Stephen Colbert Drops Chilling Nazi Comparison to Trump’s Campaign: ‘What Is He Thinking…?’
[Image:Associated Press]
In a recent episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the comedian scrutinized Donald Trump’s decision to hold a rally at Madison Square Garden. The campaign choice seemed unusual given Trump’s lagging polling numbers in New York. Colbert asked, “What the hell is Trump thinking about campaigning in New York?” Impersonating Trump, he stated, “They told me I’m behind in Wisconsin, so I’m rallying in Madison…Square Garden.”
Colbert speculated that Trump’s fascination with Madison Square Garden, spanning three election cycles, might have personal rather than strategic motivations. He pointed out, “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but in 1939 they held a pro-Nazi rally there.” The event in question was held by the German American Bund— a pro-Nazi group that packed the Garden to spread anti-Semitic and fascist ideas.
Colbert’s joke stems from recent reports by John Kelly— Trump’s former chief of staff—who alleged that the former President once told him that Hitler ‘did some good things’ and had praised Nazi generals for being ‘totally loyal.’ According to Politico, New York State Senator, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, also argued on X, “Let’s be clear, allowing Trump to hold an event at MSG is equivalent to the infamous Nazis rally at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939.”
This is not the first time Colbert has criticized Trump for making troubling comparisons to Hitler. At a 2023 New Hampshire event, Trump’s statement about immigrants ‘poisoning the blood’ of the U.S. echoed sentiments found in Mein Kampf, according to the Independent.
Colbert slammed at the time, “On the campaign trail, he [Trump] has been using some of Hitler’s favorite phrases in the speeches he’s been giving.” Additionally, the comedian also highlighted another speech in which Trump described his opponents as ‘vermin,’ drawing language comparisons often associated with authoritarian leaders.
Similarly, in 2021, Trump drew criticism for replicating an infamous phrase by Nazi propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, who said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Trump used the line while discussing alleged disinformation about him and other Republicans. He stated, “If you say it enough…they’ll start to believe you.” Meanwhile, a 1990 Vanity Fair piece, resurfacing recently, claimed that Trump kept Hitler’s My New Order, a collection of Hitler’s speeches near his bedside.
Brenner’s article states that when asked about this, Trump explained, “It was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he’s a Jew.” Marty Davis later clarified, “I did give him a book about Hitler. But it was My New Order, Hitler’s speeches, not Mein Kampf. I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I’m not Jewish.”
