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Tags: Bill Weld | Trump | Immigrants | Deportation | Troubling

Bill Weld: Trump's Mexican Border Wall Much Like Building Berlin Wall

Bill Weld: Trump's Mexican Border Wall Much Like Building Berlin Wall
Bill Weld. (AP)

By    |   Monday, 30 May 2016 08:38 AM EDT

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who was named as the Libertarian Party's vice-presidential nominee over the the weekend, said Monday that he has not called Donald Trump a Nazi or a fascist, but he does find  the GOP presumptive nominee's call to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and his statements against Mexico "troubling."

"I was asked, 'Do you think Mr. Trump is a Nazi or a Fascist?' and I said , No,'" Weld told CNN's Chris Cuomo on the "New Day" program Monday.

"I said, however, if you are rounding up 11 million people because of their status as not having their papers in order and deporting them, that's very troubling. And rounding up 11 million people doesn't strike me as the American way to do things."

However, earlier this month, Weld likened Trump's proposal in an interview with The New York Times, to Kristallnacht, referencing the two-day assault against Jews by Nazis in 1938, saying that when he heard Trump's  plan he could "hear the glass crunching on Kristallnacht in the ghettos of Warsaw and Vienna.

And, said Weld, Trump wants to build a huge wall along the Mexican border and pay for it by seizing money remittances that Mexicans in the United States are sending back to their families, and he thinks that is much like the building of the Berlin wall.

"What was the most famous wall of the 20th century?" said Weld. "It was the Berlin Wall which was a stain and a shame on the whole Soviet empire, and ultimately Ronald Reagan stood in front of that wall and said, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'"

"Mexico will do the same thing in a few years saying, 'Mr. Trump, tear down this wall' and Mr. Trump will have to do it because he's on the wrong side of history."

And Trump has already attacked Weld, telling The New York Times through a spokesman and later tweeting that he doesn't talk about Weld's "alcoholism, so why would he talk about my foolishly perceived fascism?"

He has not elaborated about the alcoholism comment, but a 2006 New York magazine profile of Weld touched on the drinking subject while the former Massachusetts governor was running in the New York gubernatorial race.

Weld on Monday told Cuomo he was just going to let Trump's attack "ride," as he is "not going to be in the business of trading insults as was done during the primary season on the Republican side.

"I'm just going to let it go and it doesn't matter what else happens. I've been in politics a long time. I checked my privacy at the door a long time ago and was happy to do it."

Meanwhile, Weld said he and Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, have a realistic chance to impact the election, as "two, two-term governors is a lot of executive experience. I think people will give us a look."

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Politics
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who was named as the Libertarian Party's vice-presidential nominee over the the weekend, said Monday that he has not called Donald Trump a Nazi or a fascist, but he does find the GOP presumptive nominee's call to deport millions of...
Bill Weld, Trump, Immigrants, Deportation, Troubling
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2016-38-30
Monday, 30 May 2016 08:38 AM
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