The Biden campaign late Saturday sharply criticized former President Trump for invoking rhetoric it referred to as “parroting Adolf Hitler” in the wake of remarks in which Trump said immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.”
At a campaign rally in Durham, N.H., Trump offered praise for authoritarian world leaders. He quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack President Biden while once again offering praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling him “very nice.”
“Tonight, Donald Trump channeled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong Un, and quoted Vladimir Putin while running for president on a promise to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy,” Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
“Trump is not shying away from his plan to lock up millions of people into detention camps and continues to lie about that time when Joe Biden obliterated him by over 7 million votes three years ago,” Moussa added.
Trump has held a consistent double-digit lead over the other GOP primary contenders, making him Biden’s most likely general election opponent next November in a rematch of the 2020 presidential contest.
Trump’s remarks in New Hampshire were typical expressions of fondness he has for world leaders considered authoritarian and anti-Democratic, which he has made both as president and on the campaign trail.
In his bid to capture the White House again, Trump has threatened vengeance against his political opponents in the face of four criminal indictments against him, two of which were brought by the Justice Department under Biden.
Trump has also been under fire for doubling down on a notion reported by several media outlets that he would serve as a dictator if elected to a second term.
“Except for day one,” Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity during a recent town hall when prompted twice to refute the notion, suggesting that on his first day in office he would implement oil and gas drilling otherwise not allowed in the U.S. and “close” the southern border. “After that, I’m not a dictator.”
Moussa, speaking for the Biden campaign, said Trump’s “fear and division” would once again lead to an election loss.
“He is betting he can win this election by scaring and dividing this country. He’s wrong. In 2020, Americans chose President Biden’s vision of hope and unity over Trump’s vision of fear and division — and they’ll do the same next November,” Moussa wrote in the statement.