Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drew a comparison between former President Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler during her appearance on ABC’s The View. When asked about the potential ramifications of a second Trump term, Clinton expressed her concerns, stating that she believed it would signify the end of the country as it is known. Reflecting on her 2016 loss to Trump, she emphasized the warning signals she had perceived during the campaign and the subsequent disillusionment with his presidency.
Clinton went on to highlight her belief that Trump’s actions and behavior during his first term were somewhat constrained by the individuals he had appointed to his administration. However, she suggested that a potential second term would lack these restrictions, potentially leading to even more disastrous consequences. Clinton’s comparison of Trump to historical figures known for their dictatorial and authoritarian tendencies, specifically mentioning Hitler’s election, emphasized her apprehension regarding Trump’s intentions.
The former secretary of state emphasized that Trump’s open declarations and statements provided clear indications of his intentions, citing his expressed desires to imprison his opponents, curtail press freedoms, and undermine the rule of law. Her warnings echoed the concerns expressed by the show’s hosts, with discussions revolving around the potential use of military force to suppress dissent and protests.
While acknowledging the immediate political context, Clinton’s explicit comparison between Trump and Hitler underscored the gravity of her apprehensions about the former president’s impact on the United States if he were to secure a second term. The discussion highlighted the heightened political tensions and concerns surrounding the future trajectory of the country.
SUNNY HOSTIN: I think that your loss of Trump in 2016 will go down in history as one of the most pivotal times in our country. One of the most pivotal moments in our country. And it’s still reeling from, you know, Trump’s policies, I think, and the deep divisions that he sowed in this country. So what in your view, would happen if he were to be reelected?
SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: Oh, I can’t even, I can’t even think that because I think it would be the end of our country as we know it. And I don’t say that lightly.
You know, I hated losing, and I especially hated losing to him because I had seen so many warning signals during the campaign. But I immediately said, look, we have to give him a chance. We’ve got to support, you know, the president we have. And I meant it. And I tried really hard.
And then literally from his inauguration on, it was nothing but, you know, accusing people of things, making up facts, denying the size of the crowd at his own inauguration. And everything that I worried about, I saw unfolding.
I think that he’d be even worse now because he was somewhat restrained, believe it or not, and, in the first term by people who he hired because he thought they would go along with him and they stood up to him.
And so now he is going to if he were ever near the Oval Office again, find people who have no principles, no conscience, who are totally tied, you know, to his fortunes literally, and therefore would do whatever he said.
So the the wreckage is almost unimaginable. You know, when I was secretary of state, I used to talk about one and done. And what I meant by that is that people would get legitimately elected, and then they would try to do away with elections and do away with opposition and do away with a free press.
And you could see it in countries where, well, Hitler was duly elected! (That’s right. Right.) And so all of a sudden, somebody with those tendencies, so dictatorial authoritarian tendencies would be like, “Oh, okay, we’re going to shut this down. We’re going to throw these people in jail.”
They didn’t usually telegraph that. Trump is telling us what he intends to do!
SUNNY HOSTIN: Need to listen to that!
SEC. HILLARY CLINTON: So listen, take him at his word. The man means to throw people in jail who disagree with him, shut down legitimate press outlets, do what he can to literally undermine the rule of law and our country’s values.
JOY BEHAR: He will use the military to stop protesters.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: He’s going to do it– He’s not going to do a whole bunch of stuff right now. Well, not right now. Well, no, not right yet. But we’ll find out what more we think can go on when we come back.
