Letters to the Editor: There was only one Hitler. Stop likening him to Trump
Supporters of former President Trump rally in Bedminster, N.J., on April 6. ((Stephanie Keith / Getty Images))
To the editor: This world has known only one Adolf Hitler.
When one likens an American politician to Hitler — as Timothy W. Ryback does in his April 8 op-ed article noting the similarities in how Hitler and Trump used their trials as soapboxes — no matter how much one dislikes that politician or disapproves of their words, thoughts and actions, much credibility is lost and the evil of Hitler is minimized.
Mark Haas, Sherman Oaks
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To the editor: The historical parallels between Hitler and the rise of fascism in Germany and the dangerous rhetoric and conduct by Trump are definitely clear and not coincidental. They are purposeful in the way Trump has continually smeared his perceived enemies, played the heroic victim, stoked grievances and incessantly attacked our democratic institutions and values.
Unlike Hitler, Trump has a huge megaphone thanks to extensive reach through social media, right-wing disinformation platforms and coverage of his demagoguery in more traditional news media.
A friend of Trump’s confirmed that he gifted the malignant narcissist a book of Hitler’s speeches, and Trump’s ex-wife Ivana reportedly told her lawyer that the book was kept by the bedside and read often by Trump.
No doubt, he absorbed and learned from those nuggets of hate speech from a malevolent fascist’s mind. Even the victimhood he keeps wrapping himself in, as Hitler did, is a key ingredient in the fascist rationale that seeks to lure aggrieved citizens into a warped cult mentality.
To ignore that vile influence and the strong fascistic tendencies in Trump is to invite the doom of our fragile democracy.
TR Jahns, Hemet
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To the editor: Following the 2016 election, electoral college math — not the popular vote — pointed to Trump being elected president.
In an attempt to prevent this, I wrote letters to the editor trying to shame red-state Republicans who had previously excoriated Trump as unfit for the presidency but had since become silent. I wanted them to grow spines and lobby their state electors to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton, legally dubious as that might have been.
In November 2016, The Times published a letter in which I wrote this: “Handing Trump the presidency will be the biggest political blunder since Paul von Hindenburg handed Hitler the German chancellorship.”
I’m not clairvoyant. I simply believed the known facts about Trump. Historical analogies that keep appearing should surprise no one. The perpetual surprise to me are the millions who are unconcerned or just fine with them.
Even if Trump loses again, we’ll still be in deep stuff.
Claude Goldenberg, Seal Beach
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.