U.S President has rhetoric about “good genes” is “indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric” during the Second World War, an expert on the Holocaust has said.

U.S President has rhetoric about “good genes” is “indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric” during the Second World War, an expert on the Holocaust has said.

The US president praised the genes of Minnesotans during a campaign rally in the city of Bemidji last week, during which he also derided refugees, gloated about a reporter being shot with a rubber bullet, and praised a general who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

“This state was pioneered by men and women who braved the wilderness and the winters to build a better life for themselves and for their families. They were tough, and they were strong. You have good genes, you know that, right?” Mr Trump said to applause from supporters.

“You have good genes. A lot of it’s about the genes isn’t it, don’t you believe? The racehorse theory you think was so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.”

Mr Trump’s comments were widely condemned as echoing the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding.

 

 “As a historian who has written about the Holocaust, I'll say bluntly: This is indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric that led to Jews, disabled people, LGBTQ, Romani and others being exterminated,” Steve Silberman, an acclaimed science writer who has covered the Nazi treatment of people with autism, said on Twitter.

“This is America 2020. This is where the GOP has taken us.”

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said Mr Trump’s comments mirrored “master race eugenics”.

He added: “This was how the Holocaust started. Don’t ignore.”

The US president has a long history of praising the role of genes in human capabilities, and has commended himself for his “great” and “winning” genes.

In 2016, Mr Trump’s biographer revealed Mr Trump believes in the “racehorse theory” of genetics, and that his father, Fred Trump, had taught his son the family’s success was due to their genes.