Ken Burns compares DeSantis sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard to Nazis

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns compared Florida’s decision to send undocumented immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard to the rise of Nazi Germany before the Holocaust. 

The longtime Democratic donor made the comparison on Thursday during an interview with CNN promoting his new film, “The U.S. and the Holocaust.”

Burns told host John Berman that his upcoming film addressed “some of the themes” seen in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to send migrants to Massachusetts. 

Earlier this week, DeSantis sent two planes full of undocumented migrants to the wealthy vacation spot, following up on his promise to send migrants to democratic states. Burns called DeSantis’ move an “abstraction of human life.” 

“This is what’s so disturbing about DeSantis — to use human beings, to weaponize human beings for a political purpose,” he claimed. “It’s like when somebody disagrees with him in Florida — like the Walt Disney Company — he punishes them.”

“This is not the actions of a person participating in a democratic process in which there’s an exchange of ideas,” he said, adding that the move “is coming straight out of the authoritarian playbook.”

“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.”

“What we find in our all films is that the themes that we engage in the past are present today,” the director continued. “And so, when you look at the story that we’re telling of the US and the Holocaust, you understand that the time to save a democracy is before it’s lost. We promise you.”

Burns's comments sparked outrage on social media, with many criticizing him for comparing DeSantis’ decision to the Holocaust. 

“The horrors! This is genocide!” said Fox News host Tucker Carlson “Martha’s Vineyard may be a modern-day death camp, but compared to where illegal aliens usually go, it doesn’t look that bad.”

“He sent them to a place that is a bucket list for us little people,” someone tweeted.