“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
George Santayana
Retired General John Kelly and other senior Trump’s Administration officials confirm Donald Trump’s admiration of world leaders is limited to ruthless authoritarians including Putin, Xi, Orbán and Erdoğan, MBS, Kim Jong Un and even Hitler, whom he claims “did some good things,” and his generals whose only loyalties were to him.
Therefore, it is not surprising he has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish his perceived enemies, including his political opponents, media outlets broadcasting stories he deems as unfavorable, those who have involved in his federal and state criminal indictments and trials, peaceful protests advocating for causes with which he disagrees, and even American citizens expressing their First Amendment rights of free speech; rhetoric no other presidential candidate has ever used
They warn not to dismiss Trump’s remarks as mere campaign rhetoric. Americans, attracted to Trump’s appeals to their fears, prejudices, and hopes for a return to a utopian past which never existed, should reflect on 20th century history when a democratic German Republic rapidly devolved into a brutal dictatorship, not as the result of a revolution but through the ballot box when millions of Germans voted for National Socialist Party candidates in 1933, mistakenly and tragically believing the extreme rhetoric of the party’s leader was just political theater and not a precursor to what was to come.
