In response to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel’s refusal to denounce Donald Trump’s autocratic language at a Veterans Day speech, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his disdain and disrespect for our nation’s heroes in uniform, but this weekend he stooped to new lows when he used a Veterans Day speech to spew dangerous rhetoric, parroting the language of Adolf Hitler and labeling his political enemies as ‘vermin’ that he vowed to ‘root out.’ It should be easy to denounce the rhetoric reminiscent of Hitler and Mussolini, yet the chair of the Republican Party, Ronna McDaniel, refuses to stand up to the de facto leader of her party and denounce his un-American rhetoric. It’s unconscionable that the Republican Party continues to sit on its hands while Donald Trump tries to tear down our democracy, but we’ll call out his behavior for what it is: dangerous, disgusting, and disqualifying for anyone seeking the highest office in the land.”

Donald Trump used a Veterans Day speech to parrot the same words uttered by the likes of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. 

Washington Post: “Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini”

“Former president Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other side of the aisle ‘vermin’ and suggesting that they pose a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea. That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that of authoritarian leaders.”

Forbes: “Trump Compares Political Foes To ‘Vermin’ On Veterans Day—Echoing Nazi Propaganda”

When RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was given the chance to respond to Trump’s latest disturbing comments, she refused to denounce his extreme, autocratic language. 

The Messenger: “Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel refused to comment on Donald Trump’s chilling promise to ‘root out’ left-wing ‘vermin’ when pressed during a Sunday interview… ‘I’m not going to get involved in rhetoric that’s happening during a contested campaign for our presidential nominee,’ said the RNC chair.”

McDaniel said she isn’t commenting because she wants to stay neutral, but she has spent the last week in a petty feud with Vivek Ramaswamy.

Dana Bash: “[Ramaswamy] tweeted that he wants an interim chair to take over until the next RNC meeting in January. Your response?” 

McDaniel: “Yeah, last I checked, I wasn’t running for president. You know, he’s at 4 percent, he’s looking for headlines.”

McDaniel: “Listen, when Vivek didn’t vote in 2016, I was leading Michigan to the first win in history in 30 years.”

McDaniel: “I think there was a moment missed during that debate by Vivek to talk about the fact that we still have 13 American hostages in Israel, the fact that for the first time ever in the history of either party, we had a Jewish co-sponsor for a debate.”

Trump’s frightening rhetoric is nothing new – he has only ramped up his dangerous extremism in recent months. 

NBC News: “Trump ramps up violent rhetoric”

Vanity Fair: “Donald Trump Isn’t Even Trying to Hide His Authoritarian Second-Term Plans”

Washington Post: “The Anaheim speech was part of a pattern of increasingly aggressive rhetoric by Trump — and a somewhat muted response by the news media to his repeated exhortations to violence.”

Axios: “Former President Trump’s violent rhetoric — a staple of his political brand dating back to 2015 — has grown more extreme as the walls have begun to close in on his business empire, livelihood and personal freedom… The normalization of political violence — or at least the threat of it — has been one of the most jarring and lasting impacts of Trump’s dominance of the GOP, especially in the wake of his four indictments this year.”

CNN: “Trump’s incendiary rhetoric is nothing new. In his 2016 campaign, he suggested that protesters at his rally should be ‘roughed up.’ He suggested looters should be shot during the 2020 George Floyd protests. And many of the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, have said they were acting at his direction.”