Vice President Kamala Harris said that she believes that Donald Trump B次元官网网址渋s a fascistB次元官网网址� after his longest-serving chief of staff said the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office and put personal loyalty above the Constitution.
Harris seized on comments by former chief of staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, about his former boss in interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic published Tuesday warning that the Republican nominee meets the definition of a fascist and that Trump, while in office, suggested that the Nazi leader B次元官网网址渄id some good things.B次元官网网址�
Speaking at a CNN town hall Wednesday night, Harris said they offer a window into who the former president B次元官网网址渞eally isB次元官网网址� and the kind of commander in chief he would be.
When asked if she believed that Trump is a fascist, Harris replied twice, B次元官网网址淵es, I do.B次元官网网址� Later, she brought it up herself, saying Trump would, if elected again, be B次元官网网址渁 president who admires dictators and is a fascist.B次元官网网址�
The Democratic presidential nominee said KellyB次元官网网址檚 comments, less than two weeks before voters will decide whether to send Trump back to the Oval Office, were a B次元官网网址�911 call to the American peopleB次元官网网址� by the former chief of staff. They were quickly seized by Harris as part of her closing message to voters as she works to sharpen the choice at the ballot box for Americans.
B次元官网网址淚 believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of the United States of America,B次元官网网址� she said, saying the American people deserve a president who maintains B次元官网网址渃ertain standards,B次元官网网址� which include B次元官网网址渃ertainly not comparing oneself, in a clearly admiring way, to Hitler.B次元官网网址�
She added that if reelected, Trump would no longer be tempered by people who would B次元官网网址渞estrain himB次元官网网址� from his worst impulses.
Earlier Wednesday, Harris repeated her increasingly dire warnings about TrumpB次元官网网址檚 mental fitness and his intentions for the presidency.
B次元官网网址淭his is a window into who Donald Trump really is, from the people who know him best, from the people who have worked with him side by side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room,B次元官网网址� Harris told reporters outside the vice presidentB次元官网网址檚 residence in Washington.
The comments from Kelly, the retired Marine general who worked for Trump in the White House from 2017 to 2019, built on past warnings from former top Trump officials as the election enters its final two weeks.
Kelly has long been critical of Trump and previously accused him of killed in combat B次元官网网址渟uckersB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渓osers.B次元官网网址� His new warnings emerged as Trump seeks a second term vowing to at home and suggesting he would use force to go after Americans he considers B次元官网网址渆nemies from within.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗e commented more than once that, B次元官网网址榊ou know, Hitler did some good things, too,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Kelly . Kelly said he would usually quash the conversation by saying B次元官网网址渘othing (Hitler) did, you could argue, was good,B次元官网网址� but Trump would occasionally bring up the topic again.
In his , Kelly recalled that when Trump raised the idea of needing B次元官网网址淕erman generals,B次元官网网址� Kelly would ask if he meant B次元官网网址淏ismarckB次元官网网址檚 generals,B次元官网网址� referring to Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor who oversaw the unification of Germany. B次元官网网址淪urely you canB次元官网网址檛 mean HitlerB次元官网网址檚 generals,B次元官网网址� Kelly recalled asking Trump. To which the former president responded, B次元官网网址淵eah, yeah, HitlerB次元官网网址檚 generals.B次元官网网址�
Trump said on his Truth Social media platform that Kelly had B次元官网网址渕ade up a storyB次元官网网址� and went on to heap insults on his former chief of staff, including that KellyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渢oughness morphed into weakness.B次元官网网址�
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 campaign also denied the accounts. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Kelly had B次元官网网址渂eclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricatedB次元官网网址� and, after HarrisB次元官网网址� statement, accused the Democratic candidate of sharing B次元官网网址渙utright lies and falsehoods.B次元官网网址�
Chris Sununu, New HampshireB次元官网网址檚 Republican governor and onetime Trump critic, said KellyB次元官网网址檚 comments did not change his plans to vote for the former president.
B次元官网网址淟ook, weB次元官网网址檝e heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. ItB次元官网网址檚 really par for the course,B次元官网网址� the governor told CNN. B次元官网网址淯nfortunately, with a guy like that, itB次元官网网址檚 kind of baked into the vote at this point.B次元官网网址�
Some of the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 supporters in swing states responded to KellyB次元官网网址檚 comments with a shrug.
B次元官网网址淭rump did his four years, and we were in great shape. Kelly didnB次元官网网址檛 have anything good to say about Trump. He ought to have his butt kicked,B次元官网网址� said Jim Lytner, a longtime advocate for veterans in Nevada who served in the Army in Vietnam and co-founded the nonprofit Veterans Transition Resource Center.
Harris said Wednesday that Trump admired HitlerB次元官网网址檚 generals because he B次元官网网址渄oes not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution, he wants a military that is loyal to him. He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally.B次元官网网址�
Polls show the race is tight in swing states, and both Trump and Harris are crisscrossing the country making their final pitches to the sliver of undecided voters. HarrisB次元官网网址� campaign has spent considerable time reaching out to independent voters, using the support of longtime Republicans such as former Rep. Liz Cheney and comments like KellyB次元官网网址檚 to urge past Trump voters to reject his candidacy in November.
HarrisB次元官网网址� campaign held a call with reporters Tuesday to elevate the voices of retired military officials who highlighted how .
B次元官网网址淧eople that know him best are most opposed to him, his presidency,B次元官网网址� said retired Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson.
Anderson said he wished Kelly would fully back Harris over Trump, something he has yet to do. But retired Army Reserve Col. Kevin Carroll, a former senior counselor to Kelly, said Wednesday that the former top Trump official would B次元官网网址渞ather chew broken glass than vote for Donald Trump.B次元官网网址�
Before serving as TrumpB次元官网网址檚 chief of staff, Kelly worked as the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 secretary of homeland security, where he oversaw TrumpB次元官网网址檚 attempts to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Kelly was also at the forefront of the administrationB次元官网网址檚 crackdown in immigration policy that led to the separation of thousands of immigrant parents and their children along the southern border. Those actions made him a villain to many on the left, including Harris.
After Kelly left the Trump administration and of a company operating the nationB次元官网网址檚 largest detention center for unaccompanied migrant children, Harris wrote during her 2019 run for president that he was B次元官网网址渢he architectB次元官网网址� of the administrationB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渃ruel child separation policy. Now he will profit off the separation of families. ItB次元官网网址檚 unethical. We are better than this.B次元官网网址�
When she was in Miami for a primary debate in June 2019, Harris was also one of a dozen Democratic presidential candidates who visited the detention center south of the city and protested against the administrationB次元官网网址檚 harsh treatment of young migrants.
In his interview with the Times, Kelly also said Trump met the definition of a fascist. After reading the definition aloud, including that fascism was B次元官网网址渁 far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader,B次元官网网址� Kelly concluded Trump B次元官网网址渃ertainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.B次元官网网址�
Kelly added that Trump often fumed at any attempt to constrain his power, and that B次元官网网址渉e would love to beB次元官网网址� a dictator.
B次元官网网址淗e certainly prefers the dictator approach to government,B次元官网网址� Kelly told the Times, adding later, B次元官网网址淚 think heB次元官网网址檇 love to be just like he was in business B次元官网网址� he could tell people to do things and they would do it, and not really bother too much about whether what the legalities were and whatnot.B次元官网网址�
Kelly is not the first former top Trump administration official to cast the former president as a threat.
Retired Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, who served as TrumpB次元官网网址檚 chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Trump was B次元官网网址渇ascist to the coreB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渢he most dangerous person to this country.B次元官网网址� And retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who worked as secretary of defense under Trump, that he agreed with MilleyB次元官网网址檚 assessment.
Throughout TrumpB次元官网网址檚 political rise, the businessman-turned-politician benefited from the support of military veterans.
AP VoteCast that about 6 in 10 military veterans said they voted for Trump in 2020, as did just over half of those with a veteran in the household. Among voters in this yearB次元官网网址檚 South Carolina Republican primary, AP VoteCast found that close to two-thirds of military veterans and people in veteran households voted for Trump over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, TrumpB次元官网网址檚 toughest opponent in the 2024 Republican primary.
