Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

ihaveaquestion

(4,639 posts)
Mon Mar 30, 2026, 09:13 AM 17 hrs ago

Trump Is Not Another Hitler. That's The Problem.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-190869720

The comparison is tempting. The reality is more dangerous and far less predictable.

Frank George, Ph.D.
Mar 29, 2026

People keep asking me:
“Is Trump another Hitler?”

That’s a reasonable question. But it obscures a more important one:

What type of authoritarian threat are we dealing with?

Because if you misread the threat, you misread the risk.

A Malignant Narcissist at the center

Shared Traits: Trump and Hitler

Both Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump show all of the core features of malignant narcissism.

Devaluation Of The Other — The Scapegoat

They both rely on dehumanization. Scapegoats are central — Jews in Hitler’s case, immigrants and perceived enemies in Trump’s. The language overlaps: “vermin,” “animals.” This isn’t just insult. It’s a psychological mechanism: remove humanity, remove empathy, justify harm and cruelty.
Sadism

Hitler embedded cruelty into his ideology — institutionalized sadism. Not so much enjoyment of the domination itself, but enjoyment of the resulting ideological fervor — an Institutional Sadism. This is similar to Stephen Miller.
5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump Is Not Another Hitler. That's The Problem. (Original Post) ihaveaquestion 17 hrs ago OP
Interesting. It's always been clear that Trump lacks Hitler's evil but effective discipline. Ocelot II 17 hrs ago #1
*rump is lazy Nepo-baby E-Bay Hitler. haele 16 hrs ago #2
Trump's Enabling Act gift from scotus. jimmy the one 14 hrs ago #3
Trump idolizes Hitler. Blue Full Moon 14 hrs ago #4
trump is trying to follow in Hitler's footsteps LetMyPeopleVote 11 hrs ago #5

Ocelot II

(130,506 posts)
1. Interesting. It's always been clear that Trump lacks Hitler's evil but effective discipline.
Mon Mar 30, 2026, 09:23 AM
17 hrs ago

This article offers an explanation. Hitler saw himself as the savior of a nation and employed rigid ideology to further that goal; Trump sees himself as the savior of himself and changes his apparent ideology as needed to further his personal goals of self-glorification and enrichment. In many ways that is scarier.

haele

(15,392 posts)
2. *rump is lazy Nepo-baby E-Bay Hitler.
Mon Mar 30, 2026, 09:37 AM
16 hrs ago

Needy Amin has always been for sale or rent to anyone who needed a flashy, "rich" cardboard cut-out of a businessman for a tool and was willing to enable him to feel like the Special Boy.
So long as you never asked him to do anything but act "strong" while you worked behind him to steal lesser people's lunch money, he is your man.

Hitler actually believed his narcissistic Ubermensch BS and really struggled to make it a reality. He may have been a deluded, neurotic, paranoid bastard - but he actually did the hard work and paid prices on his way to be an icon of evil.

jimmy the one

(2,807 posts)
3. Trump's Enabling Act gift from scotus.
Mon Mar 30, 2026, 12:10 PM
14 hrs ago

The reichstag gave hitler dictatorial rights with the 1933 enabling act.
The US Supreme Court gave trump similar powers with their decision he was immune to his actions taken during his term's official duties. As if he were assumed to be totally acting with the best interests of the country.

Blue Full Moon

(3,480 posts)
4. Trump idolizes Hitler.
Mon Mar 30, 2026, 12:22 PM
14 hrs ago

He is incompetent is either a blessing or not, remains to be seen. He is trying to build Hitler's yonic portal. He's even building a ballroom over the bunker just like Hitler. Maybe we can be lucky and his l end will be the same.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Trump Is Not Another Hitl...