October 24, 2024
Trump ripped former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Wednesday, after Kelly recently called Trump a “fascist” and claimed the former president had a thing for Adolf Hitler and dictators. Kelly’s comments made the rounds of public squabbles between the two when they were interviewed for an article by The New York Times.
Trump went to his Facebook account Truth Social to attack Kelly and accuse him of being a “total degenerate” and rumor-mongering due to “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. “God bless you against this total bum named John Kelly, who spun this myth out of complete Trump Derangement Syndrome Hate! Trump wrote. “John Kelly is a LOWLIFE, and a bad General, whose advice in the White House I no longer sought, and told him to MOVE ON!” he continued.
Kelly’s Statement and Trump’s Retort
Earlier this week, Kelly, a retired Marine general, said that he is dreading Trump returning to the White House because the previous president is a fascist. “Certainly, the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.” Kelly also snipped that if he’s re-elected Trump would be a dictator.
Along with calling Trump a fascist, Kelly also said that Trump talked good about Adolf Hitler, saying Trump has said over and over “Hitler did some good things, too”. These comments come in the wake of another story from The Atlantic that quoted anonymous sources reporting that Trump said he admired Hitler’s former generals.
Reaction from Both Sides
Kelly’s spat with Trump has prompted antics from many political pundits. Dem strategist Leslie Marshall said Kelly’s military and political connections make his attack on Trump “very powerful” but Trump’s insults to critics “are a continuation of his past actions.” “Anybody who says anything negative about him, even if they were within his inner circle, he comes back and insults them,” Marshall said on Special Report. “That seems to be his M.O., and sadly, his supporters are OK with that.”
Talk radio host Chris Ryan concurred Kelly’s remarks have “validity” and “gravity” but said the comments are not likely to turn the 2024 election around. “I don’t think that it’s going to change anything in regard to this race other than this — Kamala Harris wants to shift the race back onto Donald Trump,” Ryan said.
At the same time, the retired Brigadier General Anthony Tata asked why Kelly was commenting so quickly, implying that he might have made the remarks in revenge-filled rage weeks before Election Day. “It smacks of personal revenge,” Tata said, ambiguous as to the point of the former Chief of Staff’s statement.
Denials from Trump’s Allies
Kelly’s charges quickly came in for an attack from Trump’s campaign and his supporters. The Trump campaign adviser Alex Pfeiffer flat-out denied Kelly’s comments “absolutely false.” The former Vice President Mike Pence’s former Chief of Staff, Nick Ayers, likewise took to X (now Twitter) to back up Trump and called Kelly’s comments “patently false”. “I’ve avoided commenting on intra-staff leaks or rumors or even lies as it relates to my time at the White House but General Kelly’s comments regarding President Trump are too egregious to ignore” Ayers continued.
Trump-Kelly’s public spat highlights the bitterness of old comrades in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election. Kelly’s allegations of fascism and a love of dictators are troubling, but with Trump’s immediate and aggressive denials (and the support of his campaign) it appears that the former president will try everything to downplay these charges as political rhetoric. And with the upcoming Election Day just a few weeks away, it is to be seen whether Kelly’s words will make a difference for Trump’s campaign or not, and if so, will they slip into the general political ether.
Sources:
- The New York Times: John Kelly’s Reply
- The Atlantic: Trump Allegations.
- Nick Ayers’ Answer on X
- Trump’s Position on Truth Social
