Whenever you hear someone compare Donald Trump to a historical figure, hyperbole is likely to follow, whether it comes from opponents, supporters, or the man himself.
There have been many Hitler comparisons from never-Trumpers, including this one from author J.D. Vance in 2016:
“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a**hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler,” said the vice president-elect.
Actor Jon Voight, a fervent Trump supporter from the beginning, compared the president-elect to Jesus Christ.
“The one man that was ridiculed, destroyed as Jesus, Trump, can come back and save the American dream for all,” he said.
Trump has also compared himself, often obliquely, to Jesus as well as Abraham Lincoln. Last year, while lamenting what he claims is his political persecution, the president-to-be co-opted a civil rights icon.
“I don’t mind being Nelson Mandela because I’m doing it for a reason,” Trump told supporters in New Hampshire.
Not to be outdone, actor Sylvester Stallone on Thursday became the latest public figure to jump the shark, comparing the president-elect to the nation’s first commander-in-chief renowned, unlike Trump, for his honesty.
“And I’ll say just this, and I mean it,” said Stallone, introducing Trump at a Mar-a-Lago gala for the America First Policy Institute. “When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world. ’Cause without him, you could imagine what the world would look like.”
“Guess what? We got the second George Washington,” concluded the star best known for his big screen characters Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.
The 78-year-old Stallone wasn’t done with his comparisons, saying Trump also shared many qualities with that fictional boxer from Philadelphia.
“When I first made Rocky, if you remember the first image was a picture of Jesus and it said ‘Resurrection, AC Club.’ I found a church that had been converted into a boxing ring,” he said. “So the image pans down from Jesus on to Rocky being hit and that moment he was the chosen person, and that’s how I began the journey.”
“Something was going to happen, this man was going to go through a metamorphosis and change lives just like President Trump,” he continued. “We’re in the presence of a real mythical character. I love mythology. This individual does not exist on this planet. Nobody in the world could have pulled off what he pulled off, so I’m in awe.”
Stallone’s remarks left many fans disappointed.
“I think that Stallone got hit in the head too many times filming the Rocky movies,” said one, commenting on X. “Oh man, I didn’t realize that Stallone was actually an idiot,” remarked another.
“Well, that just ruined Rocky for me,” claimed a third.
