Ex-chief of staff criticizes Trump for Hitler talk

Retired Gen. John Kelly, who served as White House chief of staff during the Trump administration, said former President Trump spoke favorably of Adolf Hitler, saying the Nazi leader was doing “some good things” and that there was a growing number of people in the military. He recalled several conversations that he said inspired loyalty. .

Kelly spoke about the conversation in an interview with CNN anchor and chief national security analyst Jim Schutt. He is publishing this conversation as part of his new book, The Rise of Great Powers.

a book preview Written by Sciutto was published on Monday.

“He said, ‘Well, but Hitler did some good things,'” Kelly said of his conversation with Trump.

“I said, ‘So what?’ And he said, ‘Well, [Hitler] Rebuilt the economy. ” But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his people and the world. And I said, “Sir, you can never say anything nice about that guy.” Nothing,” Kelly told Schutt, recounting how he responded to this then-boss. .

Kelly said he told President Trump that Mussolini, the Italian fascist leader and ally of Hitler, “was a great man in comparison.”

According to Schutt’s book, Kelly and other former Trump advisers believe the former president’s favorable words about Hitler reflect his views on dictators past and present. .

Mr. Schutt wrote that Kelly and others told him, “We believe that their admiration for these men stems from envy of their power.”

Former national security adviser John Bolton, who had a falling out with former President Donald Trump, told Schutt that Trump “thinks he’s a great guy,” adding, “He’s a big deal with other bigwigs and Turkey.” “I like hanging out with big names like Erdogan,” he added. You can put people in jail and you don’t have to get anyone’s permission. He likes that kind of thing. ”

Bolton mentioned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. President Trump has also come under scrutiny for his Friday meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which President Biden criticized.

In a statement, Trump’s press secretary, Stephen Chan, criticized both Kelly and Bolton for their past critical comments about Trump.

“John Kerry and John Bolton are completely bewildered and suffering from severe Trump Derangement Syndrome. They have had their empty lives consumed by hate and need to seek professional help. “There is,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Kelly told Mr. Schutt that it was difficult for him to understand what he described as a blind spot in how President Trump thinks about Hitler.

“That said, it’s pretty hard to believe that he missed the Holocaust, and it’s pretty hard to understand how he could have missed the 400,000 American soldiers killed on the European front,” Kelly told Shoots. Told. “But again, I think it’s a tough guy thing.”

Kelly also said that Trump admired Nazi officers’ loyalty to Hitler, and lamented that Trump himself was unable to maintain the same level of loyalty.

“He talked about the issue of loyalty, and when I pointed out to him that the German generals were not loyal to him as a group and had actually tried to assassinate him on several occasions. I asked him how he tried to assassinate him, and he didn’t know about it,” Kelly told Shute.

“When he brought us the general, he truly believed that we would be loyal and that he would do whatever he wanted,” Kelly added.

Mr. Kelly told Mr. Schutt that Mr. Trump is “not a tough guy, in fact quite the opposite,” adding, “but that’s how he envisions himself.”

— Updated at 12:24 p.m.