Tennessee Republican Says Hitler’s Rise to Power After Homelessness Should Inspire Us

The Tennessee Senate was debating HB0978, a bill which seeks to criminalize the unhoused by making “solicitation or camping” next to a highway ramp a misdemeanor and punishes camping on public property. Niceley actually stood up and defended this bill with a little history lesson about how homelessness was actually good for Hitler:

“Mr. Speaker, I haven’t given you a history lesson in a little while, and I wanted to give you a little history on homelessness. Nineteen and ten [1910], Hitler decided to live on the streets for a while. So for two years, Hitler lived on the streets and practiced his oratory and his body language and how to connect with the masses and then went on to led a life that got him in the history books. So, lot of these people—it’s not a dead end. They can come out of these homeless camps and have a productive life. Or in Hitler’s case, a very unproductive life. I support this bill. Thank you.”

Yes, a state lawmaker is arguing that Hitler—the Nazi who, again, wanted to eradicate all Jewish people and gays and the disabled and Romani to build a so-called “master race”—bootstrapped his way to power. If just reading his quote hasn’t conveyed the full absurdity of this argument, I’d recommend watching the video:

The bill passed the Senate 22-10 on Wednesday and awaits the governor’s signature.