Liberals ‘ostracizing, ridiculing’ conservatives with frequent rhetoric comparing them to Hitler, terrorists

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The first two weeks of 2021 turned out to be open season on conservatives, as the latest talking point being uttered by the media, Hollywood and other Democrats is that President Trump and his supporters are essentially terrorists.

Over the past few days, Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell, actor Sean Penn and MSNBC’s Joy Reid have all compared Trump to Usama bin Laden, indicating that liberals from different industries are in sync with their messaging. CNN host Don Lemon even tied Trump voters to neo-Nazis and members of the Klu Klux Klan. 

Far-left actor Seann Penn, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and CNN’s Don Lemon are on the same page. (Getty Images)

CNN'S DON LEMON: TRUMP VOTERS ARE ON THE SIDE OF KLANSMEN, NAZIS AND CAPITOL RIOTERS

"The left doesn’t want the nation to heal, what they want are conservatives to be brought to heel. They think the way forward isn’t about bringing people together, but instead ostracizing, ridiculing and destroying anyone who doesn’t agree with them," conservative strategist Chris Barron told Fox News.

"This didn’t start recently- it began with Hillary’s ‘deplorable’ comments -- and now that the election is over the left believes they have a green light to do whatever it takes to purge conservatives," Barron continued.

While then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arguably set the tone by calling Trump supporters "deplorable" back in 2016, the left has certainly taken rhetoric to a new level in recent days.

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Anthony Scaramucci compared the president to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh during an appearance on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show, telling the liberal anchor that Trump is "the domestic terrorist of the 21st century." MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough compared Trump to Hitler and his supporters to Brown Shirts, CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned the commitment to democracy of Florida Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican congressman who lost both his legs fighting for his country, and the Washington Post also compared Trump to Hitler.

DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall feels the left is hurting itself by parroting extreme comments made by attention seekers instead of echoing more thoughtful Democrats who understand the nation needs to come together.

"This kind of rhetorical overstatement is quite harmful to the public sphere and disrupts the messages of healing that are being made by more rational speakers. Stereotyping political opponents is dehumanizing and comparing anybody to Bin Laden is reckless," McCall told Fox News.

"Sadly, these shrill public statements get all of the attention in media circles and on social media Voices of moderation and calls for unity get drowned out," McCall continued. "Politicians speaking of unity step on their own messages when evoking extreme labels or stereotyping. Biden did that in a recent interview when he compared some of his political opponents to Nazi propagandist Goebbels."

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CNN host Don Lemon tied Trump voters to neo-Nazis and members of the Klu Klux Klan.

McCall was referring to a pre-Election Day appearance by then-candidate Biden on MSNBC when he compared Trump to the architect of the Nazi propaganda machine.

"He’s sort of like [Joseph] Goebbels," Biden told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle. "You say the lie long enough, keep repeating it, repeating it, repeating it, it becomes common knowledge."

Goebbels was the minister of propaganda for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, and used a technique that Hitler coined the "Big Lie," which involved repeating a major falsehood until the public came to believe it was true.

The comment came as Biden pushed back against attacks on the campaign trail from the president, who attempted to paint the former vice president as a socialist. However, Biden’s remark set the tone for post-election remarks from prominent liberals from all walks of life.

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Among them is Penn – a Hollywood legend who famously palled around with Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzman for a controversial Rolling Stone article published in 2016 – who suddenly has an issue with global villains and took to Twitter to compare the president’s base to Al Queda.

"This continued elevated temperature only delays the nation's healing process, which sadly, might be what some political actors, including media provocateurs, are hoping," McCall said. "It would behoove media executives to carefully consider the role their news outlets can play in moving the nation forward and using their clout to provide reasoned national dialogue."

Fox News’ Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.