The Donald Trump campaign’s comparison of the latest criminal charges against him to Nazi Germany is “beyond the pale, in terms of offensiveness and ignorance”, CNN’s Jake Tapper has said.
The former president was indicted on Tuesday on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president.
In response to the indictment, the Trump campaign issued a statement that the charges against him amounted to election interference along with the comparison to Nazi Germany.
“The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes,” a part of the lengthy statement said.
“These un-American witch hunts will fail.”
Tapper denounced Mr Trump for the ignorant comparison while his colleague Kaitlan Collins, who read his full statement said it was a glimpse of the Trump team’s argument to challenge the charges.
“They’re saying it’s persecution and that it is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and the former Soviet Union. Just giving you a kind of window into the argument they’re going to be making tying this all back to the campaign,” Collins said.
The remarks also drew criticism from activists and civil rights organisations.
“Comparing this indictment to Nazi Germany in the 1930s is factually incorrect, completely inappropriate and flat out offensive,” said Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
“As we have said time and again, such comparisons have no place in politics and are shameful.”
The reaction by CNN’s Tapper was followed by Fox News host Jesse Watters’ outburst of comparing the indictment to a war crime on the order of the atomic bombing or germ warfare.
“This is overkill,” Watters said in a segment on Tuesday. “This is political germ warfare. These are political war crimes. It’s an atrocity. It’s like not just dropping one atomic bomb, you drop 15 dozen.”
Later in his show, Watters shopped short of refuting the various charges against Mr Trump, but rather said they shouldn’t be considered significant crimes.
The latest legal woe comes for Mr Trump as he faces the prospect of yet another potential indictment in Georgia where the former president was recorded on a phone call pressuring top officials to “find” him enough votes to reverse his loss in the state to Joe Biden during the 2020 election.
