Trump pledges to root out political opponents he calls vermin

At a campaign rally at Stevens High School auditorium in Claremont, New Hampshire on Veterans Day, November 11, 2023, former President Donald Trump tells supporters: "We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country." Trump adds: "The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within." The use of "vermin" as a descriptor for political opponents — combined with the dehumanizing phrasing — draws immediate comparison from historians to the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian of fascism at New York University, tells NPR: "Trump is basically calling the left a disease. This is the language that authoritarian leaders use to prepare populations for violence." The Biden campaign responds: "The use of language like 'vermin' — and the explicit targeting of the press and perceived enemies — are phrases and concepts not heard in American presidential rhetoric since the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s and '40s." Trump's campaign doubles down, telling the Washington Post: "Anyone who truly loves America cannot stomach the radical left monsters who are deliberately destroying our country."