Donald Trump's Treason Against the American People

Like Adolf Hitler in the spring of 1945, Donald Trump, in November 2020,
lives in an alternate reality.

By Hans-Georg Betz � Nov 23, 2020

Hans-Georg Betz, Center for Analysis of the Radical Right, Donald Trump
election loss, Trump election result legal challenge, US democracy under
Trump, Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani, Trump handling COVID-19 pandemic, Trump
plays golf, Trump�s last days in office, Adolf Hitler last days

Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. He not only lost, he
lost bigly, at least in terms of the popular vote, despite record numbers
of voters turning out for him, wishing for four more years. Trump�s
response has been entirely predictable. Like the proverbial spoilt child
in the sandbox, he has been ranting and raving, shaking his fist at the
injustice of it all, plotting his revenge on detractors and former allies
alike and, particularly, on the ungrateful American people who so bitterly
snubbed him, forgetting all the wonderful things he has done for them
during his presidential stint.
America Is No Longer One Nation

This brings me to another self-declared genius and self-appointed savior
of his nation, Adolf Hitler. In an earlier article, I have maintained that
associating Trumpism with fascism is pure nonsense. Equating Trump with
Hitler is indeed utter nonsense, except for one not-so-minor detail.
Treason

Some 40 years ago, the German-British journalist and historian Sebastian
Haffner wrote a remarkable book on Hitler with a rather unpretentious
title, �Anmerkungen zu Hitler� (�Notes on Hitler�). In less than 200
pages, Haffner discusses the most significant aspects of the Hitler
phenomenon, his �achievements� and �successes,� his errors, mistakes and
crimes. None of these aspects is relevant for the point of this piece,
even if they would make an excellent blueprint for any future notes on
Trump. What is relevant here is Haffner�s final note: �treason.� Once
Hitler realized, Haffner argues, that all was lost, he turned on his own
people. Since he had failed to destroy the enemies of the Third Reich, and
here above all the Soviets, he could at least destroy his own people.

As Golo Mann, one of Germany�s most eminent postwar historians, noted in
his review of Hassner�s book in Der Spiegel, in Hitler�s eyes, the
potential demise of the German people was, �in and itself no loss� � as
long as it guaranteed that the trains continued to roll toward Auschwitz
and the gas chambers and crematoria to run smoothly.
logo
Make Sense of the World
Unique insights from 2000+ contributors in 80+ countries

Hitler�s betrayal of the German people was the quasi-logical consequence
of his personality and self-projection. On a mission from the almighty
(proof: Hitler survived the July 1944 attempt on his life largely
unharmed), he promoted himself as the �chosen one� selected to do �the
work of the Lord.� And Hitler was hardly alone in considering himself
chosen. In 1938, after the annexation of Austria to the Third Reich, a
Catholic paper stated that Austria�s �return to the Reich� was a clear
sign that �the Almighty God has blessed the work of the F�hrer.�

After the attack on Poland in 1939, the official organ of the Protestant
Church of the Free City of Danzig wrote that God had sent Hitler to
liberate Germany from the shackles of Versailles and redeemed the German
people from the danger of Polish violence. Successes such as these
affirmed Hitler�s belief that he was special, infallible, even almighty �
a belief daily reaffirmed by his entourage of mediocre sycophants and yes-
men scared to death of his choleric tantrums, perfectly portrayed by Bruno
Ganz in �Downfall.�

At this point, in films, you usually get a disclaimer that �any similarity
to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.� I don�t know
whether this also applies to opinion pieces. In any case, the disclaimer
does not apply here. Any associations evoked in the reader�s mind are
fully intended. This does not mean to suggest that Trump and Hitler are in
the same league. Quite the contrary.
Petty Impersonator

Hitler was evil personified, a mass murderer who drew great satisfaction
from human suffering. Compared to Hitler, Trump is a petty impersonator, a
�man without qualities� and substance, full of himself. And yet. As Aninda
Dey has recently put it in The Times of India, Trump�s behavior following
his defeat in the presidential election is reminiscent of Hitler�s last
days in his bunker in Berlin. �Ensconced in the White House �bubble
bunker,�� Trump �uncorked a similar deluge of rants, delusions, a fake
narrative, alternate reality and invincibility as witnessed by Hitler�s
Generals and staff in his end days.�

Add to that the clownish public appearances of the likes of Trump�s
personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has finally managed to live up to his
own Borat-type caricature, and the picture is complete. Like Hitler in
1945, Trump in November 2020 lives in an alternate reality. This is a
reality where he has won bigly, where the American people cannot wait to
see all the wonderful things he has in store for them, like a big,
beautiful wall, really beautiful new industrial parks and coal-fired power
plants � where he will finally have the opportunity to make America great
again.

Delusion, even self-delusion, however, goes only that far. Reality hits
when even Trump�s faithful toadies like Tucker Carlson, over at Fox News,
take their distance � if cautiously, like treading on eggshells � and
strong-arm methods no longer prove effective. It is in this situation that
delusion turns into bitterness, and bitterness into a strong urge for
revenge. This might be the point where we are now, the point where Trump
turns on his own people, dishing out punishment for having failed him.
Unfortunately enough, this is a real possibility, given he is going to be
in office for another two months. And as the pandemic has taught us, two
months are quite a long time.

The signs are there, for all to see, starting with COVID-19. Over the past
several weeks, the situation has reached catastrophic proportions,
particularly in the predominantly rural states such as the Dakotas. The
statistics are public knowledge, daily displayed on the front page of The
New York Times. By now, even some of the most reluctant Republican
governors, such as North Dakota�s Doug Burgum, have caved in and mandated
wearing masks in their state after being overwhelmed by the pandemic. In
the meantime, Trump completely checked out, despite a skyrocketing rate of
new infections. In line with his earlier shrug of shoulders, �It is what
it is,� the administration has largely gone AWOL.

As Time magazine recently noted, in a situation where the United States
and its people are confronted with a health crisis of terrifying
proportions, Trump has �pulled a �disappearing act.�� But then, why should
he care. He cared little before, when he was still the president. Now, he
soon won�t be. It is what it is. Let them fend for themselves. Serves them
right if they die from the �China virus.�
Reversing Democracy

In the meantime, Trump has done what he has done best � corrode America�s
political institutions and weaken, sabotage and subvert the democratic
system. The United States used to be a liberal democracy, all its serious
faults and shortcomings notwithstanding. To be sure, the Founding Fathers
of the republic were not entirely sure whether democracy was such a great
idea. James Madison in particular had serious reservations, and it was he
who drafted the US Constitution.

This explains the Electoral College, an archaic and arcane institution,
which Trump has been trying to manipulate to his advantage. This explains
why it took until 1913 that senators were elected by the people rather
than being appointed by state legislatures. Madison had little trust in
the wisdom of ordinary citizens. In view of the current situation, he
might have been right. Be it as it may, the United States developed into a
liberal democracy. Donald Trump has done whatever he could to reverse this
development.
Embed from Getty Images

His persistent insistence that the result of the election has somehow been
rigged, his ludicrous tweets charging that he was cheated of what is
rightfully his, together with his so-called legal team headed by Baghdad
Bob impersonator, Rudy Giuliani, and the chorus of his sycophants in
Congress and the right-wing media who have been toeing the line have done
indelible damage to the democratic system. A few days ago, a
representative survey found that more than half of Republicans believe
that Trump �rightfully won� the election; more than two-thirds believe
that the election was rigged. Before the election, more than 50% of
Republicans expressed confidence about the electoral process; after the
election, a bit more than 20%. In fact, a substantial majority of
Republicans said they were �not at all confident� that the election had
been fair and that the results were accurate.