Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) gave a controversial speech Tuesday in which he compared President Trump to Adolf Hitler multiple times and argued that Trump’s supporters were “less educated.”
Speaking at the Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, Johnson claimed that “much like how Hitler took over the Nazi party, Trump has taken over the Republican Party."
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) repeatedly compares Trump to Hitler: "Americans, particularly black Americans, can’t afford to make that same mistake about the harm that could be done by a man named Hitler or a man named Trump." pic.twitter.com/av3zjGmPnO
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 3, 2019
“Hitler was accepting of violence towards the achievement of political objectives,” Johnson said. “Trump encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies, and his messaging about Charlottesville — that there were bad people on both sides — sent a powerful message of approval to the far-right racists in America.”
“Americans, particularly black Americans, can’t afford to make that same mistake about the harm that could be done by a man named Hitler or a man named Trump,” Johnson said.
"The Jewish people understand tyranny,” he emphasized. “Charismatic and a good public speaker, deceptive and cunning, Adolf Hitler rose to power to lead Germany in 1932 after democratic elections. He rode a wave of nationalism and antisemitism to power."
Rep. Johnson has been criticized for anti-Semitic remarks he made in 2016 comparing Jews to “termites.”
"There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself, there has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever-increasing rate to the point where it has become alarming," Johnson said at the time of Israeli Jews settling in disputed territories.
He later apologized for that comment.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum recently condemned comparisons to Hitler and the Holocaust in an article. The Republican Jewish Coalition is calling for the House to censure Johnson over the comparison he made Tuesday.
Johnson is also known for expressing his concern in a Congressional hearing that Guam would tip over.
In his speech Tuesday, he claimed that Trump’s supporters are uneducated and dying of disease and broken hearts.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA): "Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again followers...are older, less educated, less prosperous, and they are dying early. Their life spans are decreasing, and many are dying from alcoholism, drug overdoses, liver disease, or simply a broken heart." pic.twitter.com/YYmwopUZDm
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 3, 2019
"Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again followers who want to return America back to a time when white men and white privilege were unchallenged and where minorities and women were in their place...Donald Trump's supporters are older, less educated, less prosperous, and they are dying early," he said.
"Their lifespans are decreasing, and many are dying from alcoholism, drug overdoses, liver disease, or simply a broken heart caused by economic despair," he added.