BԪַ

Skip to content

Harris calls Trump a fascist, danger to U.S. well-being and security

Former chief of staff says Trump wanted generals like HitlerBԪַs
web1_20241023131048-20241023131044-671936cccc5aa2649ff66d9fjpeg
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the vice presidentBԪַs residence in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Vice President Kamala Harris said that she believes that Donald Trump BԪַis a fascistBԪַ 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 BԪַdid some good things.BԪַ

Speaking at a CNN town hall Wednesday night, Harris said they offer a window into who the former president BԪַreally isBԪַ and the kind of commander in chief he would be.

When asked if she believed that Trump is a fascist, Harris replied twice, BԪַYes, I do.BԪַ Later, she brought it up herself, saying Trump would, if elected again, be BԪַa president who admires dictators and is a fascist.BԪַ

The Democratic presidential nominee said KellyBԪַs comments, less than two weeks before voters will decide whether to send Trump back to the Oval Office, were a BԪַ911 call to the American peopleBԪַ 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.

BԪַI believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of the United States of America,BԪַ she said, saying the American people deserve a president who maintains BԪַcertain standards,BԪַ which include BԪַcertainly not comparing oneself, in a clearly admiring way, to Hitler.BԪַ

She added that if reelected, Trump would no longer be tempered by people who would BԪַrestrain himBԪַ from his worst impulses.

Earlier Wednesday, Harris repeated her increasingly dire warnings about TrumpBԪַs mental fitness and his intentions for the presidency.

BԪַThis 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,BԪַ Harris told reporters outside the vice presidentBԪַs 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 BԪַsuckersBԪַ and BԪַlosers.BԪַ 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 BԪַenemies from within.BԪַ

BԪַHe commented more than once that, BԪַYou know, Hitler did some good things, too,BԪַBԪַ Kelly . Kelly said he would usually quash the conversation by saying BԪַnothing (Hitler) did, you could argue, was good,BԪַ but Trump would occasionally bring up the topic again.

In his , Kelly recalled that when Trump raised the idea of needing BԪַGerman generals,BԪַ Kelly would ask if he meant BԪַBismarckBԪַs generals,BԪַ referring to Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor who oversaw the unification of Germany. BԪַSurely you canBԪַt mean HitlerBԪַs generals,BԪַ Kelly recalled asking Trump. To which the former president responded, BԪַYeah, yeah, HitlerBԪַs generals.BԪַ

Trump said on his Truth Social media platform that Kelly had BԪַmade up a storyBԪַ and went on to heap insults on his former chief of staff, including that KellyBԪַs BԪַtoughness morphed into weakness.BԪַ

TrumpBԪַs campaign also denied the accounts. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Kelly had BԪַbeclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricatedBԪַ and, after HarrisBԪַ statement, accused the Democratic candidate of sharing BԪַoutright lies and falsehoods.BԪַ

Chris Sununu, New HampshireBԪַs Republican governor and onetime Trump critic, said KellyBԪַs comments did not change his plans to vote for the former president.

BԪַLook, weBԪַve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. ItBԪַs really par for the course,BԪַ the governor told CNN. BԪַUnfortunately, with a guy like that, itBԪַs kind of baked into the vote at this point.BԪַ

Some of the former presidentBԪַs supporters in swing states responded to KellyBԪַs comments with a shrug.

BԪַTrump did his four years, and we were in great shape. Kelly didnBԪַt have anything good to say about Trump. He ought to have his butt kicked,BԪַ 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 HitlerBԪַs generals because he BԪַdoes 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.BԪַ

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. HarrisBԪַ 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 KellyBԪַs to urge past Trump voters to reject his candidacy in November.

HarrisBԪַ campaign held a call with reporters Tuesday to elevate the voices of retired military officials who highlighted how .

BԪַPeople that know him best are most opposed to him, his presidency,BԪַ 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 BԪַrather chew broken glass than vote for Donald Trump.BԪַ

Before serving as TrumpBԪַs chief of staff, Kelly worked as the former presidentBԪַs secretary of homeland security, where he oversaw TrumpBԪַs attempts to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Kelly was also at the forefront of the administrationBԪַs 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 nationBԪַs largest detention center for unaccompanied migrant children, Harris wrote during her 2019 run for president that he was BԪַthe architectBԪַ of the administrationBԪַs BԪַcruel child separation policy. Now he will profit off the separation of families. ItBԪַs unethical. We are better than this.BԪַ

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 administrationBԪַs 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 BԪַa far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader,BԪַ Kelly concluded Trump BԪַcertainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.BԪַ

Kelly added that Trump often fumed at any attempt to constrain his power, and that BԪַhe would love to beBԪַ a dictator.

BԪַHe certainly prefers the dictator approach to government,BԪַ Kelly told the Times, adding later, BԪַI think heBԪַd love to be just like he was in business BԪַ 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.BԪַ

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 TrumpBԪַs chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Trump was BԪַfascist to the coreBԪַ and BԪַthe most dangerous person to this country.BԪַ And retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who worked as secretary of defense under Trump, that he agreed with MilleyBԪַs assessment.

Throughout TrumpBԪַs 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 yearBԪַs 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, TrumpBԪַs toughest opponent in the 2024 Republican primary.





(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }