John Kelly, who served as Donald Trump’s chief of staff, is once again sounding the alarm over the dangers of electing his former boss.
“Looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” Kelly said in an interview with the New York Times published late Tuesday.
In the blistering interview, Kelly said that he decided to speak out against Trump again after the former president recently cast his political opponents—including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)—as “the enemy within.”
“I think this issue of using the military on—to go after—American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing—even to say it for political purposes to get elected—I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Kelly told the Times.
“In many cases, I would agree with some of his policies,” he added. “But again, it’s a very dangerous thing to have the wrong person elected to high office.”
As if to offer more evidence, Kelly told the Times that Trump repeatedly expressed admiration for Hitler. “He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” Kelly said, adding that he had to tell Trump, “You should never say that.” (As I have reported, Trump repeated what scholars characterized as Nazi talking points on the campaign trail, claiming that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”)
Kelly has spoken out about Trump before, confirming to CNN that Trump had called Americans who died in war “losers” and “suckers.” But his decision to reemerge with another forceful condemnation of Trump, just two weeks out from the election—and as polls show the candidates locked in a near-dead heat—underscores the alarm many feel about the real potential of another Trump presidency.
Yet for all the scathing warnings against another Trump presidency, Kelly did not tell the Times who he plans to vote for next month, and at one point told the paper that as a former military officer, he was not endorsing any candidate. (Plenty of other Republicans, have come out with their plans to vote for Harris over Trump.)
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, said in a statement provided to Mother Jones that Kelly “has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated,” adding that he “currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Meanwhile, Ian Sams, senior spokesperson and advisor for the Harris campaign, said in a statement: “The people who know him best are telling us Trump is unhinged and pursuing unchecked power that would put us all at risk. We should all listen.”
Wednesday afternoon, Vice President Harris referred to Kelly’s comments when she delivered remarks in front of her DC residence, saying, “Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable. And in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions.”
Update: This post was updated with comments delivered by VP Harris.
