Donald Trump has been compared to Hitler by some famous and influential people lately.  But rest assured, Mr. Trump will likely not cross the Rubicon and break America’s increasingly tenuous grip on Republican governance.  

For one thing, it is hard to envision how a man of almost 70 who spent his entire life working in the private sector could be a Hitler due to his age.  History shows that becoming a despot is a young(ish) man’s game.  Here are twenty of the worst despots of the past two centuries, along with their ages when they became the head of state, to illustrate my point:

Mao Zedong was 55 when he assumed control of China as the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Joseph Stalin was 44 when he became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Adolf Hitler was 43 when he became Führer of Germany.

King Leopold II was 30 when he became King of the Belgians.

Hideki Tojo was 56 when he became Prime Minister of Japan.

Pol Pot was 37 when he became the General Secretary of his party, and would become prime minister at 49.

Kim Il Sung was 33 when he became the Premier of North Korea.

Mengistu Haile Mariam was 39 when he became the Chairman of the Derg and Head of State of Ethiopia.

Yakubu Gowon was 31 when he became the Chairman of the Derg and Head of State of Ethiopia.

Jean Kambanda was 38 when he became the Prime Minister of Rwanda.

Saddam Hussein was 42 when he became the Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch.

Vladimir Lenin was 50 when he finally wrested control of Russia following the civil war that succeeded the October Revolution.

Bashar Al Assad was 34 when he became the President of Syria.

Hugo Chavez was 44 when he became the President of Venezuela.

Fidel Castro was 32 when he became the President of Cuba.

Idi Amin became President of Uganda when he was around 46, but nobody knows quite when he was born.

Ho Chi Minh was 55 when he became the first prime minister of North Vietnam.

Francisco Franco was 46 when he became the Caudillo of Spain.

Benito Mussolini was 39 when he became Prime Minister of Italy.

Hirohito was 25 when he became emperor.

In other words, men who yearn to wield unchecked power over a country get on with it before they’re eligible for Social Security. ...