Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton compared former President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler during an appearance on The View on Wednesday.
The View cohost Sunny Hostin had asked Clinton what a second term for Trump might look like.
"I think that your loss of Trump in 2016 will go down in history as one of the most pivotal times in our country," Hostin began. "One of the most pivotal moments in our country. And it’s still reeling from, you know, Trump’s policies, I think, and the deep divisions that he sowed in this country. So what in your view, would happen if he were to be reelected?"
The former First Lady said that the thought was “almost unimaginable.”
"Oh, I can’t even, I can’t even think that because I think it would be the end of our country as we know it," Clinton replied. "And I don’t say that lightly." “The wreckage is almost unimaginable.” Hillary Clinton rips Donald Trump to shreds, makes direct comparison between him and Adolph Hitler. (Video: ABC) pic.twitter.com/RBcDczsZDN
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 8, 2023
Clinton then claimed that she had tried to "give him a chance" when he defeated her in 2016.
"You know, I hated losing, and I especially hated losing to him because I had seen so many warning signals during the campaign. But I immediately said, look, we have to give him a chance. We’ve got to support, you know, the president we have. And I meant it. And I tried really hard," Clinton asserted. "And then literally from his inauguration on, it was nothing but, you know, accusing people of things, making up facts, denying the size of the crowd at his own inauguration. And everything that I worried about, I saw unfolding."
Clinton said that she believes "he’d be even worse now" because he was "somewhat restrained" by people who he hired "because he thought they would go along with him and they stood up to him."
This time around, Clinton said, he would need to find people to work for the White House who have "no principles, no conscience, who are totally tied, you know, to his fortunes literally, and therefore would do whatever he said."
"So the the wreckage is almost unimaginable," she continued. "You know, when I was secretary of state, I used to talk about one and done. And what I meant by that is that people would get legitimately elected, and then they would try to do away with elections and do away with opposition and do away with a free press."
The Democrat then directly compared the president to the infamous German dictator. NEW - Hillary Clinton: "Well, Hitler was duly elected…Trump is telling us what he intends to do."pic.twitter.com/FLFoxlQCJx
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 8, 2023
"And you could see it in countries where, well, Hitler was duly elected!" Clinton exclaimed. "And so all of a sudden, somebody with those tendencies, so dictatorial authoritarian tendencies would be like, “Oh, okay, we’re going to shut this down. We’re going to throw these people in jail. They didn’t usually telegraph that. Trump is telling us what he intends to do!”
Clinton was referring to an article in The Washington Post on Monday that claimed, "Donald Trump and his allies have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations."
The Post report did not name any of their "sources" who were privy to these conversations.
Hostin jumped in, "Need to listen to that!"
"So listen, take him at his word," Clinton continued. "The man means to throw people in jail who disagree with him, shut down legitimate press outlets, do what he can to literally undermine the rule of law and our country’s values."
Host Joy Behar interjected, "He will use the military to stop protesters."
