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On Nov. 11, Donald Trump referred to liberals as “vermin.” The United Nations widely recognizes this rhetorical dehumanization as a crucial prerequisite for organized violence, terrorism and genocide. Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, for instance, repeatedly used the German word for “vermin” to describe Jewish populations before, during and after the Holocaust.
Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid notes that this is not the first time Donald Trump knowingly stole from the Hitler-Mussolini playbook, and she says it will not be the last. She desperately warns all Americans to confront this growing threat before it’s too late, regardless of their party or political allegiances.
During an appearance on — of all days — Veterans Day, current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump referred to his detractors as “vermin.”
Vermin.
Sure, it’s just a word. Trump’s used worse ones, as we well know. But this particular semantic choice, in this particular context, speaks to something even more sinister than Trump’s usual blustery rhetoric.
So, why? Why is this particular statement so important to note, when nearly everything Trump says is cause for some degree of alarm?
Because Trump, in using this word, is pulling directly from the playbooks of dictators like Hitler and Mussolini, who use depersonalizing language like this to both instill fear in their followers and to make their detractors appear less than human and thus expendable.
During the same speech, Trump referred to the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea as “capable,” “competent,” “smart” and “tough.” The greatest threat to our country, he said, comes from enemies within, from those vermin who must be rooted out.
