Donald Trump praised Adolf Hitler on Europe trip, book claims
- Trump reportedly told his chief of staff that ‘Hitler did a lot of good things’
- A Trump spokesperson says claims in book are ‘made-up fake news’
A new book alleges that former US president Donald Trump frustrated four-star general and then-White House chief of staff John Kelly by praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
The Guardian, which obtained an early copy of Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender’s Frankly, We Did Win This Election, writes that during a 2018 trip to Europe, Trump told Kelly: “Well, Hitler did a lot of good things”.
A “stunned” Kelly reportedly pushed back by offering Trump an abbreviated history lesson and assuring him that despite whatever short-term economic growth Germany may have seen under the rule of its far right-wing, anti-immigrant, nationalist leader, the country would have been better off without all of the death Hitler left in his wake.
“You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler,” Kelly allegedly said. “You just can’t.”
According to Bender’s book, Trump was “undeterred” by Kelly’s position. A Trump spokesperson calls that allegation “totally false”.
“President Trump never said this,” Trump rep Liz Harrington told The Guardian. “It is made-up fake news, probably by a General who was incompetent and was fired.”