During a discussion on a Wednesday edition of the MSNBC show hosted by Chris Hayes, retired Army General Barry McCaffrey compared the “cult” of Trump within the Republican Party to the authoritarian thuggery of Nazi Germany as that violent political movement expanded its control.
McCaffrey was responding specifically to recent developments seen around the military. There’s no reasonable scenario in which it actually becomes law, but the GOP-led House recently approved a measure that would nearly eliminate the salary for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Meanwhile, outside government, former President Donald Trump recently suggested the execution of Mark Milley, the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, claiming there was a precedent in history for taking Milley’s life.
“What we are seeing is a parallel to the 1930s in Nazi Germany,” McCaffrey said. “I don’t say that’s the Republican Party. That’s 15-25 House members, a couple of Senators, and all those who are Trump/MAGA loyalists. This is a cult. It’s a lawless cult. And it’s a major threat to the armed forces of the United States and our security.”
And a Republican in Congress, Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), later parroted roughly the same violently antagonistic talking points against Milley in communications from his official office. Elsewhere, despite the clearly vested, even if indirect, interest held by the U.S. in seeing the defeat of Russia in its war against Ukraine and the moral calculations that compel the assistance that many countries have provided Ukraine amid its defense, vocal House Republicans continue clamoring against the U.S. assisting Ukraine at all. The assistance has most prominently been in the form of weapons deliveries.
The Republicans wishing instead for a focus on domestic issues brazenly misrepresent what those domestic hurdles are. And they threaten to upend the push to solve the realities that are present. The looming government shutdown that could soon materialize, hinging on the slow pace and absurd substance to funding proposals coming from House Republicans, would threaten the paychecks for agents working in enforcement around the border!
“What we are seeing is a parallel to the 1930s in Nazi Germany,” says Ret. Gen. @mccaffreyr3 on the Trump movement.
“That’s 15-25 House members, a couple of Senators, and all those who are Trump MAGA loyalists—it’s a major threat to the armed forces of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/EFiowWA1Mb
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) September 28, 2023
