Mexico Ex-President Vicente Fox on Donald Trump: 'He's Offended Everybody'
- Peter de Jesus
- Feb 28, 2016 06:00 AM EST
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For many of his supporters, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump represents somebody who is not afraid to speak his mind, regardless of how offensive or potentially damaging a statement would be. So far, throughout his campaign, Trump has shown his supporters that he is capable of being just that.
He did, after all, but heads with a number of prominent personalities already, including the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, regarding the pontiff's stance on immigration, an issue that Trump has been extremely passionate about.
For former Mexican President Vicente Fox, however, Trump has done too much. In fact, according to the Mexican politician, Trump has, through his very brief tenure in politics, managed to offend more people than most politicians would in their entire career.
"He has offended Mexico, Mexicans and immigrants. He has offended the Pope. He has offended the Chinese. He's offended everybody," Fox said.
Perhaps most disturbing, however, is Fox's observation that Trump's current actions, as he pursues the highest office in the United States, are very reminiscent of the actions of one of history's most infamous men -- Adolf Hitler himself.
"Today, he's going to take that nation, the U.S., back to the old days of conflict, war and everything. I mean, he reminds me of Hitler. That's the way he started speaking," the former Mexican president said.
In a lot of ways, Fox might very well be right. After all, Hitler's emergence as one of the most powerful political leaders after Germany's defeat in World War I was largely helped by the strong rhetoric that Hitler adopted. Like Trump, the Nazi leader also promised to bring the country back to glory, and like Trump, Hitler also directed his aggression at a very specific demographic.
What is particularly tragic is the fact that people from all walks of life in the United States are supporting Trump's views. After all, it is much easier to be aggravated about a problem when there is a group of people that could be used as an ideal scapegoat. In Trump's case, this refers to immigrants to the United States, Mexicans, Muslims and everyone in between.
As much as Trump's words might be swaying the masses, however, he is yet to sway veterans in the political field. Mexico's top diplomat, Foreign Affairs Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu, for one, has stated that she views the Republican presidential hopeful as both "ignorant and racist." She has also dubbed Trump's plan to build a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico as "absurd."
"When an apple is red, it is red. When you say ignorant things, you're ignorant. It is impossible to think of a 2,000-mile border being walled off and trade between our two countries stopped. It is impractical, inefficient, wrong and, frankly, it is not an intelligent thing to do," she said.
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