Topline
Vice President Kamala Harris issued a sharp rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s reported praise of Adolf Hitler and his desire for a military that is loyal to him—rather than the Constitution—on Wednesday, responding to new bombshell allegations former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly made in The New York Times.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks before departing the vice president’s residence on … [+]
Key Facts
Calling Trump’s comments “deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous,” Harris said from the steps of her residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington that Trump “wants unchecked power,” turning the focus on the election by adding “the question in 13 days will be what do the American people want?”
Harris’ comments came after Kelly told The Times Trump thinks fascism “would work better in terms of running America,” adding that Trump told him “more than once” that “Hitler did some good things, too.”
Harris also invoked Trump’s recent remarks calling his political adversaries “the enemy from within” and suggesting they “should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” he told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo earlier this month.
Harris warned that “anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him would qualify in his mind as the enemy from within” and that Kelly and others who “once tried to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses would no longer be there and no longer be there to rein him in,” she said, alleging Trump is “increasingly unhinged and unstable.”
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Chief Critic
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called Harris a “stone-cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing” in a statement issued Wednesday shortly after her remarks. “That is why she continues to peddle outright lies and falsehoods that are easily disproven,” Cheung continued, adding “she is despicable and her grotesque behavior proves she is wholly unfit for office.” Cheung also blasted Kelly in response to The Times interview in a statement that said Kelly “has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated, because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Crucial Quote
“He does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution,” Harris said. “He wants a military that is loyal to him. He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally. One that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States.”
Key Background
Kelly told The Times he agreed to the series of audio interviews with the paper published Tuesday in response to Trump’s comments about using the military to go after his political enemies, which Kelly called “a very, very bad thing.” Kelly, a former Marine general, said in the interview that Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure,” and “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” The Atlantic also reported earlier Tuesday that Trump said during a meeting at the White House he needs “the kind of generals that Hitler had . . . people who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders,” citing former generals who worked for him.
Further Reading
Trump Fits The ‘Definition Of Fascist’ And Said ‘Hitler Did Some Good Things,’ John Kelly Says (Forbes)
Elon Musk Shares Made-Up Headline That Compares Trump To Hitler—And It’s Not The First Time (Forbes)