Vice President Kamala Harris said that she believes that Donald Trump 鈥渋s a fascist鈥� 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 鈥渄id some good things.鈥�
Speaking at a CNN town hall Wednesday night, Harris said they offer a window into who the former president 鈥渞eally is鈥� and the kind of commander in chief he would be.
When asked if she believed that Trump is a fascist, Harris replied twice, 鈥淵es, I do.鈥� Later, she brought it up herself, saying Trump would, if elected again, be 鈥渁 president who admires dictators and is a fascist.鈥�
The Democratic presidential nominee said Kelly鈥檚 comments, less than two weeks before voters will decide whether to send Trump back to the Oval Office, were a 鈥�911 call to the American people鈥� 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.
鈥淚 believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of the United States of America,鈥� she said, saying the American people deserve a president who maintains 鈥渃ertain standards,鈥� which include 鈥渃ertainly not comparing oneself, in a clearly admiring way, to Hitler.鈥�
She added that if reelected, Trump would no longer be tempered by people who would 鈥渞estrain him鈥� from his worst impulses.
Earlier Wednesday, Harris repeated her increasingly dire warnings about Trump鈥檚 mental fitness and his intentions for the presidency.
鈥淭his 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,鈥� Harris told reporters outside the vice president鈥檚 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 鈥渟uckers鈥� and 鈥渓osers.鈥� 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 鈥渆nemies from within.鈥�
鈥淗e commented more than once that, 鈥榊ou know, Hitler did some good things, too,鈥欌�� Kelly . Kelly said he would usually quash the conversation by saying 鈥渘othing (Hitler) did, you could argue, was good,鈥� but Trump would occasionally bring up the topic again.
In his , Kelly recalled that when Trump raised the idea of needing 鈥淕erman generals,鈥� Kelly would ask if he meant 鈥淏ismarck鈥檚 generals,鈥� referring to Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor who oversaw the unification of Germany. 鈥淪urely you can鈥檛 mean Hitler鈥檚 generals,鈥� Kelly recalled asking Trump. To which the former president responded, 鈥淵eah, yeah, Hitler鈥檚 generals.鈥�
Trump said on his Truth Social media platform that Kelly had 鈥渕ade up a story鈥� and went on to heap insults on his former chief of staff, including that Kelly鈥檚 鈥渢oughness morphed into weakness.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 campaign also denied the accounts. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Kelly had 鈥渂eclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated鈥� and, after Harris鈥� statement, accused the Democratic candidate of sharing 鈥渙utright lies and falsehoods.鈥�
Chris Sununu, New Hampshire鈥檚 Republican governor and onetime Trump critic, said Kelly鈥檚 comments did not change his plans to vote for the former president.
鈥淟ook, we鈥檝e heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. It鈥檚 really par for the course,鈥� the governor told CNN. 鈥淯nfortunately, with a guy like that, it鈥檚 kind of baked into the vote at this point.鈥�
Some of the former president鈥檚 supporters in swing states responded to Kelly鈥檚 comments with a shrug.
鈥淭rump did his four years, and we were in great shape. Kelly didn鈥檛 have anything good to say about Trump. He ought to have his butt kicked,鈥� 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 Hitler鈥檚 generals because he 鈥渄oes 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.鈥�
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. Harris鈥� 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 Kelly鈥檚 to urge past Trump voters to reject his candidacy in November.
Harris鈥� campaign held a call with reporters Tuesday to elevate the voices of retired military officials who highlighted how .
鈥淧eople that know him best are most opposed to him, his presidency,鈥� 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 鈥渞ather chew broken glass than vote for Donald Trump.鈥�
Before serving as Trump鈥檚 chief of staff, Kelly worked as the former president鈥檚 secretary of homeland security, where he oversaw Trump鈥檚 attempts to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Kelly was also at the forefront of the administration鈥檚 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 nation鈥檚 largest detention center for unaccompanied migrant children, Harris wrote during her 2019 run for president that he was 鈥渢he architect鈥� of the administration鈥檚 鈥渃ruel child separation policy. Now he will profit off the separation of families. It鈥檚 unethical. We are better than this.鈥�
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 administration鈥檚 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 鈥渁 far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader,鈥� Kelly concluded Trump 鈥渃ertainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.鈥�
Kelly added that Trump often fumed at any attempt to constrain his power, and that 鈥渉e would love to be鈥� a dictator.
鈥淗e certainly prefers the dictator approach to government,鈥� Kelly told the Times, adding later, 鈥淚 think he鈥檇 love to be just like he was in business 鈥� 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.鈥�
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 Trump鈥檚 chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Trump was 鈥渇ascist to the core鈥� and 鈥渢he most dangerous person to this country.鈥� And retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who worked as secretary of defense under Trump, that he agreed with Milley鈥檚 assessment.
Throughout Trump鈥檚 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 year鈥檚 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, Trump鈥檚 toughest opponent in the 2024 Republican primary.
