Why Donald Trump is NOT Hitler

It is tempting, when a militant leader blames minorities for the nation's ills, to make comparisons to Adolf Hitler. Apparently this is common enough that it is held up as a category of logical fallacy, reductio ad hitlerum. Dismissing an argument by linking it to something heinous, such as Nazis. Still, when someone takes over the country, especially when backed by devoted, angry supporters, it's hard not to worry. Donald had already tried to interfere with the movements of Muslims, one of Hitler's first actions was against Jews.

To begin with, Hitler moved very quickly. If America was becoming Nazi Germany, there would already be storm troupers in the streets. Donald would control the New York Times and the Washington Post, and all those other media he hates. Muslims would be barred from government posts and universities, Muslim businesses would be boycotted and vandalized, and Congress would have granted Trump emergency powers to overrule all branches of government, including itself. Nine months into Hitler's rule changed things so fast you'd get whiplash trying to watch it all go by. By comparison, Trump has done enormous damage to environmental regulations, international relations, education, and health and safety, but in terms of consolidating his power Trump is, if anything, weaker than he was.

Also, there's a key word in my description of Trump's actions against Muslims. He had tried to control their movement in and out of the country. Tried and failed. Failing at this is reassurance, by itself, but the reason he failed offers more. He failed because the federal court did the job it was created to do. That good old Constitution had been written with "checks and balances," ways to prevent one out-of-control arm of the government from bringing the whole thing down.

Hitler came to power in the middle of chaos and fear. Germany had just gotten rid of the monarchy that had ruled since Charlemagne, and tried to start a democracy. Their efforts basically failed, and left the country in chaos, with no effective government. No established system or tradition could oppose his claiming supreme power. The last thing that sealed his reign was the vote of the Reichstag to dissolve itself. Can you imagine the US Congress voting to disband?

Which is not to say that America is safe from ever having a despot, but it's nice to know that it will be a lot more difficult than it has been for many historical examples. How about that? Our Constitution worked!