In a new interview airing Sunday, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn—one of the most powerful Democrats on Capitol Hill—likened Republicans under Donald Trump to Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. “I used to wonder: How did the people of Germany allow Hitler to exist?” the House Majority Whip said in the Axios on HBO interview. “But with each passing day, I’m beginning to understand how. And that’s why I’m trying to sound the alarm.”

Hitler comparisons tend to be notoriously hyperbolic. But Trump’s nationalism, policies, and embrace of authoritarian leaders have invited such analogies, including from Clyburn in the past. Republicans’ efforts to protect Trump at all costs—and creepy dear leader-style treatment from supportive TV hosts—have resembled how an autocrat wields power.

That has dramatically raised the stakes for this year’s election, which has been framed as more than a partisan fight, but a struggle for the soul of the country. “Our very democracy is at stake in this election,” Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden said after notching several more primary wins this week, including in Michigan. “With Donald Trump as president, our core values, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America America, is truly at stake.” Clyburn has helped to dramatically shift the trajectory of the election, endorsing Biden ahead of the primary in South Carolina and reviving a campaign that had appeared to be foundering. That decision was personal—he and Biden are close friends—but it was also calculated. The influential South Carolina representative had appeared concerned that progressive Bernie Sanders, who led the Democratic primary after the first three contests, would be unable to beat Trump and allow Republicans to prevail in down-ballot races. “He has said to me the future of the country is at stake, and if we lose to Donald Trump, it would be devastating for generations of African-Americans to come,” Representative Cedric Richmond, a friend and ally of Clyburn, told Politico ahead of the endorsement. “I know that’s what he’s thinking about when making this important decision.” When he eventually endorsed Biden, he invoked the need for voters to reject Trump’s vision for the country. “This campaign, this year, is about the goodness of America,” he said in South Carolina in February. “And our candidate is a real good man.”

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