According to Rolling Stone magazine part of Rachel Maddow's preparation for covering Donald Trump is to read up on Adolph Hitler. Seems reasonable.

Courtesy of The Hill:

“What is amazing is the Republican Party that picked him. They had 330 million people to choose from, and they've decided that he is the best one to be the standard-bearer of one of the two major parties of the greatest nation on Earth,” Maddow told the magazine in an interview published Tuesday. 

“Like, talk to me, Republican voters! What's the worst-case scenario for America if he wins? It can be pretty bad. You don't have to go back far in history to get to almost apocalyptic scenarios.” 

“Is part of you worried we're living through the first few chapters of some dystopian science fiction novel?” interviewer Andy Greene asked. 

Maddow responded: “Over the past year I've been reading a lot about what it was like when Hitler first became chancellor. I am gravitating toward moments in history for subliminal reference in terms of cultures that have unexpectedly veered into dark places, because I think that's possibly where we are.” 

As I have mentioned in the past comparing modern day politicians to Adolph Hitler is usually considered hyperbolic and ridiculous.

But I would argue that Hitler really is the historic figure that is most similar to Donald J. Trump, and their tactics for garnering support are frighteningly similar.

So I think that Rachel is really on to something here, and it should serve as a warning to all of us as to just how bad this whole thing can get before it is finally over.

A warning by the way that a number of historians are also attempting to broadcast to the American people:  

Historians including David McCullough, Ken Burns, Robert Caro, Ron Chernow and Vicki Lynn Ruiz have all posted short videos explaining why Trump’s campaign is disturbing to a Facebook page called “Historians on Donald Trump.”

McCullough, who received the Pulitzer Prize for books on presidents John Adams and Harry Truman, told The New York Times that he does not usually weigh in on contemporary political issues. But the historian, who said he is registered independent, was so disturbed by the possibility of a Trump presidency that he felt compelled to speak out, he told the outlet. 

“Like so many others, I keep asking myself, how in the world can it be that the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, is on the verge of nominating the likes of Donald Trump for president of the United States?,” McCullough says in his video. McCullough asked why Americans would entrust Trump, someone he said is “clearly unsuited” to be president.

This is not a normal election my friends, and Donald Trump is no normal politician.

He needs to be identified as the fascist that he is and dealt with accordingly.

And that means energizing the voters against him, publicizing every despicable lie he tells, and calling him out on every sneaky and underhanded thing that he does.