Yes, Iran's "Supreme Leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a really bad person. So are Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping.
But here's a harsh truth for MAGA — so is Donald Trump.
That's what they don't understand about their beloved leader.
How most sane, rational people view horrible human beings like Putin, Jong Un, Jinping, and the now-late Khamenei — along with monsters such as Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, Joseph Stalin, and, of course, the most infamous dictator of them all, Adolf Hitler — is exactly how Trump is viewed by most of the world and by everyone who didn’t vote for him.
I get tired of this pushback from Trump supporters that typically goes something like, "That's a ridiculous and unfair comparison. Hitler killed millions. Trump hasn't."
This idea that either you're completely and absolutely as horrible as another terrible person — otherwise you're nothing like them — is an absurd fallacy.
Is Trump as bad as Hitler, Hussein, or Jong Un? No — but that's because we have a Constitution and laws in place that have put up some sense of guardrails around him, even as he tries everything he can to ignore all of them.
I've said it before: Trump is a lot closer to being Hitler than he is Ronald Reagan.
When I say Trump is just like all these other bad dictators, it's because he shares practically all of the same traits.
He's an insecure, egotistical, authoritarian nationalist who demands complete, unwavering loyalty; doesn't want any checks on his power; believes the media should only exist to promote his propaganda; calls any and all political opposition to him — even from within his own party — "traitors" and "enemies of the people"; attempts to abuse his power to bully others into doing what he wants; believes the military should serve him, not the people; wants to suppress opposition; wants his government to run elections; has tried to manipulate elections by claiming any that he loses were "rigged"; has suggested we cancel elections; constantly uses various groups he opposes as scapegoats for everyone's problems; and has said on multiple occasions that, despite our co-equal branches of government, he can "do whatever he wants."
Which is exactly the attitude and personality traits every horrible person I've listed in this post shares.
Hell, even another trait — dictators wanting their names and faces everywhere — that's Trump. He's renamed the Kennedy Memorial after himself, wants to name his ballroom after himself, wants to name the arch he plans to build after himself, wants to rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after himself, and he's hung banners with his face all over government buildings.
Just like every dictator in modern human history has done.
I say this without the slightest bit of hesitation: if it weren't for our Constitution and the few pillars of our government that are still standing up to him, Trump would be much worse than he is now. He would continue evolving toward a more brutal and violent dictatorship.
Just look at the differences between his first and second administrations. His first was bad — the second one has been exponentially worse.
There's a reason why he often heaps praise on people like Putin, Jinping, and Jong Un, and other "strongmen," while he's very quick to attack and criticize leaders of democracies.
That's not a coincidence. He admires dictators and views leaders who have to answer to the people who elected them as "weak."
So, this idea that because he's not "as bad" as every horrible monster I've listed here means that he's not the same type of person is bullshit. We simply have a Constitution and a system of government that, for now, has kept him somewhat in check. But trust me, he's doing everything he possibly can to erode that system, centralize power, and make himself the lone person in this country to whom everything and everyone answers.
And if you don't believe that, you're woefully naive.
Again, what MAGA needs to understand — and I'm sure most never will — is that the way most of the world views these horrible, brutal dictators who do nothing but make the world a worse place for everyone but themselves is exactly how most of the world, and every single person who voted against Donald Trump, views him.
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