Trump praised ‘Hitler’s generals’ for their loyalty: John Kelly

(The Hill) – Retired General 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 with The Atlantic on Tuesday.

In the interview with editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Kelly affirmed the report in 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 report, Kelly responded by telling Trump that German generals “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost succeeded,” but Trump reportedly was not swayed by the correction

“No, no, no, they were totally loyal to him,” Trump said, according to Goldberg’s account of Baker and Glasser’s report.

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 brought up the topic of ‘German generals,’ Kelly responded by asking, “‘You mean (Otto von) Bismarck’s generals?'”

Kelly continued, in this week’s interview with Goldberg: “I mean, I knew I didn’t know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, ‘You mean the Kaiser’s generals?’ Are you sure you can’t be referring to Hitler’s generals? And he said, “Yes, yes, 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 did not know Rommel.

Goldberg reported that Trump has become “increasingly interested in the advantages of dictatorship,” and included other examples that he believed would demonstrate this alleged interest.

“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” Trump said in a private conversation at the White House, according to Goldberg, who cited “two people who heard him say that.”

“The people who were totally loyal to him, who follow orders,” Trump added, according to Goldberg.

The Trump campaign roundly rejected that account.

“This is absolutely false. President Trump never said this,” Trump campaign adviser Alex Pfeiffer said in a statement, which was reported to The Atlantic and sent back to The Hill by a spokesperson for trump

“President Donald Trump has spent his life taking care of America’s military heroes. As president, he kept our troops safe, secured the biggest pay raise for our troops in a decade, and signed historic VA reforms. As a private citizen, he has supported veterans and vigorously advocated for Kabul Gold Star families. There has been no greater advocate for our brave servicemen and women,” he said Pfeiffer in a separate statement from the campaign, responding to the reports in general.

Kelly has publicly confirmed reports of similar exchanges she had with Trump while serving in his administration.

Kelly, according to a book by CNN’s Jim Sciutto earlier this year, quoted Trump as saying, “Hitler did some good things.” The Trump campaign responded by saying that Kelly was “completely exposed” and that she was “suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” and should “seek professional help.”

Kelly also confirmed that Trump said the dead US servicemen were “shocks” in 2018. Trump also rejected that comment at the time, saying Kelly was “lying” and suggesting that Kelly was motivated by “his hatred towards me.”

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