President Donald Trump is Hitler! News readers will occasionally say it. I have seen it on social media from people I have known since third grade. To me, it’s absolutely mind-numbing that people can be that historically ignorant. Newly seated Congressman and All-American hero, Dan Crenshaw just shut down six term Congressman Hank Johnson for making that comparison and it makes my heart sing.

Representative Johnson used the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation to make his comparison. So, let’s set the stage. Johnson was the keynote speaker for the Jubilee Day Celebration at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta sponsored by the Atlanta NAACP. To me, it would seem an excellent opportunity to discuss the history of slavery in the United States, the courage of Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, the brutal death toll incurred by those fighting the Civil War and the scourge of slavery as it still exists today.

Mr. Johnson chose to, ahem, go another route. As NBC reported:

“(Hitler) rode a wave of nationalism and anti-Semitism to power. Replace anti-Semitism with ‘all Latinos crossing our borders are rapists, drug dealers and murderers,’ does that sound familiar?” Johnson said Tuesday during a keynote address at an event hosted by the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP.

Johnson invoked Trump’s response to the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, his Muslim ban, immigration policies and his open embrace of nationalism. He added that both Hitler and Trump were charismatic orators who played on the fears of the people to maintain power.

“Hitler was accepting of violence towards the achievement of political objectives; Trump encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies. And his messaging about Charlottesville that there was bad people on both sides sent a powerful message of approval to the far right racists in America,” Johnson said.

I am going to repeat this for the 4785th time, Trump is not racist. Nationalism is not a bad word. Trump loves his Country and wants to protect it and give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed. He wants to keep ne’er do wells out no matter what their race, color or creed.

From the same NBC article, Johnson clarified his remarks to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

He clarified his remarks to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution on Wednesday, saying: “I wanted to make the point that our democracy is under severe threat, that freedom is threatened, and that if we are not vigilant we can allow tyranny to set in. I made the point that this threat to democracy is a trend across the world, and we can’t let this happen in our country.”

Sure, dude. But Johnson didn’t stop there. Nah. His description of the average Trump voter and our goals is exhibit one that Mr. Johnson is a prejudiced bigot. From the Washington Times:

In his speech, Mr. Johnson drew multiple parallels between Mr. Trump and Hitler, as well as the Republican Party and the Nazi Party. He also claimed that the president’s supporters “want to return America back to a time where white men and white privilege were unchallenged.”

“Donald Trump’s supporters are older, less educated, less prosperous, and they are dying early,” Mr. Johnson said Tuesday at Atlanta’s Friendship Baptist Church. “Their lifespans are decreasing and many are dying from alcoholism, drug overdoses, liver disease or simply a broken heart caused by economic despair.”

Yes, Hank Johnson is a prejudiced bigot.

In to the ring steps Dan Crenshaw. Let’s set the stage again. Dan Crenshaw is a sixth generation Texan. Crenshaw is a Tufts University graduate. Commissioned as a Naval Officer. He survived Navy Seal Training and became a Navy Seal. From the Crenshaw for Congress website:

On Dan’s third deployment in 2012, his life changed forever. After six months of combat operations, Dan was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was evacuated and awoke from his medically induced coma learning that his right eye had been destroyed in the blast and his left eye was still present, but badly damaged. Dan was completely blind and the doctors did not believe he would ever see again. Tara stood by him every day and night, keeping faith and praying he would see again. After several difficult surgeries, he eventually regained sight in his left eye, a miracle according to the head surgeon. Dan refused to quit and went on to deploy twice more, first back to the Middle East in 2014 and then South Korea in 2016.

Dan Crenshaw retired after ten years in the teams at a Lieutenant Commander. After obtaining a masters degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Crenshaw won his Congressional seat. You will recall that Mr. Crenshaw also was the hero of the Pete Davidson/Saturday Night Live foofaraw. If you need a reminder, you can read Deanna’s piece here.

Dan Crenshaw released this video in response to Hank Johnson:

Bravo, bravo, bravo. Picture me standing up and clapping and stomping and cheering. This is what we need from all of our elected public servants. Crenshaw is polite and firm. He doesn’t call names or get ugly. Mr. Johnson owes all of us who voted for Trump an apology. As long as we have men (I am still holding out for a woman hero) like Dan Crenshaw in public service, we have the good guys on our side.

Feature Photo Credit: Adolf Hitler/License: Creative Commons 3.0 Germany/Cropped