Filmmaker Ken Burns says DeSantis’ relocation of illegal immigrants 'out of the authoritarian playbook'

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns agreed with CNN anchor John Berman Thursday that Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., relocating illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard followed similar themes of authoritarianism found in Nazi Germany.

Burns claimed that DeSantis has devalued these migrants by making them "political pawns" in his "authoritarian game," and added that DeSantis’ actions, including his war on The Walt Disney Company, come "straight out of the authoritarian playbook."

The documentarian's comments came while appearing on CNN's "New Day" Thursday morning to promote his new PBS documentary, titled "The U.S. and the Holocaust." The film provides a historical account of politics in the United States in the lead up to World War II, focusing on the reality that most Americans at the time were unaware of the genocide Nazi Germany was perpetrating in Europe.

After spending a moment previewing the film for CNN viewers, Berman tied the film to the current political news surrounding DeSantis’ order to relocate illegal immigrants from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

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The anchor prompted Burns by saying that all of his documentaries "make you think about where we are now. And we woke up to the news this morning that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida sent two plane loads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts."

Though Berman denied that he was making a "one-for-one" comparison, or a "parallel" between Nazi Germany and DeSantis, he claimed that "it does address some of the same themes that are part of this documentary."

Without skipping a beat, Burns replied, "Well it’s the abstraction of human life. It’s basically saying that you can use a human life that is as valuable as yours or mine or Lynn’s, and to put it in a position of becoming a political pawn in somebody’s authoritarian game."

"This is coming straight out of the authoritarian playbook," Burns declared. He added, "This is what’s so disturbing about DeSantis, is to use human beings, to weaponize human beings for a political purpose."

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Burns mentioned the Florida governor’s clash with The Walt Disney Company over the so-called "Don’t Say Gay Bill" as evidence of this alleged authoritarianism. "It’s like when somebody disagrees with him in Florida, like The Walt Disney Company, he punishes them," Burns argued.

He insisted, "This is not the actions of a person participating in a democratic process in which there’s an exchange of ideas, this is about punishing political enemies, putting on shows, political shows, political theater, and in this case, this is with the lives of human beings."

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He continued, arguing that DeSantis should be wanting to take care of these people himself because they’re "Venezuelan refugees" who are "trying to flee the corruption of a left-wing government and all of the pain there."

Burns ended his point by re-iterating that themes of the Nazi era are present today with people such as DeSantis, saying, "And what we find in all our films is that the themes that we engage in the past are present today. And so, when you look at the story that we’re telling of the U.S. and the Holocaust, you understand that the time to save a democracy is before it’s lost, we promise you."

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