*I have seen multiple memes comparing Trump to Hitler and his administration to the Nazis. I think this is hyperbole because it is hard to imagine our country (even conservatives) abandoning free elections and installing trump as a dictator. But I do believe that if he had been born at a different point in world history, Trump would turn into a despot.
My first piece of evidence is Trump’s use of alternative facts. Of course alternative facts do not really exist; they are falsehoods. But Trump’s public relations team has been promoting falsehoods as reality since his election and particularly stepped it up a notch since inauguration. In his interview with David Muir Trump claimed that there were thousands of people killed in Chicago last year when in fact there less than a thousand.
Truthfully 762 murders is a high number and should be decreased. But Trump over exaggerated the amount to promote his intervention in the city. And of course I believe the federal government should oversee problem areas in the country and government intervention can be a positive. But Trump implies the cause behind the Chicago’s death toll is that law enforcement is not being effective because they are too politically correct. This will mean legitimizing targeting people as potential law breakers based on… what? If his immigration policies are any example, racial profiling would return if Trump had his way. This kind of privileging of one group at the expense of minority groups in society is straight out of the tyrant playbook.
Speaking of immigration – Trump has already signed an executive order restricting immigration from specific Muslim countries. This policy, by definition, is prejudicial. Before investigating any of the particular details of an immigrants case, Trump has prejudged people from Iran (for example) as too dangerous to enter the United States. This is a classic tactic to isolate American society from the rest of the world. This certainly is a way to increase national pride among Americans. But it is also a surefire way to encourage anti-American feelings around the world. Because there are other ways to foster national pride and because the United States is already the number one target for terrorists it doesn’t make sense that Trump would pursue this course of action. Yet here we are.
Interestingly enough all Muslim countries are not automatically prevented from sending emigrants to the United States. On a positive note this prevents me from accusing Trump of an anti-Muslim bias. On the other hand it appears that the main criteria for a Middle Eastern/North African country being on the good or bad side of this policy is whether or not they have business dealings with Trump. Another thing that totalitarian rulers often do is to use their political power to forward their economic interests. This is clearly what Trump is doing. Furthermore Trump is in the process of removing regulations so that other powerful businessmen will be better able to prosper. This is reminiscent of a king promoting policies that would benefit the nobles.
Adding together blatant misinformation, targeting minority groups, isolating the country within the international community, and using his position to gain riches for himself and other businessmen, Trump might be the number draft pick in the tyrant draft.
Trevor Brookins is a free lance writer in Rockland County, New York. He is currently working on a book about American culture during the Cold War. His writing has appeared in The Journal News. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @historictrev.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
