













Republicans Are Making Excuses for Trump's Hitler Comments


























 

































 


 























































































×


 


 























×




			Skip to main content		


















 Rollingstone Logo







Click to expand the Mega Menu








Click to Expand Search Input














	Music



	Politics



	TV & Movies



	Culture



	RS Recommends









	Got A Tip?




	Account




	Welcome



	Manage Account



	Manage Print Account



	Sign Out







	Log In




















Click to expand the Mega Menu








Click to Expand Search Input










 Rollingstone Logo






	Politics



	
		
					How Right-Wingers Are Trying to Downplay Trump’s Hitler Talk		
			





Facebook







X







email










	Got A Tip?




	Account




	Welcome



	Manage Account



	Manage Print Account



	Sign Out







	Log In


















 













										Blind Eyes						
 









How Right-Wingers Are Trying to Downplay Trump’s Hitler Talk
Trump's allies are offering myriad excuses — and outright lies — to explain his reported desire to have generals as loyal as Hitler’s








							By 

	Nikki McCann Ramirez





	
		
					Nikki McCann Ramirez		
			







	Trump’s D.C. Prosecutor Declares: ‘We Will Protect DOGE’



	Trump Sides With Putin, Trashes Zelensky as a ‘Dictator’



	Trump Orders Independent Agencies to Follow His Read of the Law, Not the Courts





	View all posts by Nikki McCann Ramirez







	October 24, 2024	















Donald Trump looks on during a roundtable with faith leaders at Christ Chapel on Oct. 23, 2024.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images







Donald Trump’s allies are attempting to minimize the former president’s reported praise of Nazi dictator Adolf Hiter, and discredit John Kelly after the former White House chief of staff went on the record with multiple outlets regarding his concerns about Trump’s fascist ambitions. 

	This week, the retired general told The New York Times that Trump fit the definition of a fascist, and would rule like a dictator if reelected. In a separate interview with The Atlantic, Kelly elaborated on past assertions that Trump expressed admiration for Hitler. Two additional sources told The Atlantic that the former president once said he wanted “the kind of generals that Hitler had,” as in “people who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.” 

	The bombshell reporting has reenergized discussions of Trump’s authoritarian impulses as the election nears. On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala publicly slammed her opponent as a man who is “increasingly unhinged,” and wants a military that “will be loyal to him personally, one that will obey his orders, even when he tells them to break the law.” 

	










	“We know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power. The question in 13 days will be what do the American people want?” Harris said.

	Predictably, Trump’s loyalists have gone to work pushing excuses, from trying to discredit Kelly to claiming the former president’s authoritarian rhetoric is no big deal. 

Trump may not have known Hitler’s generals were Nazis  

	On Wednesday, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade responded to Kelly’s comments by claiming that Trump was perhaps not aware that Hitler’s generals were Nazis, and just wanted to cut through red tape. 

	“[Former Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis and Kelly didn’t like the president,” Kilmeade said, citing the memoir of H.R. McMaster, another former Trump administration official who’s warned of Trump’s connections to authoritarian leaders. “I can absolutely see [Trump] go, ‘It’d be great to have German generals that actually do what we ask them to do, maybe not fully being cognizant of the third rail of German generals who were Nazis or whatever,” Kilmeade said. “But he was frustrated with the slow down of commands that were not implemented.” 

	











	
		Editor’s picks
	
	











	
	
		
					The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time		
	














	
	
		
					The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far		
	














	
	
		
					The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time		
	














	
	
		
					The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time		
	








Trump’s admiration of Hitler is “baked in” to why people support him  

	New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu claimed that Trump’s admiration was “par for the course” for the former president.

	“Look, we’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump from Donald Trump. It’s kind of par for the course. It’s really, unfortunately, uh with a guy like that, it’s kind of baked into the vote at this point,” Sununu told CNN on Wednesday. 

The Atlantic said Trump is “Literally Hitler” (They did not) 

	Right-wing billionaire Elon Musk — who has been campaigning (in potentially illegal ways) for Trump in key swing states — shared a screenshot of a fake headline distorting The Atlantic’s report on Kelly. “They are literally foaming at the mouth,” Musk wrote while quoting a post from another X user featuring a manipulated image with the headline “Trump Is Literally Hitler.”

	On Wednesday, The Atlantic issued a press release titled “The Atlantic Did Not Publish an Article With the Headline ‘Trump Is Literally Hitler.’”

	“The fake headline distorts an Atlantic article that was published on October 22, 2024, with the headline ‘Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had,’” the publication wrote. “Anyone encountering these images can quickly verify whether something is real –– or not –– by visiting The Atlantic and searching our site.” 





	
		Related Content
	
	






	
	
		
					Trump Admin. Spends Big Taxpayer Money on Ads Thanking Trump		
	









	
	
		
					Judge Says States Have ‘Strong’ Case Against Musk, but Rejects Restraining Order		
	









	
	
		
					Trump Administration Wants to Let Banks Jack Up Overdraft Fees		
	









	
	
		
					FAA Employees Say Trump and Musk’s Purge Is a ‘Threat’ to Air Safety		
	








The stories were planted by the Harris campaign  

	Fox News’ supposedly objective “news side” anchor Bret Baier suggested on Wednesday that Vice President Harris planted The Atlantic’s story as part of her closing message against Trump. 

	“It seems like Vice President Harris is closing with the threat to America from the former president,” Baier said. “You saw that Atlantic piece referencing former chief of staff John Kelly talking about how the president talked about Hitler. All of these things will be packaged together to make this closing argument that she’s making alongside former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.”

It’s a “hoax”   

	Fox News’ lead primetime anchor Jesse Watters introduced his coverage of the story with a custom segment intro that blared “New Hoax Alert!” at his audience. 

	“The Las Vegas Hoax Chef, Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic, has cooked up a doozy, says Trump admired Hitler. There’s no recordings of this and everyone says it’s baloney, but the VP who swallows hoaxes to go with her word salads ran to the cameras,” Watters said. 

	Watters went on to claim that Kelly’s statements were being used as fodder by Democrats to encourage another assassination attempt against Trump. “In 24 hours, the highest levels of the Democrat establishment have called Trump a Nazi who should be locked up and have his throat slit. If Donald Trump wins, how are we going to have a peaceful transition? The left is saying Trump is a dictator who’s going to turn the military on them. They’re just going to hand him the keys to the White House and pretend like he’s Mitt Romney? They’re not just smearing Trump, they’re saying half the country is Hitler,” he added.

	










College students are the real Hitlers  

	CNN’s token Republican Scott Jennings said during a Wednesday panel discussion that while he believed Kelly to be an “honorable” man, the real fascists in America are college students protesting massacres of Palestinians in Gaza. 

	If Kelly is “worried about Hitler — and he’s worried about fascism —  he ought to pick up the newspaper,” Jennings said. “There’s thousands of Hitlers running around this country right now, running around college campuses, running around New York City, chasing Jewish people around, blocking their access on college campuses.” 

	 “If you’re worried about Hitler and you’re talking about Donald Trump, maybe open your eyes and take in what’s happening on the American left in this country. Those are the Hitlers I’m worried about,” he added.

Kelly didn’t provide enough context  

	Trump’s closest ally at Fox News, Sean Hannity, spoke to disgraced former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday, where the pair attempted to downplay Kelly’s claims. 

	O’Reilly suggested to listeners that the report was unreliable because “Kelly hates Donald Trump. Everybody knows that. Kelly will admit it. He hates him. Doesn’t want him to win.” 

	Hannity interjected that the reporting wasn’t “new” and that Kelly has “said this before.” 

	O’Reilly went on to complain that “there’s no context to the conversation,” as reported by The Atlantic: “Nobody knows what the context is. Was it a discussion about the effectiveness of the Wehrmacht during World War II? Was that the discussion? What was the discussion? No one knows.” 

	“Number two, who witnessed this, beside Kelly? No one. Okay. So you’re in territory where the haters, the Trump haters take whatever they can get and throw it out as fact,” O’Reilly added.



Kelly should have spoken up sooner   

	Failed GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum told CNN on Thursday that if Kelly had a problem with Trump — and believed he was a fascist — he should “he could’ve said it when he was working for him 5 years ago.” 

	“He could have said it when he left the White House, [but] he waits until 12 days before an election,” Burgum added. 
 




In this article:



	Donald Trump









	Politics



	Politics News











More News 






















	
		
					Trump’s D.C. Prosecutor Declares: ‘We Will Protect DOGE’		
			





	Operation Whirlwind





						By 

	
Nikki McCann Ramirez, Andrew Perez, and Asawin Suebsaeng 

























	
		
					Trump Sides With Putin, Trashes Zelensky as a 'Dictator'		
			





	War Games





						By 

	
Nikki McCann Ramirez and Asawin Suebsaeng 

























	
		
					Trump Orders Independent Agencies to Follow His Read of the Law, Not the Courts		
			





	Executive Power





						By 

	
Nikki McCann Ramirez 

























	
		
					Elon Musk’s Empty Hunt for Condoms Is Causing Real Harm		
			





	Global Health





						By 

	
Mac William Bishop 

























	
		
					Eric Adams’ Lawyers Offered Trump DOJ an ‘Ever-Present Partner’		
			





	In the Open





						By 

	
Noah Shachtman 










	Read more
	

































	
		
					How to Buy ‘Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, the Immersive Rock Experience’ Tickets Online		
			





	Play It Loud






	Feb 18, 2025 9:00 am	



















	
		
					Trump’s D.C. Prosecutor Declares: ‘We Will Protect DOGE’		
			





	Operation Whirlwind






	19 mins ago	



















	
		
					Cheech and Chong Hit the Road — and the Joint — One Last Time in New Doc Trailer		
			





	Up in Smoke






	26 mins ago	



















	
		
					Tate McRae Says She Was 'Devastated' When Her Album Leaked: 'Nothing I Can Do'		
			





	Changed Plans






	35 mins ago	






















	
	
		
					Top stories newsletter		
	


A Cultural Force That Transcends Generations 



Enter your Email















		By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
				We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.	



























 Go to PMC.com






	
		Most Popular
	
	








	
	
		
					The 100 Greatest TV Performances of the 21st Century		
	











	
	
		
					Bath & Body Works' Early Presidents' Day Deals Include Luxury Fragrance Dupes for Jo Malone, PHLUR & YSL for Just $6		
	











	
	
		
					Blink-182 Cofounder Mark Hoppus to Sell $5 M. Banksy Painting at Sotheby's in London		
	











	
	
		
					Drake Takes More Shots At Kendrick Lamar And Joe Budden On ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’		
	










	
		You might also like
	
	














	
	
		
					Sarajevo Film Festival, Council of Europe Launch Youth Perspectives Award as Bosnia Marks 30 Years of Peace		
	


	4 hours ago	


















	
	
		
					Dakota Johnson Gave Gucci’s Signature Horsebit Hardware Playful Edge in High-slit Dress for ‘SNL 50: The Anniversary Special’		
	


	21 hours ago	


















	
	
		
					The Best Yoga Mats for Any Practice, According to Instructors		
	


	11 months ago	


















	
	
		
					‘Saturday Night Live’ Had a Rocky History with Queerness. Now It’s Gayer Than Ever		
	


	5 days ago	


















	
	
		
					Daytona 500 Sees 12% TV Audience Gain Despite Rain Delay		
	


	4 hours ago	




































Rolling Stone



	Music



	Politics



	TV & Movies



	Culture



	Staff



	Contact



	Advertise




Legal



	Privacy Policy



	Terms of Use



	AdChoices



	PMC Entertainment



	California Privacy Rights



	Your Privacy Choices



	EU Privacy Preferences



	Accessibility



	Policy on Anonymous Sources








	
	
		
					Follow Us		
	










	Facebook
	











	Instagram
	











	TikTok
	











	X
	











	YouTube
	












	
	
		
					Newsletter Signup		
	




Enter Your Email




		Subscribe	

















	
	
		
					Got a Hot News Tip?		
	

We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form.


		Send Us a Tip	





		By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
				We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.	












Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

	Powered by WordPress.com VIP




Our Sites



	Art in America



	Artforum



	Artnews



	ATX TV



	ATX TV Festival



	BGR



	Billboard



	BlogHer



	Deadline



	Flow Space



	Footwear News



	Gold Derby



	IndieWire



	LA3C



	Life is Beautiful



	Robb Report



	Rolling Stone



	SheKnows



	Soaps



	Sourcing Journal



	Sportico



	Spy



	StyleCaster



	The Hollywood Reporter



	TVLine



	Variety



	Vibe



	WWD















	Log In




	Welcome



	Manage Account



	Manage Print Account



	Sign Out






	Music




	News



	Features



	Lists



	Album Reviews



	Live Reviews



	Artists You Need To Know



	Songs You Need To Know



	RS Country



	RS Latin






	Politics




	News



	Features



	Lists






	TV & Movies




	News



	Features



	Lists



	Recaps



	Reviews






	Video & Photos




	Photos



	Videos



	The Cover



	Musicians on Musicians






	Culture




	News



	Features



	Lists



	Creators



	RS Gaming






	RS Films







	RS Recommends




	Reviews



	RS Essentials



	RS Audio Awards



	Gift Guides






	Culture Council











Subscription Icon










		Follow Us	




Facebook







Instagram







TikTok







X







YouTube










		Alerts & Newsletters	




Email Address

















		By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
				We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.	









ad


















































 




Trump Cult Disciple:  "I like Trump because he tells it like it is."

Also Trump Cult Disciple:  "That's not what he meant."