Donald Trump says his German friends are patriotic 'to a level you wouldn't believe'
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Being a "proud German" might make you think of cheering on Thomas Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the Euro Cup, sure, but it could also totally mean Nazis. And that's why people were a little concerned when Donald Trump started talking about German pride while applauding the anti-immigrant Brexit in Scotland.
"I have lots of friends in Germany," Trump began, innocuous enough. The friends in question are presumably in addition to his Mexican, Muslim, and black friends. But then the sentence took a sharp turn: "...who have always been really proud Germans to a level you wouldn't believe."
It didn't help that Trump was speaking from a sea of Nazi golf balls:
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It also doesn't help that Trump joins a chorus of far-right and white nationalist groups who have championed the Brexit. And it certainly makes one look twice at Trump's "America First" slogan, which shares its name with the pre-World War II political movement that expressed open anti-Semitism and had some good things to say about another proud German — named Adolf Hitler.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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