The two-second Google search might have been aided by a few seconds more spent reading it if it were to help serve as Exhibit A. I vaguely remember the hand-raising now, but honestly, that sort of thing doesn't register as much with me - nor, I would argue, does it with most rational-minded voters - who are typically drawn more to the platform the candidate is running on, history of legislative support/creation, past acts of character, etc.
In 2016, Trump ran primarily on building the wall that Mexico would pay for, banning Muslims from entering the country, repealing and replacing the ACA, tax cuts "especially for the middle class", the creation of "25 million new jobs", and "draining the swamp." His platform came across as a patchwork of xenophobic fear-mongering and populist glad-handing from a career con man and reality TV personality whose business ventures over the years saw as many lows as they did highs. Hope of a turn in character were felled when the Access Hollywood tape dropped. Having to see that person as fit to lead any business was concerning, much less the most important job in the country.
Circling back to your article, that Trump was asked about the hand-raising and its resemblance to a Nazi salute does not make for an example of "hysterical criticism" from your alleged "establishment" of Dems and media. It falls more into the flawed circular reasoning bucket that is often attached to Trump: 1) Trump positions himself as a victim just trying to MAGA; 2) Trump's words/actions raise legitimate concern (whether with members of the electorate or its authorities); 3) Trump is confronted over said words/actions; 4) Trump is a victim of the hysterical media, weaponized justice system, Dems, etc... and just wants to MAGA.
If there was ever a time to argue to just "ignore Trump's antics" (and there really wasn't) it was in 2016, and that's what happened: many stayed home on election night. Four years later we witnessed firsthand what Trump's antics can result in as he declared Covid a "hoax" and that it would "go away by Easter when the weather starts to warm up." The US would go on to account for over 17% of the world's Covid deaths, while possessing only 4% of its population.
By then voters were no longer ignoring Trump's antics, showing up in record numbers in 2020, and he was voted out. Yet Trump still had more antics, culminating with an attack on the Capitol and an attempt to subvert the cornerstone of our democracy. More Trump antics ensued, as recordings of his phone call with officials in Georgia came to light, with Trump pressuring them to find him 11,070 votes and turn the state in his favor. He finally left the White House in a huff, refused multiple requests to return classified documents to the National Archives, resulting in a raid on Mar-A-Lago, which Trump declared was Biden weaponizing the justice system. Even more Trump antics were brought to light as he was found civilly liable for sexual assault and guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud... all of which he declared was more lawfare as he flew around the country over the next four years, conducting rallies pushing the Big Lie and proclaiming himself a martyr. Meanwhile, those that trusted him and got involved in his antics were sued, disbarred, jailed. Others lost their lives.
America has been fed a steady dose of Trump's antics for nearly 15 years now, dating back to the birther movement days. We've suffered many consequences, both as a nation and a society (and considering the three Supreme Court justices he got to appoint, could be feeling the effects for a few decades more).
So pointing to an article from 2016 that cites a former Mexican President, Anne Frank's stepsister, and a former Republican governor of New Jersey all commenting that his plans and actions seemed reminiscent of Hitler, and use it to castigate Dems and the media for those choosing to vote Trump, while advising everyone just needs to ignore his antics, comes off as extremely myopic.