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CIA cut-out linked writer mocked for ‘Trump is Hitler’ hit-piece CIA cut-out linked writer mocked for ‘Trump is Hitler’ hit-piece
(33 minutes later)
The magazine’s staff writer Anne Applebaum has claimed that the former US president is copying the rhetoric of notorious dictators Magazine’s staff writer Anne Applebaum has claimed that the former US president is copying the rhetoric of notorious dictators
The Atlantic magazine has been ridiculed for publishing an op-ed comparing former US President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini. The author, Anne Applebaum, has long been accused of pushing propaganda for US intelligence agencies. The Atlantic magazine and its staff writer Anne Applebaum have faced widespread criticism after publishing an op-ed that compares former US President Donald Trump to infamous dictators like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini.
Published on Friday, the article’s headline declares that “Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.” In the subsequent paragraphs, Applebaum argues that by calling his opponents “vermin,” and referring to criminal illegal immigrants as “animals,” Trump has “brought dehumanizing language into American presidential politics.” The article, which claims Trump is borrowing rhetoric from some of the 20th century’s most notorious leaders, has been ridiculed online, particularly by pro-Trump commenters and political figures. Some have also drawn attention to Applebaum’s links to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA cutout.
Trump is “cynically” borrowing language from not just Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, Applebaum argues, but also Mao Zedong and Pol Pot. The controversy erupted after Applebaum, a staff writer for The Atlantic and a member of the board of NED, argued that Trump’s use of terms like “vermin” to describe his opponents and his references to “criminal illegal immigrants as animals” echoed the dehumanizing language of the named dictators. The headline of her article –”Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini– ignited a flurry of backlash.
“In using this language, Trump knows exactly what he is doing. He understands which era and what kind of politics this language evokes,” Applebaum claims. The Trump campaign dismissed the piece as “fake news by a third-rate media outlet,” while figures on social media openly mocked Applebaum and the magazine. Among the first to respond was journalist Glenn Greenwald, who commented, “When you spend eight years calling a person every bad name you can think of—including Hitler—and it doesn’t work, so you desperately decide to call him all the bad names at once.”
The Trump campaign dismissed the article as “more fake news by a third-rate media outlet,” and it was roundly mocked by pro-Trump and independent commenters online. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, also ridiculed the piece, responding with “I can’t stop laughing.” British conservative commenter Ben Kew chimed in as well, mocking The Atlantic’s editorial process: “I love the idea that the editors sat around and thought, ‘Let’s come up with a headline for Anne Applebaum’s piece that will really scare the average voter.’”
“When you spend 8 years calling a person every bad name you can think of – including Hitler – only to see that it's not working, so you desperately decide the only thing left for you to do is call him all the bad names at once,” American journalist Glenn Greenwald jeered on X. Critics of Applebaum also pointed to her connections to the NED, a government-funded organization with links to US intelligence operations. Applebaum’s critics, including journalist Mike Benz, accused her of pushing a pro-intelligence agenda. “Anne Applebaum is on the board of directors for the most notorious CIA cut-out in US history,” Benz stated, suggesting her opinion pieces often align with US national security interests.
When you spend 8 years calling a person every bad name you can think of -- including Hitler -- only to see that it's not working, so you desperately decide the only thing left for you to do is call him all the bad names at once: pic.twitter.com/TMJWZNUNHWWhen you spend 8 years calling a person every bad name you can think of -- including Hitler -- only to see that it's not working, so you desperately decide the only thing left for you to do is call him all the bad names at once: pic.twitter.com/TMJWZNUNHW
“I love the idea that the editors at The Atlantic sat round a time and said: ‘Let's come up with a headline for Anne Applebaum's piece that will really scare the average voter’... and then came up with this,” conservative British pundit Ben Kew wrote. NED is funded by the US State Department to do, in the words of its founder, Carl Gershman, what “was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” In recent years, the NED helped foment the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine, sponsored meetings of anti-Beijing officials and delegates in Taiwan, and financed a UK-based organization working to drive right-wing American news outlets out of business.
”I can’t stop laughing,” SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded.
Appelbaum sits on the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an NGO funded by the US State Department to do, in the words of its founder, what “was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” In recent years, the NED helped foment the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine, sponsored meetings of anti-Beijing officials and delegates in Taiwan, and financed a UK-based organization working to drive right-wing American news outlets out of business.
Her published opinions and those of the US national security state rarely diverge. Writing for the Atlantic, she has advocated regime change in Russia, accused Trump of planning to “abandon” Ukraine and NATO, and accused Musk of “weakness” and “arrogance” over his refusal to help Kiev’s forces guide kamikaze drones into Russian naval targets in Crimea.Her published opinions and those of the US national security state rarely diverge. Writing for the Atlantic, she has advocated regime change in Russia, accused Trump of planning to “abandon” Ukraine and NATO, and accused Musk of “weakness” and “arrogance” over his refusal to help Kiev’s forces guide kamikaze drones into Russian naval targets in Crimea.
“Anne Applebaum is on the board of directors for the most notorious CIA cut-out in all of US history,” American pundit Mike Benz wrote on X after the Atlantic published her op-ed on Musk. “So, you know, when reading her froth-mouthed hit piece today on Elon Musk, maybe take that into consideration.” Despite her prominent role at NED, she has denied any personal links to the CIA. Nonetheless, critics highlight the close alignment of her views with US foreign policy initiatives.
Applebaum has denied any links between herself, or the NED, and the CIA. The Atlantic has yet to respond to the widespread backlash against the article.
Appelbaum is married to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose liberal Civic Platform party she has praised in multiple articles for The Atlantic. Immediately after the Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed in 2022, Sikorski tweeted an image of the blast site along with the caption “Thank you, USA.” According to American journalist Seymour Hersh, the pipelines were sabotaged by the CIA and US Navy.