Little mentioned among people praising Hitler, of course, was that economic recovery was the direct result of redefining a whole group of people out of the economy. Little mentioned to this day, among people who see Hitler's economy as evidence that he did "some good things," is that terror, abuse and brutality were important engines of the Nazis' economic recovery.

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Far from showing he "did a lot of good things," Hitler's rebounding economy revealed the first signs of Nazi horrors to come.

Nearly 90 years after the Nazis passed their first anti-Semitic laws, no one is suggesting (at least not so far) that we should pursue genocidal atrocities in order to improve the economy. But using economic ends to justify inhumane means — for example, displacing the poor for international sporting events, destroying the rainforest and displacing indigenous communities, or rejecting public health guidance during a global pandemic — remains frighteningly common. 

The breaking news about Trump's nescient comment to John Kelly, although hardly surprising, sheds further light on the former president's priorities. But ultimately, it is less important in evaluating Trump as a person than in drawing attention to one of the most pressing questions of our time: How long will we continue to justify inhumane means in the pursuit of good economic ends?

RYAN SKINNELL

Ryan Skinnell is an associate professor of rhetoric at San Jose State University, the author of “Faking the News: What Rhetoric Can Teach Us About Donald J. Trump" and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project. He is currently writing a book about Hitler’s