Does Trump Want to Become America’s Hitler?

Published in The Kyunghyang Shinmun
(South Korea) on 26 January 2017
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kang An. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
The measures Donald Trump has taken since his inauguration as president of the United States are raising concern not only in his country, but all over the globe. President Trump has implemented the extreme agenda that he proposed during his presidential campaign, including the construction of a wall on the Mexican border and the restriction of Muslim entry into the United States. As Trump puts forth ideas like “America First,” xenophobia, protectionism, and rebuilding America, critics are calling him a clone of Adolf Hitler.

When he officially signed the executive order on Jan. 25 to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump claimed that "Mexico is going to pay for the wall." He also signed an immigration ban on Muslim nationals and refugees. Such arrangements are inspiring xenophobia and closing America’s doors.

Other executive orders being processed are graver. The draft of an order on U.S. detention policy, titled “Detention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatants,” includes plans to reopen the infamous CIA “black site” prisons and to cancel former President Barack Obama’s intention to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Trump claimed that when asked whether torture works, intelligence chiefs told him, “Yes, absolutely.” He says “we have to fight fire with fire.”

When President Trump talked about this agenda during his presidential campaign, the majority of the public thought that he was making campaign promises that he would not keep. But following his inauguration, the president has released a series of executive orders that, while legal and constitutional, are earning the disapproval of the citizens and the Congress. The way he is running the country is by violence, repressing or subjugating non-American nations and families. China now has to worry about negotiating its “One China” policy, and the European Union has to worry about disbanding NATO. South Korea also has to undergo a review of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and consider paying more for the presence of the United States Forces Korea. These measures are not going to stop at local conflicts; they are going to escalate to international conflicts.

President Trump may think that his ways are not problematic because he was lawfully elected and his agenda abides by the law. Alluding to this, Pope Francis commented recently that “Hitler did not steal power. He was elected by his people and then he destroyed his people,” and that people protect themselves with "walls and barbed wire so that others cannot take away their identity." The pope added, "Let's see. Let's see what he does and then we will evaluate.” Citizens and governments all over the world probably feel the same way.


도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령이 취임 이후 잇달아 취하는 조치가 자국은 물론 세계의 우려와 반발을 자아내고 있다. 트럼프 대통령은 멕시코 이민 장벽 설치와 무슬림 입국 제한 등 대선 기간 중 제안한 극단적 의제를 시행하고 있다. “미국 우선(America First)”과 외국인 혐오, 고립·보호주의, 미군 재건을 기치로 내세우면서 트럼프 대통령은 독일 독재자 아돌프 히틀러를 연상시킨다는 지적까지 나온다.

트럼프 대통령은 25일(현지시간) 미국과 멕시코 국경에 장벽을 건설하는 행정명령에 공식 서명하면서 “비용은 전적으로 멕시코가 부담하게 될 것”이라고 말했다. 무슬림 국가 출신자와 난민의 입국을 제한하는 행정명령도 발동한다. 외국인 혐오를 부각시켜 세계에 빗장을 거는 행위다.

추가로 검토되는 행정명령은 더욱 심각하다. ‘적국 군인 구금과 고문’ 행정명령은 중앙정보국(CIA)이 운영한 ‘블랙 사이트(비밀감옥)’를 부활하고 버락 오바마 전 대통령이 폐쇄를 추진한 쿠바 관타나모의 테러 용의자 수용소를 존치하는 방안도 담고 있다. 트럼프는 또 “정보기관 최고위 인사들로부터 고문이 효과적이라고 들었다”며 “우리는 ‘불에는 불’로 싸워야 한다”고 말했다.

대선 기간에 트럼프 대통령이 이들 의제를 거론했을 때만 해도 ‘선거 운동용일 뿐이고, 실제로 하겠느냐’는 관측이 지배적이었다. 트럼프 대통령은 취임 후 미 헌법이 허용했지만 시민이나 의회 견제를 받지 않는 행정명령을 통해 무더기로 밀어붙이고 있다. 이들 조치는 미국 이외 국가와 기구를 억압하거나 굴복시키는 폭력적 요소를 담고 있다. 중국은 ‘하나의 중국 원칙 재검토’, 유럽연합은 ‘북대서양조약기구(나토) 무용론’의 현실화를 우려해야 할 처지다. 한국도 한·미 자유무역협정(FTA) 재검토, 주한미군 방위비 인상 등이 걸려 있다. 이런 조치는 국지적 갈등이 아니라 국제적 분쟁으로 확산할 수도 있다.

트럼프 대통령은 합법적으로 선출돼 법대로 하기 때문에 문제없다고 생각할 수도 있다. 최근 프란치스코 교황은 “히틀러는 국민에 의해 선출됐고, 그 후 국민을 파멸시켰다”면서 “위기에 처한 사람들은 벽이나 철조망을 세워 외부인을 몰아내고 자신들의 정체성을 공고히 하려 한다”고 말했다. 프란치스코 교황은 “우리는 트럼프가 무엇을 하는지 볼 것”이라고 했다. 전 세계 시민과 정부도 같은 심정이다.
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