Democrat Nikki Fried Compares DeSantis to Adolf Hitler

January 15, 2021 Updated 12:58 P.M. ET

MIAMI (FCV) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) was compared to German dictator Adolf Hitler by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried.

“I saw the rise of Hitler. I’ve learned of those stories. I have studied Hitler and how he got to power you know, wanting his own militia and having his own militia,” she said.

She went on to claim that DeSantis is trying to instill fear in Floridians and is blaming “certain parts of our society and our culture” for issues the state faces, going on to say, “that’s exactly what Hitler did to the Jews back, you know, during World War II.”

She promptly walked back the notion that DeSantis’ power would meet that of Hitler’s, but doubled down on the comparison in a nod to left-wingers who did the same to President Donald Trump (R):

Do I think that we’re going to get to this extent of Hitler’s power? Of course not. But the rise of his power and what he did to scapegoat certain parts and especially the Jewish community in Germany and how he utilized taking going after the media going after, and scapegoating people and blaming people and putting fear and then taking over the military, that’s what this governor is doing.

WLRN, The Florida Roundup

Conservatives are blasting the Florida Democrat, arguing that the comparison is outlandish given DeSantis’ strongly anti-government control and anti-mandate stances on issues, while Hitler forcibly detained and relocated members of various ethnic communities for their characteristics.

Christina Pushaw, the Press Secretary for DeSantis, lambasted Fried for her comparison:

Hitler gained power mainly by weaponizing a countrywide economic crisis using emergency powers that were never relinquished. DeSantis, on the other hand, has been erring on the side of rational responses and freedom-based policies in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than alarmism and fearmongering espoused by Democrats.