Democrats are leaning into reports that former President Donald Trump previously said that he wished he had generals akin to Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler.
Trump's longest-serving White House chief of staff John Kelly told The Atlantic and The New York Times that the former president repeatedly praised Hitler during his first term in office. Reports on the matter were published earlier this week, just days before the November 5 election, where Trump is seeking a second term in office
Former President Barack Obama highlighted Kelly's report during a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta on Thursday, telling supporters that a second Trump presidency would be "dangerous."
"And you do not have to take my word for it. Lately, some of the people who know Donald Trump best have been saying in no uncertain terms that he should not be president again," Obama said, referring to Kelly.
The former president went on to quip that "in politics, a good rule of thumb is, don't say you want to do anything like Hitler."
"That's just good political advice," Obama added. "But it is useful because it gives us a window into how Donald Trump thinks."
Harris also ripped Trump as a "fascist" during a CNN town hall Wednesday night, adding that she believes "that the people who know him best, on this subject, should be trusted."
"They have said, explicitly, he has contempt for the Constitution of the United States," Harris said, noting Trump's former administration staffers who have also raised concerns about the former president. "They have said he should never again serve as president of the United States."
Trump has said that reports about his conversation with Kelly are "a lie" and that his former official "made up a story out of pure Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred!"
Kelly told The Times that he witnessed the former president praising Hitler on more than one occasion and that Trump had told him, "Hitler did some good things." He also said that he believes Trump is a "fascist" and "prefers the dictator approach to government."
This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.
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