Anne Applebaum: Trump is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini

Agreed.

   We could point out that the left says even worse things about all its opponents, Trump included. They don't merely speak like fascists, Nazis, and racists, they are fascists, Nazis and racists. We could also point out that the progressive left doesn't merely speak like Stalin and Mao, it is substantively similar to them, favoring politically correctness, falsehoods deemed official truths, Lysenkoism, censorship, and government/party control of our lives.

But:

That wouldn't change the fact that Trump does speak in these ways. And that's bad. Very bad, I think.

   This alone would make him ineligible for my vote...if the alternative weren't much worse. Trump talks like a loon, but has a basically sane and sound political position. The other guys not only have a basically insane and unsound position...they don't even talk nice. Unless calling people Nazis and racists in the cultured, measured and educated vocabulary, tones and cadences of the elites counts as nice.

   Also, Applebaum ignores the fact that it is the left that has intentionally worked to blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. All she pins on Trump is incaution about always making the distinction explicit.

   But, anyway: you can't have someone who talks like that as President.

   Unless, again, the alternative is a lot worse. 

   And, rightly or wrongly, I think it is.

   (And of course: wrongly is a real possibility in this case.)