Ideas

The MAGA Influencers Rehabilitating Hitler

A growing constituency on the right wants America to unlearn the lessons of World War II.

First published in The Atlantic on September 3, 2025

by Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic
September 4, 2025 | reading time: 9 Min.
The story we got about World War II is all wrong,” a guest told Tucker Carlson on his podcast two weeks ago. “I think that’s right,” replied Carlson. The guest, a Cornell chemistry professor named David Collum, then spelled out what he meant: “One can make the argument we should have sided with Hitler and fought Stalin.” Such sentiments might sound shocking to the uninitiated, but they are not to Carlson’s audience. In fact, the notion that the German dictator was unfairly maligned has become a running theme on Carlson’s show—and beyond..

© SZ - You can acquire rights to the article here.