Dr Daniel Geary, who is a published author, made the comment in an opinion piece he wrote for thejournal.ie website, which was published yesterday (Sunday, 4 December).
In his article, Dr Geary also urged Ireland “to oppose Trump’s racism and xenophobia”.
Expanding on why he believes Donald Trump is “the closest thing to Hitler Americans have ever seen”, Dr Geary wrote: “Trump rose to power as head of the birther movement that promoted the racist conspiracy that President Obama was not a native-born citizen. He has appointed as chief strategist Steve Bannon, a notorious white nationalist, anti-Semite, and conspiracy theorist.
“He has nominated Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, an old-school Alabama segregationist deemed too racist to hold a federal judgeship by a Republican Congress in 1986. If appointed, Sessions would almost certainly ignore his responsibility to protect the voting rights of African Americans.”
He also urged Ireland to stand up to the President-elect’s controversial views on immigration. “It is our duty as Irish citizens to oppose Trump’s racism and xenophobia. We owe this to our ancestors who emigrated to the U.S. at a time when Irish Catholics were the main target of nativist xenophobia, ancestors including my own great-grandfather Thomas Geary who was born in County Cork and settled in Chicago,” he wrote.
“Ireland has a particularly important role to play in American immigration policy, where its practical interests best conjoin with its moral obligations. It is vital that Ireland object to Trump’s plans for mass deportations and draconian restrictions on immigration.
“It would not surprise me if Trump offers to exempt Irish immigrants from the harsh regime he imposes on Mexicans and Muslims because we are white. We must reject any special deal for Ireland and insist that fair immigration policies apply equally to all regardless of race or religion.”