Donald Trump has centered his unlikely rise from reality television star to onetime B次元官网网址� and potentially future B次元官网网址� president on the idea that heB次元官网网址檚 wiser than WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 bumbling political class, once going so far as to label himself a B次元官网网址渧ery stable genius.B次元官网网址�

But when it comes to one of historyB次元官网网址檚 darkest moments, Trump is professing ignorance.

Facing criticism for repeatedly harnessing rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are B次元官网网址減oisoning the blood of our country,B次元官网网址� Trump insisted he had no idea that one of the worldB次元官网网址檚 most reviled and infamous figures once used similar words. The Nazi dictator spoke of impure Jewish blood B次元官网网址減oisoningB次元官网网址� Aryan German blood to dehumanize Jews and justify the systemic murder of millions during the Holocaust.

B次元官网网址淚 never knew that Hitler said it,B次元官网网址� Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday, volunteering once again that he never read HitlerB次元官网网址檚 biographical manifesto, B次元官网网址淢ein Kampf.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 know nothing about Hitler,B次元官网网址� he insisted. B次元官网网址淚 have no idea what Hitler said other than (what) IB次元官网网址檝e seen on the news. And thatB次元官网网址檚 a very, entirely different thing than what IB次元官网网址檓 saying.B次元官网网址�

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TrumpB次元官网网址檚 assertion that he knows so little about one of the 20th centuryB次元官网网址檚 most documented figures is notable for someone seeking the presidency, a role steeped in and shaped by history. But claiming ignorance, particularly when it comes to people who espouse racist or antisemitic rhetoric, is a tactic Trump has repeatedly deployed when aiming to distance himself from uncomfortable storylines.

After he was endorsed by former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke during his winning 2016 campaign, Trump insisted he had no knowledge of the white supremacist who had run for office numerous times and is described by the Anti-Defamation League as B次元官网网址減erhaps AmericaB次元官网网址檚 most well-known racist and anti-Semite.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淛ust so you understand, I donB次元官网网址檛 know anything about David Duke, OK?B次元官网网址� he told CNNB次元官网网址檚 Jake Tapper in February 2016. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know anything about what youB次元官网网址檙e even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists.B次元官网网址�

Asked if he would condemn the white supremacists supporting him, Trump said he would B次元官网网址渉ave to look at the group. I mean, I donB次元官网网址檛 know what group youB次元官网网址檙e talking about.B次元官网网址� He continued to repeat that assertion even after Tapper said he was referring to the KKK.

Trump has also pleaded ignorance in other cases.

As he ran for reelection in 2020, Trump said he didnB次元官网网址檛 know much about QAnon, the convoluted conspiracy that alleges Democrats are involved in a satanic pedophilia ring and casts Trump as the nationB次元官网网址檚 savior B次元官网网址� even as he retweeted accounts promoting the conspiracy.

B次元官网网址淚 know nothing about it,B次元官网网址� he said during an NBC town hall. Nonetheless, he refused to rule it out as false. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know that and neither do you,B次元官网网址� he said.

It was the same when Trump was asked to condemn the Proud Boys militia group, which was key in organizing the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Enrique Tarrio and other members of the far-right extremist group have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for their part in the attack, which was part of a desperate bid to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know who the Proud Boys are,B次元官网网址� Trump told reporters after instructing the group, during a presidential debate, to B次元官网网址淪tand back and stand by.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 mean, youB次元官网网址檒l have to give me a definition B次元官网网址榗ause I donB次元官网网址檛 really know who they are,B次元官网网址� Trump said of the group, which was drawing headlines at the time.

Trump has also suggested he was unaware of some of the most consequential periods of American history. At a recent rally in Reno, Nevada, Trump said he had to ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to define the post-Civil War era known as Reconstruction as he boasted about his growing popularity with Hispanic voters and Republican wins along the border.

B次元官网网址淭hey say the first time since Reconstruction. You know what Reconstruction means? That means the Civil War,B次元官网网址� Trump told the audience. B次元官网网址淚 said, B次元官网网址楪ive me a definition, governor, of Reconstruction. You said IB次元官网网址檓 the first one to win all of these towns since Reconstruction.B次元官网网址� He said, B次元官网网址榃ell, Reconstruction: since the Civil War.B次元官网网址� ThatB次元官网网址檚 a long time ago. ThatB次元官网网址檚 pretty good.B次元官网网址�

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump B次元官网网址渉as been very clear that heB次元官网网址檚 talking about criminals and terrorists who have crossed the border under Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 watch. When heB次元官网网址檚 back in the White House, the United States will return to a secure border and a system that places the safety and security of Americans first.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址楾he most savage crimeB次元官网网址�

The former presidentB次元官网网址檚 claims about Hitler are particularly notable given his upbringing in New York, home to one of the nationB次元官网网址檚 largest Jewish populations.

Trump has also participated in Holocaust memorial events. He spoke at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol hosted by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017, where he denounced Holocaust deniers as accomplices to B次元官网网址渉orrible evil.B次元官网网址� And he paid a brief visit to Yad Vashem, IsraelB次元官网网址檚 national Holocaust memorial, where he called the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews B次元官网网址渢he most savage crime against God and his children.B次元官网网址�

TrumpB次元官网网址檚 insistence that he has not read B次元官网网址淢ein KampfB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� an assertion he also made at an Iowa rally last week B次元官网网址� evoked a different Hitler book he once allegedly had in his possession.

Journalist Marie Brenner reported in Vanity Fair magazine in 1990 that TrumpB次元官网网址檚 ex-wife, Ivana Trump, told her lawyer that, B次元官网网址渇rom time to time her husband reads a book of HitlerB次元官网网址檚 collected speeches, B次元官网网址楳y New Order,B次元官网网址� which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed.B次元官网网址�

Trump told Brenner that, B次元官网网址渋t was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of B次元官网网址楳ein Kampf,B次元官网网址� and heB次元官网网址檚 a Jew.B次元官网网址� Davis confirmed to Brenner that he had indeed given Trump B次元官网网址漚 book about Hitler,B次元官网网址� but it was B次元官网网址淢y New Order, B次元官网网址� a collection of HitlerB次元官网网址檚 speeches. B次元官网网址淚 thought he would find it interesting,B次元官网网址� David said, adding, B次元官网网址淚 am his friend, but IB次元官网网址檓 not Jewish.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淟ater, Trump returned to this subject.,B次元官网网址� Brenner wrote. B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址業f I had these speeches, and I am not saying that I do, I would never read them,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Brenner wrote.

History

Knowing basic American history is important for a president, said, Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer, who studies political history.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 need a historian as president, but certainly you want a president with a feel for some of the basic parts of American history, of world history,B次元官网网址� he said, noting, for instance, that Reconstruction was a B次元官网网址渁 formative moment for civil rights and race relations.B次元官网网址�

In B次元官网网址淢ein Kampf,B次元官网网址� Hitler wrote that, B次元官网网址淎ll great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning.B次元官网网址�

Trump told Hewitt his message was B次元官网网址渧ery differentB次元官网网址� and he had B次元官网网址渮eroB次元官网网址� racist intent.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not a student of Hitler. I never read his works,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey say that he said something about blood. He didnB次元官网网址檛 say it the way I said it, either, by the way. ItB次元官网网址檚 a very different kind of a statement. What IB次元官网网址檓 saying when I talk about people coming into our country is they are destroying our country.B次元官网网址�

Still, he repeated B次元官网网址減oisoningB次元官网网址� references eight times.

Among those references: B次元官网网址淭hey are poisoning our country. They are poisoning the blood of our country. TheyB次元官网网址檙e coming from all over the world. TheyB次元官网网址檙e coming from prisons. TheyB次元官网网址檙e coming from mental institutions and insane asylums. TheyB次元官网网址檙e terrorists. Absolutely thatB次元官网网址檚 poisoning our country. ThatB次元官网网址檚 poisoning the blood of our country. And thatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 happening.B次元官网网址�

Jill Colvin, The Associated Press