John Kelly says Donald Trump fits the 'fascist' definition and prefers a 'dictatorial approach'

CNN
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John Kelly, the retired Marine general who was Donald Trump's White House chief of staff, entered the fray in stunning fashion in 2024, saying the former president “fits the general definition of fascist” and wants the “kind of generals who “Hitler had” in a series of interviews published on Tuesday.

Kelly's comments, two weeks before Election Day, are the latest in a series of warnings from former Trump White House aides about how he views the presidency and how he would wield power if he returns to office.

In addition to the fascist comments, Kelly — who was Trump's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019 — told The New York Times that the former president “certainly prefers the dictatorial approach of government.”

He also confirmed to The Atlantic that Trump had said he wished his military personnel would show him the same deference that Adolf Hitler's Nazi generals gave the German dictator during World War II and recounted that moment.

“'Do you mean Bismarck's generals?'” Kelly told The Atlantic he asked Trump. He added: “I mean, I knew he didn't know who Bismarck was or anything about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, “Do you mean the emperor’s generals?” Surely you can’t mean that Hitler's Generals?' And he said, 'Yes, yes, Hitler's generals.' I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after he took part in a conspiracy against Hitler.”

Trump's campaign team denied the exchange. “That is absolutely wrong. President Trump never said that,” said campaign adviser Alex Pfeiffer.

But Democrats quickly seized on the comments. Kamala Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said at a rally in Wisconsin Tuesday night that reported comments about Hitler's generals “make me sick as hell.”

“Guys, the guard rails are gone. “Trump is falling into this madness – a former president of the United States and presidential candidate of the United States saying he wants generals like Adolf Hitler,” said Walz, who served in the Army National Guard.

'Meaningful moment': Haberman responds to John Kelly's Trump comments

Kelly's comments come in the final days of Trump's race against Harris, as he seeks to return to the Oval Office four years after losing an election he has falsely claimed was rife with fraud.

Trump has mused in recent speeches and interviews about using the U.S. military against political rivals he has called an “enemy within” – comments that Harris has cited as evidence that the former president is “unhinged.” and represents a threat to democratic values.

“This is a democracy,” she told Fox News last week. “And in a democracy, the president of the United States — in the United States of America — should be willing to deal with criticism without saying he would lock people up for it.”

As the Times reported, Kelly criticized Trump's “enemy within” comments, saying, “Even if I'm saying it for political reasons, to get elected, I think it's a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it.” to do.”

The newspaper reported that Kelly was asked in a recorded interview whether the former president met the definition of a fascist and responded by reading a definition he found online.

“Well, when I look at the definition of fascism: It is a far-right authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, violent suppression of opposition, and belief in a natural social hierarchy Kelly said. “In my experience, those are certainly the things that he believes would work better in terms of running America.”

Kelly continued: “The former president is certainly on the far right, he's definitely an authoritarian, he admires people who are dictators – that's what he said. “So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.”

Kelly told the Times that Trump “never accepted the fact that he wasn't the most powerful man in the world — and by power I mean the ability to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.”

“I think he would like to be like he did in business – he could tell people to do things and they would do them and not worry too much about the legalities and what not,” he said.

He also said Trump doesn't understand the Constitution or the values ​​on which the nation was built and that it is “a new concept for him” that the loyalty of senior government officials is to the Constitution and not to the president personally.

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement that Kelly had “completely embarrassed himself with these debunked stories he fabricated because he did not serve his president well during his tenure as chief of staff and is currently suffering from a debilitating case of Trump deangement.” syndrome suffers.” ”

The journalist who is on record speaking to General John Kelly describes the interview

Kelly also told the Times that Trump praised Hitler.

“He said more than once, 'You know, Hitler did some good things too,'” Kelly said.

Kelly's comments to the newspaper were published the same day. The Atlantic reported that Trump praised Hitler's generals for their loyalty.

“I need the kind of generals Hitler had,” Trump said during a private conversation at the White House while he was president, The Atlantic reported. “People who were completely loyal to him, who followed orders.”

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday night that Trump's admiration for Hitler was perhaps the “most shocking thing” Kelly had heard in the White House.

“Remember that throughout his presidency, Donald Trump was frustrated with the generals – or 'my generals,' as he called them – because they wouldn't mindlessly listen to him or follow his orders,” Goldberg said.

American military officers such as generals swear by the Constitution, not the commander in chief.

Trump reportedly made similar comments about Hitler and his generals.

CNN's Jim Sciutto previously reported in his book “The Return of Great Powers” that Trump allegedly praised Hitler, saying: “Hitler did some good things,” according to Kelly.

“He said, 'Well, but Hitler did some good things.' I said, “Well, what?” And he said, “Well, (Hitler) rebuilt the economy.” But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, “Sir, you can never say anything good about that guy.” “Nothing,” Kelly Sciutto said. “I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.”

“However, it's pretty hard to believe that he missed the Holocaust, and it's pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs who were killed in the European theater,” Kelly told Sciutto. “But I think it’s more of a tough guy thing.”

A book published in 2022 also said Trump told Kelly, “Why can't you be like the German generals?” Trump's comments during his time as president were reported by reporters Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in “The Divider: Trump in the White House” reports.

Kelly confirmed the exchange with Trump to The Atlantic.

The article features a series of stories that The Atlantic uses to illustrate Trump's views on the military and his desires for the military's performance under his command. In addition to covering the former president's thoughts on the loyalty of Nazi generals, The Atlantic reported that Trump was angry when he was told how much it cost to bury a fallen service member after he volunteered to pay for it.

The Atlantic reported that Trump told the family of Fort Hood Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, who was beaten to death with a hammer at the armory where she worked, said he would pay for funeral expenses but never did.

When he received the $60,000 bill, the Atlantic newspaper reported – citing two people present at the meeting and the notes of one attendee – that Trump said: “It doesn't cost $60,000 to bury a Mexican king !”

Trump told his then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and instructed him not to pay the funeral bill. Later that day, Trump reportedly said: “Damn people, they're trying to rip me off.”

“President Donald Trump never said that. “This is an outrageous lie from the Atlantic two weeks before the election,” said Pfeiffer.

CNN's Alayna Treene contributed to this report.