‘Patently False’: Former Senior Pence Advisers Refute John Kelly’s ‘Hitler’ Comments About Trump

Two former senior advisers for Vice President Mike Pence strongly refuted General John Kelly’s claims that Donald Trump once praised Adolf Hitler’s generals during a discussion with White House officials.

An article written by The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg quoted Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, who accused Trump of saying he wanted the “generals that Hitler had.” According to Kelly, who has disparaged Trump in the past, the former president was fond of Hitler’s generals because they “were totally loyal to him.” Kelly served as Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary for six months in 2017 before Trump tapped him to serve as his chief of staff from July 2017 until January 2019.

Kelly’s comments to The Atlantic led to Vice President Kamala Harris holding a short press conference on Wednesday where she slammed Trump, saying, “It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler.” Later on Wednesday during a town hall with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Harris called the Republican nominee a “fascist.”

Retired General Keith Kellogg — Pence’s former National Security Adviser — and Nick Ayers, Pence’s former chief of staff — released statements on Wednesday blasting the general’s claims.

“Vice President Harris is a fraud. I was in the White House at a senior level much longer than General Kelly. He is complicit in this fraud and has lied to the American people. His lies, as well as John Bolton’s, are a disservice to [the] Nation at this critical time. So are the VP’s,” Kellogg wrote on X.

Vice President Harris is a fraud. I was in the White House at a senior level much longer than General Kelly. He is complicit in this fraud and has lied to the American people. His lies, as well as John Bolton's, are a disservice to Nation at this critical time. So are the VP's. https://t.co/2b77pMsVVl

— Keith Kellogg (@generalkellogg) October 23, 2024

Ayers called Kelly’s comments “patently false,” writing, “I’ve avoided commenting on intra-staff leaks or rumors or even lies as it relates to my time at the White House but General Kelly’s comments regarding President Trump are too egregious to ignore. I was with each of them more than most, and his commentary is *patently false.*”

I’ve avoided commenting on intra-staff leaks or rumors or even lies as it relates to my time at the White House but General Kelly’s comments regarding President Trump are too egregious to ignore. I was with each of them more than most, and his commentary is *patently false.* pic.twitter.com/T167w9GSv1

— Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) October 23, 2024

The Atlantic story, which was published just two weeks before Election Day, also accused Trump of complaining about a murdered soldier’s funeral bill in 2020. Those claims have also been refuted by former Trump administration officials and the slain Army private’s family.

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Trump slammed Kelly in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, calling him “a total degenerate.”

“This guy had two qualities, which don’t work well together. He was tough and dumb,” Trump added. “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. 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.”