Former CNN anchor Don Lemon said the MAGA movement is the closest thing to a modern Nazi Party in the U.S. [1]

This comparison highlights the intensifying rhetorical conflict between critics of former President Donald Trump and his political base. By drawing a direct line to 20th-century totalitarianism, Lemon frames the movement not as a standard political platform, but as an extremist entity.

Lemon said the comments during an appearance on the "Rising" weekday morning show in Washington, D.C. [1]. He said that the MAGA movement shares specific extremist characteristics with the Nazi Party [2]. However, he noted a distinction regarding the scale of violence associated with the regime in Germany.

Lemon said the movement is like the Nazi Party but without the Holocaust and other similar events [3]. He said that while the ideological and organizational parallels exist, the specific historical atrocity of the Holocaust is the missing component in the current U.S. context [1].

The remarks were made during a discussion on the nature of modern political movements and their influence on democratic institutions. Lemon's assessment focuses on the behavioral and rhetorical patterns he perceives within the movement rather than specific policy goals [2].

Critics of the comparison often argue that such analogies diminish the historical scale of the Holocaust. Conversely, supporters of the view argue that identifying these patterns early is necessary to protect democratic norms [3]. Lemon said he did not provide a detailed list of the specific characteristics he believes the two groups share during the segment [1].

“the closest thing to a modern Nazi Party in the U.S.”

The use of Nazi analogies in U.S. political discourse often serves to signal an existential threat to democracy rather than a literal policy comparison. By qualifying the statement to exclude the Holocaust, Lemon attempts to maintain a distinction between political extremism and state-sponsored genocide while still categorizing the movement as fundamentally dangerous.