Former Chief of Staff: Trump Said He Wanted 'Kind of Generals That Hitler Had'

Two new reports out Tuesday detail numerous comments former President Donald Trump, now vying for a second term, made about his admiration of Adolf Hitler when he was in office, with former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly saying the remarks are part of what make it clear that Trump fits the definition of "a fascist."

At The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg wrote that he asked Kelly about reports that Trump lamented that U.S. military officials were not more like "German generals" before and during World War II, who he said were "totally loyal" to Hitler.

"He told me that when Trump raised the subject of 'German generals,' Kelly responded by asking, "'Do you mean [Otto von] Bismarck' generals?'" wrote Goldberg. "He went on: 'I mean, I knew he didn't know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, 'Do you mean the kaiser's generals? Surely you can't mean Hitler's generals?' And he said, 'Yeah, yeah, Hitler's generals.'"

Two sources also told The Atlantic that Trump said in the White House, "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had... People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders."

A spokesperson for Trump told The Atlantic that the former president "never said this."

Kelly also spoke at length to The New York Times on Tuesday, saying he was driven to do so by Trump's recent comments about deploying the U.S. military against "the enemy from within"—including political opponents like U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who led the prosecution of Trump in his first impeachment trial.

The former chief of staff, who also served as homeland security secretary under Trump, said the then-president "commented more than once that, 'You know, Hitler did some good things, too.'"

Previously, Kelly told CNN reporter Jim Sciutto that Trump said Hitler "did some good things." Kelly said he had asked, "'Well, what?' And he said, 'Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.'

In a video posted to TikTok, Times columnist Jamelle Bouie noted that "part of how Hitler made the economy 'good' again was by confiscating the property of Jews and giving it over Germans, or gentiles rather."

"That definitely doesn't sound familiar, doesn't sound like anything Trump wants to do," Bouie said sardonically. As part of their plan to solve the housing crisis, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have said they would carry out mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The Times published audio of its interview with Kelly. Listen:

Trump "never accepted the fact that he wasn't the most powerful man in the world—and by power, I mean an ability to do anything he wanted, anytime he wanted," Kelly said.

The interview was released the same day that Trump told Latino leaders at a roundtable discussion that he would use "extreme power" to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border and said President Joe Biden should do the same.

At a rally in Wisconsin after Goldberg's article was published, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said Trump's comments about Hitler and his generals made him "sick as hell, and it should make you sick, too."

If Trump wins the presidential election, he said, "folks, the guardrails are gone. Trump is descending into this madness. A former president of the United States and the candidate for president of the United States says he wants generals like Adolf Hitler had."