Trump’s ex-chief of staff John Kelly corroborated ‘The Atlantic”s reporting, but Trump’s campaign denies he made the statement
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Donald Trump
Former president Donald Trump reportedly stated his interest in having generals similar to ones who once reported to Adolf Hitler.
The Atlantic published an article on Tuesday, Oct. 22 reporting that Trump, 78, brought up the Nazi dictator during a private conversation in the White House during his presidency.
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” the Republican presidential nominee reportedly said. “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”
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Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
According to The Atlantic, two witnesses heard Trump make the Hitler comments.
However, a Trump campaign spokesperson, Alex Pfeiffer, told PEOPLE, “This is absolutely false. President Trump never said this.”
Related: New Book Alleges That Donald Trump Told Aides That Adolf Hitler ‘Did a Lot of Good Things’
In Tuesday’s article, The Atlantic said they recently spoke with Trump’s ex-chief of staff John Kelly, who corroborated alleged Hitler comments.
The 2022 book, The Divider: Trump in the White House by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, claims Trump once asked Kelly, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?”
Additionally, the book notes that Trump seemed was enamored with the idea that Hitler’s generals were “totally loyal to him” despite Kelly telling him German generals “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off.”
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Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump
Kelly remembered that conversation during his interview with The Atlantic.
“He told me that when Trump raised the subject of ‘German generals,’ Kelly responded by asking, ‘Do you mean Bismarck’s generals?’ 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.’ I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after taking part in a plot against Hitler.’ Kelly told me Trump was not acquainted with Rommel,” the outlet wrote.
Trump’s alleged statements mark yet another controversial comment made by him.
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During a Sept. 29 dinner with billionaire donors at his Trump Tower penthouse, Trump reportedly called Vice President Kamala Harris the R-word, according to The New York Times.
More recently, he referred to her as a “s— vice president” at a Pennsylvania rally held at Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer Regional Airport on Saturday, Oct. 19.
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