WATCH: Colombia’s Right-Wing Candidate Once Declared Admiration For 'Great Thinker' Adolf Hitler
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One of the two candidates who’ll be facing off in the second round of Colombia’s presidential elections next month was forced to apologize in 2021 for pronouncing himself an “admirer” of the notorious Nazi leader responsible for killing millions of Jews, Roma, and Soviet civilians.
Recently-unearthed footage on social media shows Rodolfo Hernandez, the right-wing ‘populist’ candidate who’s headed for next month’s presidential runoff in Colombia, once declared his support for Adolf Hitler. While giving an interview to Colombia’s RCN Radio in 2016, the wealthy business explained:
“I’m an admirer of a great German thinker. His name is Adolf Hitler.”
Here's Rodolfo Hernandez, the right-wing 'populist' candidate who'll be competing in Colombia's runoff election next month, telling RCN Radio in 2016:
— Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13) May 30, 2022
"I'm an admirer of a great German thinker. His name is Adolf Hitler." pic.twitter.com/275uzQWQpA
Footage of the full incident shows this declaration of support for the infamous nazi leader was met with incredulity by the hosts, but, apparently undeterred, Hernandez urged his interviewers to “listen to [Hitler’s] recommendations”:
“Don’t act like things will change if we always do the same.”
One of the presenters quickly noted that internationally-renowned physicist Albert Einstein “said the same thing, that one possible definition of human stupidity is for you to do the same thing over and over expecting different results,” before informing the then-Mayor of Bucaramanga that “Hitler was certainly not a great thinker at all.” Another host subsequently recommends that “perhaps” it would be “better” to quote Einstein instead.
Footage of the conversation went viral in Colombia in 2021, prompting Hernandez to take to Twitter in hopes of salvaging his reputation five years after his declaration of admiration for the notorious Nazi dictator.
“Regarding the Hitler thing, I apologize, anyone can have a slip [of the tongue] and I was wrong. The phrase was not his, it was Einstein's. I apologize to the Jewish community and to all the Colombian people”.
#AlAire🔴 con @WRadioColombia “Frente a lo de Hitler pido mil disculpas, cualquiera tiene un lapsus y me equivoqué. La frase no era de él, era de Einstein. Pido mil disculpas a la comunidad judía y a todo el pueblo Colombiano”. pic.twitter.com/uLeMVcajN7
— Ing Rodolfo Hernandez 🇨🇴! (@ingrodolfohdez) August 17, 2021
