On Monday, Donald Trump addressed supporters in Georgia, stating he is "the opposite of a Nazi." His remarks were a response to recent comparisons made between his Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden and a pro-Nazi gathering held at the same venue in 1939. Trump further escalated the rhetoric by falsely claiming Vice President Kamala Harris was labeling his supporters as Nazis.
“The latest from Kamala and her campaign is that anyone not voting for her is a Nazi,” Trump told the crowd, despite Harris having made no such statement. Harris, however, had recently criticized Trump in response to a report by The Atlantic which claimed Trump, during his presidency, had shown admiration for the loyalty of Adolf Hitler's generals. This report was supported by retired Marine General John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, who separately told The New York Times that Trump fits the definition of a fascist.
At a CNN town hall, Harris labeled Trump as a fascist, urging Americans to trust the individuals closest to Trump who have described his behavior in such terms. Her campaign has recently used these claims in advertisements, highlighting the report and Kelly’s remarks.
In Georgia, Trump appeared to address these criticisms, recalling his father's advice to avoid using words like "Nazi" or "Hitler." “He used to always say: ‘Never use the word Nazi. Never use that word,’” Trump recounted. “But Democrats? They throw around words like ‘Nazi’ and ‘Hitler.’”
In turn, Trump reiterated, “I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi,” while calling Harris a “fascist.” His comments came despite criticism from Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who labeled Harris’s language as “reckless” and potentially inciting violence.
The political fallout surrounding Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally continued, especially after a comedian who opened the event disparaged Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” a remark that faced widespread backlash, particularly from Pennsylvania's growing Latino community. Responding to questions about the rally, Harris commented that the inflammatory rhetoric was “nothing new” for Trump, adding, “It’s just more vivid than usual. He spends all his time stoking division, and people are simply tired of it.”
Although Harris has not called Trump or his supporters Nazis, her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, did suggest a "direct parallel" between Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally and the infamous 1939 Nazi gathering at the venue. "And don't think he doesn’t fully understand what that imagery evokes,” Walz added.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, also voiced objections to the comparison, describing it as part of a pattern where Democrats label conservatives as racists for supporting border security. Speaking in Wisconsin, Vance argued that Harris's policies conflict with the values of American soldiers who fought Nazi Germany in World War II. “If you think those heroes were fighting for open borders and sex-change surgeries for illegal aliens,” he remarked, “then the term for you is ‘dipsh*t.’”
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