Is there anything that Donald Trump does that can genuinely surprise us anymore? Even when his ex-wife Czech-American businesswoman Ivana Marie Trump alleged that the former US President kept a book of Adolf Hitler’s speeches on his bedside table, I was honestly unfazed. If one thing’s for sure, it’s that there’s never a dull moment with Trump. Never a line he wouldn’t cross…
The 1990 Vanity Fair interview with the allegation resurfaced after widespread accusations that Trump was voicing some problematic tropes shared by the Nazi leader at his recent New Jersey rally.
Critics, especially from the liberal side of the political spectrum, expressed significant concern over claims that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the United States, which seemed to echo the “blood and soil” sentiments voiced by Hitler.
“The Nazis made the fear of ‘blood pollution’ of their master race and their civilisation a foundation of their state,” authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat from New York University said to The Independent. “Italian fascists talked about the threat of non-white immigrants coming in to ruin white civilisation. Trump is referencing and prolonging and echoing fascist rhetoric.”
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and dictator, who is credited for orchestrating the holocaust, the genocide of six million Jews, along with ethnic minorities and persons considered physically or mentally unfit for society.
Before his rise to power, Hitler also infamously attempted a putsch or coup of the then government Weimar Republic. This also builds a parallel to the insurrection of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, which netizens started to notice.
Although it has been contested for years now whether Trump has intentionally incited the violent uproar on the Capitol—criminal proceedings about the attack are still ongoing—Colorado’s top court decided on the matter yesterday, Tuesday 19 December 2023. The court ruled that Trump is disqualified from holding office again under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits individuals involved in insurrection from taking office.
The ruling, which was described as “explosive” injected more legal uncertainty into the 2024 US presidential election. With Trump positioned as the frontrunner for the Republican party, this ruling renders him ineligible to be listed on the state’s presidential primary ballot, further complicating the political dynamics leading up to the upcoming election.
Trump’s campaign intends to appeal the decisions to the US Supreme Court. “The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court,” a spokesperson from the Trump campaign said.
If the US Supreme Court decides to take up the case, it could determine Trump’s ability to run in all 50 states.
The Supreme Court currently includes three justices who were nominated by Trump and has a six to three conservative majority.