The subject of Donald Trump’s apparent admiration for dictators came into sharp focus this week.

Although the question of Trump’s authoritarian tendencies is not new, they’ve exploded again following remarks made by his former Chief of Staff, John Kelly. In a new interview with the New York Times, Kelly said Trump, “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist”.

It follows an interview Kelly gave to The Atlantic on Tuesday. In that, Kelly confirmed reports previously made in the book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021. It said Trump had praised the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals. Kelly said that was true. He recalled a conversation with the former President, who asked him, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?”

Kelly pointed out that some of Hitler’s generals had conspired to assassinate Hitler, but Trump allegedly dismissed this as untrue.

Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded to the question as to whether Trump is a fascist.

“It’s one thing for some leftist group to call you a fascist,” Buttigieg tweeted. “Quite another when it’s a fellow Republican. And absolutely astonishing when it’s your own chief of staff.”

Buttigieg’s tweet received over 78k likes in less than 12 hours. Predictably, MAGA followers of Trump trashed Buttigieg’s assessment, claiming Kelly is a disgruntled ex-employee. However, many others praised Buttigieg for his evaluation.

Others said that “leftist groups” have been saying this all along and should have been believed sooner.

Mark Esper

Of course, John Kelly is far from the only person who worked closely with Trump to sound alarm bells. Yesterday, Mark Esper, who served as secretary of Defense under Trump, said he had faith in Kelly’s assessment. He told CNN he had no reason to doubt Kelly’s “integrity and honesty.” He went on to encourage viewers to look up the definition of “fascist” and judge for themselves whether Donald Trump ticks the right boxes.

Kamala Harris

Yesterday, Kamala Harris gave a press conference in which she said, “It is clear from John Kelly’s words that Donald Trump is someone — who I quote — certainly falls in ‘the general definition of fascist.’ Who has in fact vowed to be a dictator on day one and vowed to use the military as his personal militia to carry out his personal and political vendettas.”

She warned, “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.”

Last night, during a televised town hall appearance in Pennsylvania, Anderson Cooper asked Harris if she believed Donald Trump to be a fascist.

“Yes I do. Yes I do,” Harris replied.

Trump calls Kelly a “total degenerate”

Donald Trump has flatly denied and rejected Kelly’s comments. In a posting to Truth Social, Trump said, “Thank you for your support against a total degenerate named John Kelly, who made up a story out of pure Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred! This guy had two qualities, which don’t work well together. He was tough and dumb. The problem is his toughness morphed into weakness, because he became JELLO with time! The story about the Soldiers was A LIE, as are numerous other stories he told,” Trump wrote.

“Even though I shouldn’t be wasting my time with him, I always feel it’s necessary to hit back in pursuit of THE TRUTH,” Trump added. “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!”

Many others find it harder to dismiss Kelly’s words.

Related
Chasten Buttigieg trolls JD Vance for praising Trump as a man “of character”
Lauren Boebert mocks Pete Buttigieg for being a gay dad after he roasts her online

Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock our articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated