Trump adamant he is not a ‘student of Hitler’

Former President Donald Trump on Friday insisted he is not a “student of Hitler” as critics condemn his rhetoric on illegal immigration as similar to the Nazi leader‘s remarks about the Jewish population.

Trump has come under fire in recent weeks for his promise to “root out” political opponents who he said “live like vermin” within the country, as well as his claim that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

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In response to criticism, Trump called into the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show, and Hewitt pressed the former president on the controversial remarks.

“When you look at it, if you look at what’s coming in, we have from all over the world, not one group — they’re coming in from Asia, from Africa, from South America. They’re coming from all over the world,” Trump said.

Trump also said immigrants are coming from “mental institutions and insane asylums” and that “they’re loading up our classes … with children that don’t speak the language.”

“They’re terrorists. Absolutely, that’s poisoning our country, that’s poisoning the blood of our country,” Trump said.

The Biden-Harris reelection campaign has been leaning into the Trump-Hitler comparison, highlighting the similarity of language between the two figures on X, formerly Twitter.

When Hewitt asked specifically about the comparisons to Hitler, Trump said he knows “nothing about Hitler.”

“I’m not a student of Hitler,” Trump said. “I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood — he didn’t say it the way I said it either, by the way. It’s a very different kind of a statement.”

Trump has repeatedly said he has never read Mein Kampf, the seminal work written by Hitler while in prison after his failed attempt at a violent takeover of the German government — seven years before he was elected to the Reichstag in 1932.

On air, Trump denied any racist intent with the “poisoning the blood” statements, highlighting his strong poll numbers among black and Hispanic voters.

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A Des Moines Register poll recently found that 42% of likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa are more likely to vote for Trump with his use of words like “blood” and “vermin.” Only 28% said the rhetoric would make them less likely to support the former president.

“People are pouring into our country unchecked,” Trump told Hewitt.