A Deadly Game

Chancellor Gen. Kurt von Schleicher

Last night Mr. Trump said his political opponent will be in jail if he is elected President of the United States. He will direct his Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to review Sec. Clinton’s role in the alleged missing / destruction of email messages and then jail her.

A history buff, I could not remember a previous presidential candidate declaring his competitor will be jailed upon his assumption of U.S. Presidential powers.

However, Mr. Trump’s declaration did dredge-up a dark historical similarity in my mind.

Seventeen months after German president, Field Marshal von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor of the German Weimar Republic (30 Jan 1933), Hitler ordered the assassination of his predecessor Chancellor, Gen Kurt von Schleicher. That was 30 June 1934, during what became known as the Night of the Long Knives.

Politics can become a deadly game - especially for the losing candidate.