"Rhetoric does not get you anywhere, because Hitler and Mussolini are just as good at rhetoric. But if you can bring these people down with comedy, they stand no chance"

Mel Brooks is promoting for the power of funny over rhetoric. He thinks that rhetoric alone is insufficient to encourage people or bring down harmful leaders like Hitler and Mussolini, who were experienced orators themselves. Instead, Brooks recommends that humor is a more reliable tool to deactivate and mock these individuals, making them seem more foolish and for that reason reducing their power and impact.