Students for Trump pack Arizona rally, Internet says it's Hitler Youth's new version: 'There's no difference'
On June 23, President Donald Trump spoke at a 'Students for Trump' campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. The event took place at Dream City Church on Cave Creek and Thunderbird roads and it held 3,000 people. The church was packed with Trump supporters, many of them young Republican voters, and almost every seat was filled, according to the Associated Press. The president did not wear a mask during his speech. Church leaders had said masks would be encouraged but not required. Though face masks are mandatory in public places in Phoenix, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said that the mask mandate would not be enforced at the president's rally.
Three days earlier, Trump's Tulsa rally drew about 6,200 people to the 19,000-capacity BOK Center after his campaign announced that more than a million people had signed up. Plans for overflow gatherings outside the arena were scrapped just hours before the event kicked off. Teen users of the TikTok viral video app and Korean pop music megafans claimed online that they intentionally artificially boosted registrations — with no intentions of attending — as a prank. In response, Trump's Phoenix rally drew in massive crowds as Students For Trump filled the Dream City Church. The Students For Trump is an American youth group whose mission is to reelect Trump. The group was founded in 2015 by two college students — Ryan Fournier and John Lambert.
Many took to social media to note that the youth gathered at Trump's rally this Tuesday reminded them of Hitler Youth, the youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany. During Adolf Hitler's reign, over 90 percent of German youth was part of Hitler Youth — those who refused to join were alienated. The group allowed the Third Reich to indoctrinate children at their most impressionable age and it let the Nazis remove them from the influence of their parents, some of whom opposed the regime.
One user tweeted, "I see no difference between #StudentsForTrump and Hitler Youth," while another wrote, "Everyone is saying that @TrumpStudents are the new version of the Hitler Youth. Be sure to spread the word." A user opined, "Students for Trump Is that like the Hitler Youth? Asking for a friend." Another tweeted, "Students for Trump. What kind of bull***t is that? Just cut to the f***ing chase — Hitler Youth for Trump."
One user joked, "Remember Man in the High Castle where the Nazi's won? But for real though Hitler Youth looks super diverse." A user tweeted, "Students for Trump is just a 'Hitler Youth' group. They don't allow Blacks nor Latinos. They worship Trump because they are so very racist. Trump is about White Supremacy, Ignorance, Hate, Anger and Fear. He's out in November. Approval is barely 38%, which is a joke."
However, some decried the comparison saying that it was inappropriate. One user tweeted, "Ah yes, the Trump = Hitler and all his supporters are Nazis narrative. Anybody who thinks this is the same as Hitler youth hasn't actually studied history." Another wrote, "Hitler youth brainwashed kids to worship a socialist pig who gassed 6,000,000+ Jews. @TrumpStudents are free-thinking conservatives who won’t let the liberal schooling system brainwash them to support a big gov corrupt @JoeBiden. It’s sickening you would compare the two."