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FRANCE TL 24 NEWS WORLD TURKISH NEWS IFJ - INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS What parallels do historians see between the Trump administration and the Nazi regime? Analysis The Americas Elon Musk appeared to give a Nazi salute while celebrating the start of Donald Trump's second term as US president. Trump's new administration announced it would buy Greenland and Panama, stop funding US foreign aid programs, fire federal employees, and humiliate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Some historians compare Trump's second term to the Hitler regime. Eighty years after the end of World War II, is this comparison still valid? Published: 07/03/2025 - 20:27 8 minutes Reading time By: Stéphanie TROUILLARD On Monday, February 17, 2020, a protester carries a banner at a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., organized to support federal employees and protest the recent actions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. On Monday, February 17, 2025, a protester carries a banner at a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., organized to support federal employees and protest the recent actions of U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. © Jose Luis Magana, AP Last October, in the final stretch of his U.S. presidential campaign, Donald Trump told his supporters at a rally in Atlanta, "I am not a Nazi." He made these remarks in response to comments by former Chief of Staff John Kelly in an interview, who implied more than once that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler "did some good things" during Trump's first presidential term. Kelly stated that after consulting a dictionary, she concluded that Trump "definitely" fits the definition of a fascist. Since the start of Trump's second term as US president, comparisons between his administration and the Nazi regime have resurfaced. White House advisor Elon Musk's gesture of raising his right arm at Trump's inauguration ceremony has led many historians to call it a Nazi salute. "How can you ignore that?" says Peter Hayes, a retired professor at Northwestern University in Illinois and author of numerous works on the Nazi party. Hayes adds that Musk's salute wasn't as overt as that of Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon, who gave a Nazi salute at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. The image shows Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk making the gesture during Trump's inauguration parade at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2025. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk makes a gesture during Trump's inauguration parade at Capitol One Arena in Washington DC on January 20, 2025. © Angela Weiss, AFP 'Increasingly Relevant' Comparisons Given the rise of nationalism, far-right rhetoric, and inward-looking approaches in Western societies, some experts are seeing increasing parallels between the current era and the period leading up to World War II. For historians, drawing parallels between the past and the present is always difficult. But according to Hayes, some comparisons are therefore becoming "increasingly relevant," even if they are "exaggerated." Referring to the Third Reich's extermination of Jews, Hayes says, "This is an exaggeration because Trump is not targeting a particular group as the source of all evil in the world and is not choosing these groups 'potentially to be killed'." However, Trump has intensified his attacks on "internal enemies" who "must be removed from the political establishment," and like Hitler, he combines his absolute confidence in his own genius with a ruthless determination to eliminate any obstacle to achieving his goals. "And recently, he has combined extreme nationalism with an appetite for expansionism he hasn't shown before." On March 4, Trump reiterated his expansionist ambitions for Greenland in a speech to a joint session of Congress. The American president said, "I have a message for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you wish, we welcome you to the United States." Trump said his administration was "working with all relevant parties" to take over Greenland. Greenland: Trump says 'We will do this' in speech to Congress. You need to enable ad tracking and audience measurement to view this content from YouTube. Accept Manage my options Greenland: Trump says 'We're going to get this done' in speech to Congress. 01:49 "We really need this for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. Somehow, we're going to get it," he said in his first policy speech since returning to power on January 20.