"More than once"

Ex-chief of staff reveals: Trump raved about Hitler

Trump's choice of words is often seen as inappropriate, but according to his ex-chief of staff, he is likely to have gone much further over the top internally.(Bild: APA/AFP/Jim WATSON)

An unpleasant statement by Donald Trump's former chief of staff is now causing a stir in the election campaign finale. The ex-president is said to have made positive comments about the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler "more than once". For John Kelly, the Republican "falls under the general definition of a fascist".

"You know, Hitler did some good things too," he had heard from Trump on several occasions, Kelly told the New York Times. He had then referred to Hitler's racism and fascism as the motivation for his actions, after which the conversation had mostly dried up, Kelly said.

Said to have wished for "Hitler's generals"
Kelly made his comments in an interview published on Tuesday. Kelly in turn confirmed to the magazine "The Atlantic" that Trump had said in a conversation that he wished for generals as loyal as "Hitler's generals". A spokesperson for Trump's campaign team denied that Trump had said this. The Trump camp had already previously denied Kelly's credibility.

Kelly divides against ex-chief ofstaff
 Kelly, a former US Marine general, was Trump's White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019. He was already considered a source of similar revelations in previous years, including in books about the Trump presidency, but is now speaking out directly in the two interviews.

Kelly also told the New York Times that, in his view, Trump "falls under the general definition of a fascist".

He referred to the description of fascism as an extreme right-wing, authoritarian and ultra-nationalist ideology, which includes a dictatorial leader and suppression of the opposition. According to his experiences, Trump thinks that America would be better governed in this way, said Kelly.

Kelly talks about "enemies within"
 To justify his decision to take a public stand, the 74-year-old Kelly referred to Trump's recent comments about "enemies within", which the ex-president cited as including several well-known Democrat politicians.

Trump wants to return to the White House for the Republicans. In the polls, he is largely tied with the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.