Former President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to China, Max Baucus, said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s China policy is “a little bit like Hitler” in its hostile tone.
Baucus, who was a Democratic Montana senator from 1978 to 2014, told CNN that the Trump administration’s focus on communism in China is similar to the way Hitler targeted the Soviet Union under dictator Joseph Stalin and the way Republican Wisconsin Sen. Joe McCarthy attacked communism in the 1950s.
“This is not rocket science. Here is what really concerns me. The administration’s rhetoric is so strong against China, it’s over the top. We’re entering a kind of an era which is similar to Joe McCarthy back when he was red-baiting. And State Department attacking communism — a little bit like Hitler in the ‘30s,” Baucus said. (RELATED: Jane Fonda Tells Women To ‘See The Parallels’ Between Trump And Hitler)
Baucus says in both past eras, “a lot of people knew what was going on was wrong. They knew it was wrong but they didn’t stand up and say anything about it. They felt intimidated,” suggesting the same is true for those around Trump.
“And now in the United States, if anyone says anything reasonable about China, he or she feels intimidated, afraid his head’s going to be chopped off. And back in the ‘30s in Germany it’s very similar. People who were responsible in the U.S. and especially responsible in Germany couldn’t speak up,” said the former ambassador.
Baucus suggested the strident anti-Chinese tone from the White House and State Department has everything to do with the wheezing economy and nearly 9% unemployment that has resulted from the coronavirus lockdown. (RELATED: Fox News’ Kilmeade: Democrat ‘Must Be Thrilled’ With Collapsing Economy)
“Therefore they have to pivot, they have to blame somebody and they’re blaming China. And it is very difficult to get back on track after the election, whoever’s elected.”
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with US President Donald Trump before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed China for the global “suffering” caused by the COVID-19 virus that very probably came from a virology research center in Wuhan. Chinese state media has called Pompeo a “degenerate” and “evil” man who is “spitting poison.”
Asked if he seriously believed it was valid to make a comparison between current U.S. foreign policy and that of Nazi Germany, Baucus explained, “I think we are moving in that direction. And I — I’m not saying we’re there yet, but there are a lot of very responsible people in America who know that this China bashing is irresponsible and that we’re going to pay a price the more it continues. That’s what I’m saying. They’re afraid to speak up.”