Donald Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he called Nancy Pelosi "an animal" yesterday, which was met with enthusiastic cheers from his MAGA mob (see video below). Just as the Nazis knew what they were doing when they called the Jews "rats." And just as the Rwandan Hutus knew what they were doing when they called the Tutsis "cockroaches." Dehumanization makes it easier for fascists and their followers to be cruel. It opens the door to genocide. It makes it okay for people to attack "the other" with a hammer without any remorse or shame.
"This nation does not belong to them," Trump said in the same speech. "This nation belongs to you."
Front page thumbnail image: C-SPAN (screengrab)