Mussolini, the stupid second fiddle to Hitler....

Jim Clyburn: Trump is Mussolini

The South Carolina Democrat compares the president to the Italian dictator.

By ZACHARY WARMBRODT

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Sunday likened President Donald Trump to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, warning that Trump would resist leaving office.

The South Carolina lawmaker and No. 3 House Democrat said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump has taken up "strong-arm tactics." Trump ignited an uproar last week after he floated the idea of delaying the November election, which he lacks the authority to do.

"I don't think he plans to leave the White House," Clyburn said of Trump. "He doesn't plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to continue to hold on to office."

Clyburn made the historical comparison to Mussolini after drawing attention for comments he made in a PBS interview released Friday comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler.

On Sunday, Clyburn said Trump was more akin to Mussolini and that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is Hitler." Mussolini's rule as Italian dictator lasted for two decades until he was deposed as Italy faced catastrophic defeat in World War II.

Trump has drawn bipartisan condemnation for his suggestion that the election should be delayed. The president has pointed to alleged fraud concerns around mail-in ballots.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, told CNN on Sunday: "It's not helpful for the president to think out loud in a public fashion."

"The president should accept the results just like presidents in the past have accepted the results," Hutchinson said.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday dismissed the controversy around Trump's election comments.

"We're going to hold an election on Nov. 3," Meadows said. "And the president is going to win."