Only Politician Who Called Trump “Hitler” Wasn’t a Democrat

For years now, Republicans have leaned on a familiar talking point whenever Donald Trump is criticized: “The left keeps calling him Hitler.” It’s become a standard defense, rolled out on Fox News, on the campaign trail, and in countless social media arguments. The idea is simple—paint Democrats as hysterical, unhinged, and incapable of making a rational case against Trump.

But here’s the thing: it isn’t true.

Contrary to the myth, no major Democratic leader has ever called Trump “Hitler.” Not Barack Obama. Not Joe Biden. Not Kamala Harris. Not Hakeem Jeffries. Not Nancy Pelosi. Not a single one of them has crossed that rhetorical line.

The only prominent American political leader who has? J.D. Vance.

Yes, that J.D. Vance—the Republican senator from Ohio and Donald Trump’s current running mate.

Vance in 2016: “America’s Hitler”

Long before Vance was the face of MAGA loyalty, he was one of Trump’s fiercest critics. In 2016, Vance was a rising star after the success of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, and he used his platform to warn about the dangers he saw in Trump.

He didn’t hold back. He described Trump as “noxious,” “cultural heroin,” and “an idiot.” And in one now-famous tweet, Vance made the Hitler comparison directly:

“In 4 years, I might regret having called Trump ‘America’s Hitler,’ but I still feel the same.”

That wasn’t a slip of the tongue. That wasn’t something pulled out of context. That was J.D. Vance—the man now running alongside Trump—deliberately using the very comparison Republicans have spent years falsely accusing Democrats of making.

From Critic to Loyalist

Fast forward to today and you wouldn’t know any of this if you only listened to Vance’s speeches. He now talks about Trump as if he were a visionary savior of America. He goes out of his way to defend Trump’s every move, no matter how outrageous. He trashes anyone who dares criticize him.

It’s the ultimate about-face: the same man who once called Trump “America’s Hitler” now wants to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

And yet, in one of the most absurd twists of political gaslighting, Vance’s party continues to accuse Democrats of doing exactly what he himself did.

The GOP’s Projection Playbook

This is more than hypocrisy. It’s projection. Republicans take the words of their own members and project them onto their opponents. It’s a political strategy that has worked for them time and again: accuse your opponent of doing the very thing you are guilty of.

• They cry “censorship” while banning books.

• They scream “election fraud” while plotting to overturn elections.

• They warn about “political violence” while excusing January 6th.

• And they accuse Democrats of calling Trump “Hitler” when in reality it was their own vice-presidential nominee who did it.

It’s gaslighting on a national scale.

Why Democrats Don’t Use the “Hitler” Comparison

It’s also worth noting that Democrats—especially party leaders—have been careful about how they criticize Trump. They’ve called him an authoritarian, a threat to democracy, a danger to the rule of law. They’ve compared his rhetoric to strongmen in history, sometimes to fascist movements. But they have not used “Hitler” as a label.

Why? Because it cheapens the argument. Because it’s historically loaded. Because it risks alienating people who might otherwise agree on the danger Trump poses.

Democrats have kept their focus on concrete actions: Trump tried to overturn an election, incited an attack on the Capitol, undermined the justice system, and openly says he wants to use power for revenge. Those facts are damning enough without invoking Hitler.

Don’t Let Them Rewrite History

That’s what makes the J.D. Vance story so remarkable. The very words Republicans have tried to stuff into Democrats’ mouths for years actually came out of their own running mate’s mouth.

It wasn’t Biden.
It wasn’t Obama.
It wasn’t Pelosi.

It was Vance.

And today, the man who once saw Trump as “America’s Hitler” has reinvented himself as Trump’s most loyal defender. That’s not just hypocrisy—it’s the clearest example yet of how far Republicans will go to rewrite their own history while blaming Democrats for things they never even said.

Final Thought

The next time you hear someone rant about Democrats calling Trump “Hitler,” you don’t need to argue. You don’t need to get angry. Just remind them of the truth: the only person in American politics who actually did that is J.D. Vance.

And now, he’s asking the country to make him vice president.

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