Fresno State student newspaper editorial compares Trump to Hitler

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A student newspaper editorial is comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. It made the front page of the Collegian on Monday and the editor-in-chief says he stands by every word.

Troy Pope doesn't always print his opinion but when he does, controversy tends to follow, "I've written some pretty opinionated pieces that have gotten me hate mail but never like this," Pope said.

The opening line in his editorial reads, "Trump's America is the Fourth Rech," printed under the headline, "Trump is going to get us all killed."

Ethan Thao who is a student said, "What he's saying does make a point."

For Cindy Vang who is also a student, it's a little extreme, "It's more bold than I would have liked, there's a more subtle way of going about it."

Still, it grabbed Vang's attention, "they put his head over Hitler and made it look like he's hailing," she said as she pointed at an illustration in the paper.

It's a visual comparison to match Pope's words and for the first time in the history of the paper, he says opinion is on the front page-- it was his call and his staff got behind it after Trump won the South Carolina primary. "It's not common, right? And it shouldn't be common," Pope added, "it should only be done when there's something at stake and I think our way of life is at stake here."

He doesn't call the editorial a stunt but he does admit, it's part of a bigger change for the paper. "It's not up and coming, right? It has been around forever and it has to figure out how to adapt to survive so we've been going bigger and bolder," Pope said.

Sophia Aragon who once worked for the Collegian said, "I picked it up last weekend and this week because it looks different so it's working if I'm picking it up."

The Collegian updated its website to clarify the editorial is not a news story and it doesn't reflect the views of Fresno State.