On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) argued that President Trump’s rhetoric about the press is akin to Nazi Germany’s attacks on media.

Garamendi stated that President Trump’s speech in Phoenix the night before is “the real Trump, a man that is totally, totally out of control and engaged in rhetoric that slams the press. Which, by the way, happens to be the very first thing that a dictator will do to secure his position is to delegitimize the press. And Trump has been at that for his entire campaign, in fact, his entire presidency. We’ve got to be very concerned about that. And then the lies, the pathological lying that’s going on is just beyond — that creates yet another problem of just what exactly are our friends and opponents to believe? What is the role of the president? What is he really going to do? There’s no way to know because the truth is constantly changing in his mind.”

He added, “If one were to look at Nazi Germany, that was the very early part of their tenure, was to delegitimize the press. They constantly attacked the press. They always were going, they and us, them and us, back and forth. And that’s exactly what this president is doing. He is using a tactic that, not only in that particular country, but around the world, to delegitimize, to muzzle, or, in many cases, just destroy the free press. We count on the free press in this nation as a source — a counterbalance to Congress, to the presidency, to the power of government. And it is extremely important that it not be delegitimized and all the words that he’s using, fake press, on and on, are all part of that.”

Anchor Wolf Blitzer then asked Garamendi, “[A]re you suggesting the president wants to be a dictator?” Garamendi answered, “He’s certainly power-hungry. There’s no doubt about that. … He certainly wants to push the Congress aside. He’s already taken into the judicial system by going after federal judges.”

(h/t WFB)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett