The 2024 presidential election is heating up, and the rhetoric between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has reached a fever pitch. In the latest escalation, the Trump campaign has released a powerful ad featuring Holocaust survivor Jerry Wartski, who forcefully criticizes Harris for her repeated comparisons of Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Wartski, a 94-year-old survivor of Auschwitz, delivers a scathing rebuke of Harris’ accusations in the roughly minute-and-a-half advertisement. “I know more about Hitler than Kamala will ever know in a thousand lifetimes,” Wartski states, his voice trembling with emotion. “For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my 75 years living in the United States.”
He goes on to defend Trump, calling him a “mensch,” a Yiddish term of endearment, and emphasizing Trump’s unwavering support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. “He has always stood with the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” Wartski asserts.
Wartski’s emotional plea goes beyond simply defending Trump; he demands an apology from Harris for the deeply offensive comparison. “I know President Trump, and he would never say this, and Kamala Harris knows this,” Wartski says, his voice filled with conviction. “She owes my parents and everybody else who was murdered by Hitler an apology.”
The ad comes after Harris repeatedly made the Hitler comparison throughout the week, including during a press conference from her residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., a CNN town hall event, and on social media. Her remarks followed media reports alleging that former Trump administration officials, including his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, claimed Trump had praised Hitler and his generals on “multiple occasions.”
Harris’ statements paint a stark picture of her view of Trump, particularly his leadership style. “Donald Trump is out for unchecked power. He wants a military like Adolf Hitler had, who will be loyal to him, not our Constitution,” Harris posted on X (formerly Twitter) this week. “He is unhinged, unstable, and given a second term, there would be no one to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses.”
During her town hall event, Harris further emphasized her concerns. “If the President of the United States, the commander in chief, is saying to his generals, in essence, ‘Why can’t you be more like Hitler’s generals?’ Anderson, come on. This is a serious, serious issue,” Harris said, addressing CNN host Anderson Cooper. “And we know who he is. He admires dictators, sending love letters back and forth with Kim Jong Un.”
The release of the Trump campaign ad featuring Wartski is a powerful counterpunch to Harris’ rhetoric and highlights the escalating tensions in the 2024 presidential race. The ad’s impact on voters remains to be seen, but its use of a Holocaust survivor’s personal experience adds a powerful human element to the debate over Trump’s character and leadership.