JD Vance Compares Chinese Dictator Xi Jinping’s Mindset to Nazi Germany

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), vice presidential candidate for the 2024 election, made a striking comparison during a Monday interview, stating that Chinese communist dictator Xi Jinping’s mindset is more akin to Nazi Germany than the former Soviet Union. Vance’s remarks came during a conversation with Hugh Hewitt about the potential policies a second Trump administration would adopt in confronting an increasingly aggressive China.

Vance highlighted China’s clear intention to seize Taiwan, but noted that the extent of Xi’s desire for the island remains uncertain. “I think part of American policy over the next few years has to be to make it as costly as possible for them to seize it by force,” Vance said. He emphasized the importance of supplying Taiwan with defensive weapon systems to deter a Chinese invasion, a deterrence strategy that he claims the Biden-Harris administration has failed to execute in a timely manner.

Vance cited military simulations showing that once China establishes a foothold on Taiwan, it would be "extremely difficult" to repel an invasion, making preemptive deterrence critical. “If we make it harder for Xi to take Taiwan, that’s going to change his calculus as much as possible,” he added.

When asked about Xi Jinping’s leadership style, Vance did not hesitate to draw a controversial comparison. “I don’t know that he is a Leninist as much as a sort of ultra-Chinese nationalist in some ways,” Vance stated. He argued that Xi’s ideology and ambitions reflect the dangerous nationalism of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s more than the Soviet communism of the 50s and 60s.

Vance further explained that Xi’s China views itself as destined to rule the world, dismissing Western civilization as merely a "blip in the historical radar." This, he warned, is the core of Xi’s worldview. “They have extremely ambitious plans,” Vance said, “and we have to have our own ambitious plans to counter it.”

Vance’s stark comparison signals the seriousness with which a potential Trump administration would approach China, prioritizing strategic deterrence and viewing the Chinese regime as an existential threat to global order much like Nazi Germany was in the past.

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