A former NFL punter who recently made headlines for protesting Donald Trump doubled down on his criticisms of the president on Friday as he declared that the U.S. is “on the path” Nazi Germany went down under Adolf Hitler.
“The parallels are very, very clear,” said Chris Kluwe, who spent much of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, in an interview with CNN’s Sara Sidner.
Kluwe was hauled out of a city council meeting by police in Huntington Beach, California on Tuesday after he weighed in on plans for a library plaque with a MAGA reference.
The former NFL player, in remarks at the meeting, “explicitly” tied the MAGA movement to Nazism prior to engaging in what he described as a “peaceful civil disobedience.” He was arrested for disrupting a public assembly, police records show.
Kluwe, in his interview with Sidner, reiterated his critique of the Trump administration for “trying to thrust our country into turmoil in order to reap power for themselves.”
“And I think, regardless of political affiliation, all of us as Americans should be able to agree: No kings, no tyrants, not now, not ever,” continued Kluwe, who expressed his disgust at the White House for sharing what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Trump with a crown on his head.
Sidner, who noted that Americans still backed Trump in November despite his talk of “revenge” and “retribution” on the campaign trail, went on to ask Kluwe for his message to the president’s supporters.
“I say to them that Hitler was elected, too, and there were a lot of very good Germans who believed that Hitler was going to have their best interests in mind,” Kluwe replied.
“And I think there are a lot of good Americans that think that Trump has their best interests in mind but I am very confident that what this administration has shown has already shown that Trump does not have their best interests in mind.”
He continued, “And I would like for those Americans to not live after all the bodies have dropped and be filled with regret because they failed to do the right thing when it was time to do the right thing.”
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
The next four years will change America forever. But HuffPost won’t back down when it comes to providing free and impartial journalism.
For the first time, we’re offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless newsroom. We hope you’ll join us.
You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We won’t back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can’t do it without you.
For the first time, we’re offering an ad-free experience. to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you’ll join us.
You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We won’t back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can’t do it without you.
For the first time, we’re offering an ad-free experience. to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you’ll join us.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.