CNN’s Christiane Amanpour accuses Trump of ‘Nazi talk’

CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour on Sunday accused former President Trump of engaging in “Nazi talk” and underscored the significance of former Vice President Mike Pence calling for new leadership in the party.

In a discussion on “Sky News” on Sunday, Amanpour warned about what public reporting is saying Trump and his team are planning for a hypothetical second term in the White House.

Trump “went as far as [to] say, ‘I will be a dictator for the first day.’ He said, ‘I will use my Justice Department to go off to all my enemies. I am your retribution.’ What does that even mean? About immigrants, he said, they ‘infect the blood of Americans.’”

“This is Nazi talk. This is really dangerous,” Amanpour added. “He has declared what he will do.”

Amanpour acknowledged some of the concerns sometimes are dismissed as hyperbole.

“Now some say your fears are just the fears of demented liberals. Others say that actually he is a genuine real and proven threat to not only U.S. but also global democracy,” Amanpour said. “And the 14th Amendment actually says that any state or federal official who has taken part in an insurrection is barred from taking office and holding office in the future.”

Trump’s campaign has not responded to an immediate request for comment.

Amanpour noted the significance of Pence’s earlier comments about Trump, especially given Pence is an unwavering conservative Republican.

“For him to come out and even, not quite, but definitely say that he does not want Trump again is a big deal. He has put himself in the firing line three years ago on January 6, and he did, and he’s right — people do thank him for holding onto his office and being brave when people were calling to hang Mike Pence, and he got no help from his president, who was watching from the White House,” she said. “So this is a big deal.”

Earlier Sunday, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Pence called for a “fresh start” and new leadership in the party, saying, “I continue to hope that with the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire just around the corner, that all the good Republican voters in those states will give our party a fresh start, and give us new leadership to lead our party forward in the election and beyond.”

“Elections are about the future. And we need new leadership in the Republican Party. We certainly need new leadership in the White House to move us forward,” Pence said.