I personally call them the American Tonton Macoute: it’s accurate, it doesn’t reuse the overstretched Nazi parallel and never runs afoul of Godwin’s law, the Macoute name is unused enough these days that it’s ripe for repurposing, and it teaches people about the atrocities of the Duvalier regime as a bonus.
First, let me get this Donald Trump issue out of the way: If you’re thoughtful about it and show some real awareness of history, go ahead and refer to Hitler or Nazis when you talk about Trump. Or any other politician.
I personally call them the American Tonton Macoute: it’s accurate, it doesn’t reuse the overstretched Nazi parallel and never runs afoul of Godwin’s law, the Macoute name is unused enough these days that it’s ripe for repurposing, and it teaches people about the atrocities of the Duvalier regime as a bonus.
From 2015:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/12/14/sure-call-trump-a-nazi-just-make-sure-you-know-what-youre-talking-about/
He had another oped a year ago where he was basically like “yeah, they’re Nazis “