being a “dictator on day one” if re-elected, Trump shifted the focus to Biden, suggesting that even Vladimir Putin had criticized Biden’s alleged “politically motivated persecution” of his political rival. Trump quoted Putin, claiming that Biden’s actions demonstrated the “rottenness of the American political system,” which purportedly undermines its democratic values.
Trump’s use of dehumanizing language toward his political opponents has been a recurring theme in his rhetoric. In the past, as per Reuters, he has referred to his rivals as ‘vermin,’ a term often associated with the derogatory language used by autocrats and authoritarians like Hitler. At a prior rally in New Hampshire, Trump reiterated his baseless claim of winning the 2020 elections and spoke of “rooting out” various political groups he described as “communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs” within the country.
