My Take | Donald Trump is ‘the danger’ – and many people love him for it
Harris is predictable and will listen to the establishment. Her rival has a disregard for policies and processes that scares the daylight out of them
It’s called Godwin’s law of debate on the internet. As a heated online discussion drags on, the probability of a participant accusing another of being Hitler or a Nazi approaches 1, or near certainty.
Given the comparable levels of intellectual calibre in exchanges between the two presidential candidates and their teams, perhaps no one should be surprised at the applicability of Godwin’s law in an election billed by some as the most important of the century.
Sure enough, at this late hour, the editor-in-chief of the liberal Atlantic magazine came up with a thinly sourced article claiming Donald Trump was a big fan of the Nazi leader.
General John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, seemed to confirm it when he said he heard similar pro-Hitler remarks from the former president. The Democrats seized on the article and the general’s claims. Kamala Harris called her Republican rival “unhinged” and “a fascist”.
But whatever those qualities that she was referring to, clearly they appeal to the Trump base, his core supporters. If he is a fascist, what does that make his diehard fans? It’s not exactly a good time to offend voters now. Back in 2016, Hillary Clinton called those same people “a basket of deplorables”. Look what happened to her.
Meanwhile, several former top members of the Trump White House have defended their one-time and possible future boss, saying he is no Nazi after all.
I am mystified by this Hitlerian storm in a teacup. Even the usually level-headed US national editor of the Financial Times got a bit worked up.
