WASHINGTON: In a series of interviews with the New York Times, his former White House chief of staff stated that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump admires German dictator Adolf Hitler and would like to rule like an authoritarian if he returned to the White House.
John Kelly said in interviews that were published on Tuesday that the former president of the United States had told him that Hitler “did some good things.”
In previous interviews, Kelly has voiced her criticism of Trump. Because he is not privy to conversations going on inside Trump’s circle, he is unable to predict how Trump will rule.
The former aide stated, “Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist and prefers the dictator approach to government.”
Kelly told the Times that Trump had no idea what the rule of law or the US constitution were. The accounts were denied by Trump’s team.
According to the newspaper, Democratic presidential candidate Kelly said, “He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” The alleged remarks are troubling.
The former president has stated that he is certain to be on the far right, that he is authoritarian, and that he admires dictators. Therefore, he definitely fits the general definition of fascist.
Between 2017 and 2019, Trump’s White House chief of staff was retired Marine Corps general John Kelly. The two men’s relationship has deteriorated since Kelly left the White House, and they are both open about how much they despise one another.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, stated that Kelly “has totally embarrassed himself with these debunked stories.”
The Democratic presidential candidate for vice president, Kamala Harris, said on Wednesday that the alleged remarks were troubling.
She told reporters outside her official residence, “It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
Kamala Harris stated, “In a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guard rails against his (Trump’s) propensities and actions.”
Harris has taken advantage of remarks that Trump made in December at a Fox News event, in which he stated that if he won the election in 2024, he would be a dictator, but only on “Day One,” when he would close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Democrats like Kamala Harris say that Trump is a threat to democracy, which Trump denies and has said about the Democratic candidate.
Republican Steve Anderson, a retired US army brigadier general, expressed disappointment that Kelly did not endorse Harris following Harris’ criticism of Trump during a call with reporters hosted by the Harris campaign.
