Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is defending her record of condemning antisemitism after past comments from a congressional candidate she endorsed apparently praising Adolf Hitler resurfaced.
Carl Paladino, a Republican running for a House seat in New York, apologized for his February 2021 remarks that he was impressed with how Hitler’s followers were “hypnotized” by him. The comments were met with backlash earlier this week, with state leaders criticizing Stefanik for backing the candidate in his bid for Congress.
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“Congresswoman Stefanik has one of the strongest records in the U.S. Congress condemning antisemitism and led and passed bipartisan legislation to expand Holocaust education,” a representative for Stefanik told the Washington Examiner.
Although he did not condone Hitler’s actions in the year-old comments, Paladino expressed regret for the comparison, telling a local outlet he should have cited a different historical leader and lamenting his intended message was drowned out by invoking the German dictator.
“Any implication that I support Hitler or any of the sick and disgusting actions of the Nazi regime is a new low for the media,” Paladino said in a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner. “The context of my statement was in regards to something I heard on the radio from someone else and was repeating, I understand that invoking Hitler in any context is a serious mistake and rightfully upsets people. I strongly condemn the murderous atrocities committed against the Jewish people by Hitler and the Nazis.”
The congressional hopeful made the comments in a now-deleted interview with r-House Radio Show in February 2021. During the segment, Paladino suggested the Republican Party should emulate Hitler’s style to energize its voter base.
“He would get up there screaming these epithets, and these people were just — they were hypnotized by him,” he said in the interview. “I guess, I guess that’s the kind of leader we need today. We need somebody inspirational. We need somebody that is a doer.”
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Stefanik has helped introduce and pass legislation seeking to fund education on the Holocaust in schools nationwide as well as resolutions to condemn antisemitic actions “in all forms.”
Paladino waded into the race for New York’s 27th Congressional District last week after incumbent Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) dropped his reelection bid following backlash for his support of some gun restrictions in the wake of a mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. His candidacy sets the stage for a competitive primary against state Republican Party Chairman Nicholas Langworthy. The district is expected to lean Republican, but some in the GOP have hoped to gain a comfortable lead early so the party could focus on flipping other seats in a bid to gain control of the House in November.
