“I remember as a young student, you know, trying to figure out how did people get basically drawn in by Hitler. How did that happen? And I’ve watched newsreels and I’d see this guy standing up there ranting and raving and people shouting and raising their a
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee who lost to former president Donald Trump in 2016, was speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday when she likened Trump supporters to Nazis, drawing a parallel between Adolf Hitler and the Republican politician.
"I remember as a young student, you know, trying to figure out how did people get basically drawn in by Hitler. How did that happen? And I've watched newsreels and I'd see this guy standing up there ranting and raving and people shouting and raising their arms," Clinton said to the audience.
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"You saw the rally in Ohio the other night? Trump is there ranting and raving for more than an hour, and you have these rows of young men with their arms raised," she continued.
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"I thought 'what is going on?'" the former secretary of state added.
Her comments come only a few days after 41-year-old Shannon Brandt allegedly used his car to run over 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson, killing him, following a political dispute in McHenry, North Dakota. Brandt admitted that his actions were motivated by the teen being a Republican.
The event Clinton was referencing was a rally held in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday for US Senate candidate JD Vance, according to the New York Post. The hand signal in question has been described as possibly the crowd signaling "Number 1" or that it could be a gesture referencing a QAnon conspiracy.
Clinton's comments echo mainstream Democratic rhetoric around "MAGA Republicans," as a group that must be combated for being a threat to democracy.
"So there is a real pressure and I think it is fair to say we're in a struggle between democracy and autocracy," Clinton added at the festival.
Slamming Trump's supporters is nothing new to Clinton. In the heat of the 2016 presidential race, she controversially said that one could put "half" of Trump supporters in a "basket of deplorables."
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