MAGA’s Latest Defense of Trump’s Hitler Comments Is the Wildest Yet
In just a handful of hours, Donald Trump’s MAGA allies have gone from arguing that his recent comments about Hitler were misconstrued to just outright claiming that the whole story was completely made up.During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Florida Representative Mike Waltz completely rejected the evidence of his eyes and ears, claiming that the Republican presidential nominee’s comments praising Hitler and expecting undying loyalty from his top commanders were phony.“It doesn’t make sense to me. I find the timing suspicious,” Waltz said. “And it just completely is divorced from the man that I’ve come to know in Donald Trump, and how he’s dealt with Gold Star families, how he has been caring, how he’s been compassionate,” Waltz continued, referring to the military status given to families who have lost a loved one during their military service.Rep. Mike Waltz on CNN suggests John Kelly is lying about Trump praising Hitler pic.twitter.com/jotsK0PhCC— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2024The far-right revision comes after Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, retired military General John Kelly, told The Atlantic that his ex-boss fit the description of a fascist. Kelly recalled a disturbing exchange he had with the former president while he was still in office, in which Trump expressed frustration over a perceived lack of loyalty from the military.“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” Trump said in a private conversation in the White House, according to two sources that spoke anonymously with The Atlantic. “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”Another time, while in a frustrated discussion with Kelly, Trump reportedly asked, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?” forgetting that Hitler’s top generals had themselves defied him and made several attempts toward the end of World War II to kill him. Kelly, trying to correct the president, informed him that German generals “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off.” Kelly recounted that when Trump had raised the matter of “German generals,” he responded by asking, “Do you mean Bismarck’s generals?” “I mean, I knew he didn’t know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, ‘Do you mean the kaiser’s generals? Surely you can’t mean Hitler’s generals?’” Kelly told The Atlantic. “And he said, ‘Yeah, yeah, Hitler’s generals.’ I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after taking part in a plot against Hitler.” But Trump did not know who Rommel was, either.It’s at least the second time this month that Waltz has rejected the reality of Trump’s rhetoric. Last week, Waltz refused to acknowledge that direct quotes from Trump’s “enemy from within” comments were actually what he said.“I don’t think that’s what he said, John,” Waltz told CNN host John Berman, before pointing to civil unrest and mass protests during 2020. “I think that’s completely appropriate, the National Guard was rolled out then.… We cannot have, nor should we have, riots in the streets, business owners threatened, and Americans feeling unsafe.”
In just a handful of hours, Donald Trump’s MAGA allies have gone from arguing that his recent comments about Hitler were misconstrued to just outright claiming that the whole story was completely made up.
During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Florida Representative Mike Waltz completely rejected the evidence of his eyes and ears, claiming that the Republican presidential nominee’s comments praising Hitler and expecting undying loyalty from his top commanders were phony.
“It doesn’t make sense to me. I find the timing suspicious,” Waltz said.
“And it just completely is divorced from the man that I’ve come to know in Donald Trump, and how he’s dealt with Gold Star families, how he has been caring, how he’s been compassionate,” Waltz continued, referring to the military status given to families who have lost a loved one during their military service.
Rep. Mike Waltz on CNN suggests John Kelly is lying about Trump praising Hitler pic.twitter.com/jotsK0PhCC— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2024
The far-right revision comes after Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, retired military General John Kelly, told The Atlantic that his ex-boss fit the description of a fascist. Kelly recalled a disturbing exchange he had with the former president while he was still in office, in which Trump expressed frustration over a perceived lack of loyalty from the military.
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” Trump said in a private conversation in the White House, according to two sources that spoke anonymously with The Atlantic. “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”
Another time, while in a frustrated discussion with Kelly, Trump reportedly asked, “Why can’t you be like the German generals?” forgetting that Hitler’s top generals had themselves defied him and made several attempts toward the end of World War II to kill him. Kelly, trying to correct the president, informed him that German generals “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off.”
Kelly recounted that when Trump had raised the matter of “German generals,” he responded by asking, “Do you mean Bismarck’s generals?”
“I mean, I knew he didn’t know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, ‘Do you mean the kaiser’s generals? Surely you can’t mean Hitler’s generals?’” Kelly told The Atlantic. “And he said, ‘Yeah, yeah, Hitler’s generals.’ I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after taking part in a plot against Hitler.”
But Trump did not know who Rommel was, either.
It’s at least the second time this month that Waltz has rejected the reality of Trump’s rhetoric. Last week, Waltz refused to acknowledge that direct quotes from Trump’s “enemy from within” comments were actually what he said.
“I don’t think that’s what he said, John,” Waltz told CNN host John Berman, before pointing to civil unrest and mass protests during 2020. “I think that’s completely appropriate, the National Guard was rolled out then.… We cannot have, nor should we have, riots in the streets, business owners threatened, and Americans feeling unsafe.”
