‘Wanna hear something scary?’: Trump eerily recreates dictatorship history with the National Prayer Service controversy

A TikTok user recently pointed out how Donald Trump eerily recreated a historical moment involving Croatian dictator Ante Pavelić following the National Prayer Service.

Trump attended a service at the Washington National Cathedral as part of his inauguration ceremony. Bishop Mariann Budde delivered a 15-minute service during which she made a very simple plea to Trump: Show mercy. Budde pleaded with him to have mercy, especially on the children of America, including the LGBTQ+ children who fear for their lives. She also asked him to have mercy on undocumented immigrants, many of whom are productive and important members of America’s communities. It shouldn’t have been a controversial moment. When implored to have mercy on the children and most vulnerable, every President of the United States should readily pledge to do so. However, Trump flew into a rage, penning a scathing Truth Social post in which he tried to intimidate Budde into apologizing for daring to mention “mercy” to him.

One TikTok user noticed that the incident was almost an exact recreation of a moment in history when Adolf Hitler’s ally Pavelić flew into a rage when reminded of a simple Biblical principle.

Donald Trump parallels Ante Pavelić

TikTok user Victoria Therese recently pointed out the startling parallel between Trump and Pavelić. She starts her video by asking, “You wanna hear something scary about history repeating itself?” Therese explains that Budde calling out Trump during her sermon was very similar to something that happened in Croatia in 1942. Reading from Balkan Ghosts by Robert D. Kaplan, she tells the story of how Archbishop Stepinac stood on the steps of Zagreb Cathedral in 1942 to greet Pavelić while holding bread and salt in his hands. She reads, “Looking into the dictator’s eyes, Stepinac intoned, ‘The sixth commandment says, Thou shalt not kill!'” Pavelić was so enraged that he refused to enter into the cathedral.

It’s impossible to miss the parallels between that historical moment and what took place between Trump and Budde. In both cases, a religious leader found the courage to challenge a powerful man by reminding him of what the Bible says about murder and mercy. In both cases, the reminder wouldn’t phase the average person, whether religious or not. Most people agree that you should not kill but should show mercy. However, Pavelić took the bishop’s statement as a rebuke because he was a murderer. In Croatia, he founded the Ustaše, a fascist and ultranationalist military organization. The Ustaše came to power after being appointed by the Axis powers to oversee the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany. Under Pavelić, the Independent State of Croatia oversaw the genocide of Serbs. It’s estimated over 350,000 Serbs were killed in Croatia, along with tens of thousands of Jews and Roma.

Obviously, Trump’s crimes aren’t near the level of Pavelić’s, but it’s quite eerie that his behavior so closely resembles that of the dictator. A simple plea or reminder for humanity set him into a rage, just like Pavelić’s rage at being told not to kill. Trump’s actions make it quite clear that he saw Budde’s statement as a rebuke or insult, either because he knows he is not merciful or because he feels that expectations of mercy and humanity threaten his power. It’s reassuring, though, that some people can see these parallels. As George Santayana once stated, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”