Kamala Harris says Trump's rhetoric is 'similar' to that of Adolf Hitler

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Kamala Harris: People have rightly said Trump’s rhetoric is similar to Hitler

The vice president claimed Trump’s language is meant to divide and dehumanize.

Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that former President Trump's rhetoric is "similar" to that of Adolf Hitler in a Tuesday night television interview.

At a recent New Hampshire rally, Trump faced intense criticism from media networks after he suggested that illegal immigrants were "poisoning the blood" of the United States.

"They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done," he said. "They poison — mental institutions and prisons all over the world. Not just in South America. Not just the three or four countries that we think about. But all over the world, they're coming into our country — from Africa, from Asia, all over the world."

Harris was asked about these comments while sitting for an interview on MSNBC. Host Lawrence O'Donnell asked the vice president to imagine she was a young eighth-grade girl when she stumbled upon Trump's quote. O'Donnell also claimed Trump was talking about her blood and the blood of her family.

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Harris, who noted her parents were active in the civil rights movement, said she was raised knowing some people will use their voice to "dehumanize" and attempt to portray a world where people of different backgrounds have little in common.

"I would interpret it then as I do now. It is language that is meant to divide us. It is language that I think people have rightly found similar to the language of Hitler," Harris said.

She added that it was "critically important" to remind the youth that the "true measure" of a leader's strength is "based not on who they beat down but who they lift up."

"Sadly, I think there is something perverse that has happened in our country over the last many years, which is to suggest that strength looks like a bully when, in fact, the real character of a leader is someone who has empathy," Harris continued.

Trump's recent comments have also drawn backlash from the media, the White House, Republicans and Democrats.

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"Echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all Americans, on our democracy, and on public safety," White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a Sunday statement.

"It's the opposite of everything we stand for as Americans," he added.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called Trump's comments "unhelpful rhetoric," while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. said she "obviously" did not agree with the former president's language.

"We're all children of immigrants," she added. "It's just part of his campaign rhetoric, I guess. I don't know; I can't explain it."  

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But some, including Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, defended Trump's statement.

"You just framed your question implicitly, assuming that Donald Trump is talking about Adolf Hitler. It's absurd," Vance said. "It is obvious that he was talking about the very clear fact that the blood of Americans is being poisoned by a drug epidemic."

Referencing backlash to his "poisoning the blood" comment, Trump said at a recent Waterloo, Iowa campaign rally that he has never read "Mein Kampf," the infamous book by Hitler.