I’m not trying to toot my own horn when I say this, but on several occasions over the past six months or so I’ve said that Donald Trump is the most polarizing and divisive American political figure since George Wallace. And now my favorite host on MSNBC agrees with me.

On her show last night, Rachel Maddow said that Trump’s rhetorical style can be directly traced all the way back to Wallace’s unsuccessful bids for the White House in 1968 and 1972. As Maddow noted:

“Close your eyes and just listen to the news reports from that election, it’s almost like they’re talking about Donald Trump.”

Maddow proceeded to show news clips from Wallace’s failed bids for the Presidency. And she also played footage of protesters being violently removed from Wallace’s campaign events, much like they’ve been during numerous Trump rallies as he seeks the Republican nomination.

It was also pointed out by Maddow that Trump didn’t just materialize out of thin air. He also hinted at running in 2012, but then backed out. You may recall that was also when Trump began spreading the lie that President Obama wasn’t really an American citizen. As Rachel said near the end of the segment comparing Trump to the racist and xenophobic George Wallace (another similarity):

“Donald Trump has something that Republican voters like. They liked it the last time that he offered it to them for a short period of time. And now they like it this time, as well — it’s the same type of significant popularity. It just hasn’t gone away this time around because he hasn’t stopped running this time around like he did in 2012.”

Watch the Segment From “The Rachel Maddow Show”

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.