Trump reportedly told John Kelly that Hitler 'did a lot of good things'
Former President Donald Trump once "stunned" then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly by asserting that Adolf Hitler "did a lot of good things," according to a new book.
Journalist Michael Bender reports in his upcoming book Frankly, We Did Win this Election that in 2018, during a trip to Europe for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Trump insisted to Kelly that Hitler "did a lot of good things," which "stunned" him, The Guardian reports. Trump's chief of staff "told the president that he was wrong," the book says.
Trump, though, was reportedly "undeterred" and referenced Germany's economic recovery under Hitler, to which Kelly shot back that "the German people would have been better off poor than subjected to the Nazi genocide." Kelly also reportedly told Trump that "you cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler. You just can't." Trump reportedly denies making the comment.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The book also reportedly describes how Kelly during his time in the White House needed to overcome Trump's "stunning disregard for history," and "senior officials described his understanding of slavery, Jim Crow, or the Black experience in general post-civil war as vague to nonexistent." Trump's comment about Hitler reportedly came as Kelly was offering Trump a World War I history lesson, reminding him "which countries were on which side during the conflict."
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
