John Kelly says Trump praised 'Hitler's generals' for loyalty
Retired Gen. John Kelly, who served as White House chief of staff in the Trump administration, said former President Trump praised Adolf Hitler's generals for their loyalty in a new interview in The Atlantic on Tuesday.
In the interview with editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Kelly affirmed reporting from Peter Baker and Susan Glasser’s book, “The Divider: Trump in the White House,” which quoted Trump asking Kelly, his chief of staff at the time, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?”
According to Goldberg's account of Baker and Glasser's reporting, Kelly responded by explaining to Trump that the German generals “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off,” but Trump reportedly was not swayed by the correction.
“No, no, no, they were totally loyal to him,” Trump said, according to Goldberg’s telling of Baker and Glasser’s reporting.
Goldberg, in the piece published Tuesday, said he asked Kelly about that exchange in a new interview this week. Goldberg wrote that Kelly “told me that when Trump raised the subject of ‘German generals,’ Kelly responded by asking, “’Do you mean [Otto von] Bismarck’s generals?’”
Kelly continued, in the interview with Goldberg this week: "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 [Erwin] Rommel had to commit suicide after taking part in a plot against Hitler.'"
According to Goldberg, Kelly said Trump was not acquainted with Rommel.
Goldberg reported that Trump has grown “more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship,” and he included other examples that he thought would demonstrate this alleged interest.
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” Trump reportedly said in a private conversation in the White House, according to Goldberg, who cited “two people who heard him say this.”
“People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders,” Trump added, according to Goldberg.
The Trump campaign flatly rejected this account.
“This is absolutely false. President Trump never said this,” Trump campaign adviser Alex Pfeiffer said in a statement, which was reported in The Atlantic and sent again to The Hill by a Trump spokesperson.
“President Donald Trump has spent his life caring for America's military heroes. As President, he kept our troops out of harm’s way, secured the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, and signed historic VA reforms. As a private citizen, he has financially supported veterans and has forcefully advocated for the Kabul Gold Star families. There has been no greater advocate for our brave military men and women than Donald J. Trump,” Pfeiffer said in a separate statement from the campaign, responding to the reporting in general.
Kelly has confirmed publicly reports of similar exchanges that he had with Trump, when serving in his administration.
Kelly, according to a book from CNN’s Jim Sciutto earlier this year, quoted Trump saying, “Hitler did some good things.” The Trump campaign responded by saying Kelly “completely beclowned” himself and was “suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” and should “seek professional help.”
Kelly also famously confirmed Trump called dead U.S. servicemembers “suckers” in 2018. Trump also pushed back on that comment at the time, saying Kelly was “lying” and suggesting Kelly was motivated by “his hatred of me.”