Enemies, Scapegoats, and Conspiracy Theories

By far the most striking—and the most abhorrent—aspect of Hitlerian and Trumpian populism is its focus on enemies. Hitler had a visceral hatred for the Jews, and anti-Semitism was central to National Socialist ideology. Trump’s 2016 campaign was not merely built on an anti-establishment message, it also played on white-nationalist xenophobia. Even before launching his bid for the Presidency, he jumped on the bandwagon of birtherism, the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and hence had no right to be President. When, on 16 June 2015, Trump officially announced that he would be running, he focused prominently on the importance of preventing Mexican immigrants from coming into the country: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. […] They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us [the use of “us” instead of “them” is a revealing slip that points to the calculated nature of Trump’s attempt to blame outsiders for America’s problems: he knows full well that these problems are not simply the result of the actions of others]. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”. The need to build a wall on the border with Mexico subsequently became a staple of his campaign and indeed of his politics—a concrete symbol of his administration’s us-versus-them approach in both domestic and foreign affairs.