this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
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In his new book The Return of Great Powers, which comes out Tuesday, reporter Jim Sciutto interviews several of Trump’s former advisers. All of them stressed that Trump regularly lavished praise on authoritarian leaders around the world, calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “fantastic,” Chinese President Xi Jinping “brilliant,” and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un an “OK guy.”

Horrifyingly, Trump also said, “Well, but Hitler did some good things,” according to John Kelly, who served as White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019.

“I said, ‘Well, what?’ And he said, ‘Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.’ But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,’” Kelly told Sciutto. “I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.”

Kelly said that Trump also praised Hitler for achieving complete loyalty from senior Nazi officials—and Trump expected similar fealty from the retired generals he brought on to his cabinet.

“He would ask about the loyalty issues and about how, when I pointed out to him the German generals as a group were not loyal to him, and in fact tried to assassinate him a few times, and he didn’t know that,” Kelly said. “He truly believed, when he brought us generals in, that we would be loyal—that we would do anything he wanted us to do.”

"Hitler did some good things" would end absolutely anyone else's campaign in America. And this guy still has a chance of winning.

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[–] [email protected] 135 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

His ex-wife Ivana said in their divorce hearings that he kept Mein Kampf on his bedside table. Very believable, but perhaps he had it just as a token since I'm not convinced he can really read.

[–] Duamerthrax 46 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Was it Mein Kampf or a book of Hitler's speeches? I've heard both.

[–] FlyingSquid 71 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] vmachiel 30 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What a kamikaze of a defense…

[–] betterdeadthanreddit 23 points 8 months ago (1 children)

More of a blitzkrieg, he's hoping to prevail through the use of shock tactics and being overwhelmingly offensive.

[–] vmachiel 13 points 8 months ago

Hmm you might be right. And if 2016 has taught us anything: it might work.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (4 children)

He’s a complete fucking nong, but he’s not that stupid that he can’t read.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think they meant anything longer than a tweet or a newspaper article about himself. We know how his officials had to dumb down every briefing for him because he never read anything ahead of time and had a hard time in general comprehending basic topics.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

He seems to have a problem reading teleprompters, the easiest thing to read since the invention of books in large print.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (3 children)

A bit of an exaggeration, sure. I suppose if he was motivated by something he truly loves like Hitler, he could sit down and read a book.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-tariffs-eu-colorful-cards-2018-7

Being able to and wanting to, being practised in reading and actually understanding what you read are probably very different things. Some people decided that colorful flash cards work best with him. The news articles about him not reading his briefing materials but looking at the pictures are also out there. I think he reads everything that comes in the size of a flash card or a tweet, much longer than that and I have my doubts.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Kelly said that Trump also praised Hitler for achieving complete loyalty from senior Nazi officials—and Trump expected similar fealty from the retired generals he brought on to his cabinet.

“He would ask about the loyalty issues and about how, when I pointed out to him the German generals as a group were not loyal to him, and in fact tried to assassinate him a few times, and he didn’t know that,” Kelly said. “He truly believed, when he brought us generals in, that we would be loyal—that we would do anything he wanted us to do.”

If John Kelly had any morals he would have immediately held a press conference to tell the nation that Trump was praising Hitler's expectations that all generals have loyal to him before the nation and then immediately resign.

All these Republicans waiting years to expose this instead of when Trump was in power shows they are all complicit.

[–] FlyingSquid 23 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Years and a lucrative book contract.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why come out and tell us he's a fascist thug when you can sell us that information for $17.95?

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[–] schema 40 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Ah yes, the "hitler was good for the economy" bullshit. Even if you'd ignore all the atrocities (which you shouldn't), fact is that the outcome was a country in ruins.

And Hitler's economic plan was always based on stealing resources from other countries through war, because else the country's spending was unsustainable.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago

Yes. In fact it’s a myth that the economy was strong even in the short term.

So I guess Trump wants the government to take over most businesses, have them make panzer tanks and Messerschmitts, and invade a bunch of countries to get slave labor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Nazi_Germany

[–] Burn_The_Right 35 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Trump striving to be like notoriously vicious dictators is part of what makes him so appealing to conservative voters.

If history is our guide, your conservative coworkers, neighbors and family members will politely watch as you are escorted onto a bus headed for re-education camp. They won't be overt or cartoonish in their evil. They will just be themselves.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL 35 points 8 months ago (1 children)

sigh

Fine.

Hitler-loving demented rapist fraud.

[–] Wodge 19 points 8 months ago (4 children)

You forgot:

Orange Hitler-loving demented rapist fraud.

[–] FlyingSquid 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Treasonous orange Hitler-loving demented rapist fraud.

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[–] rsuri 35 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Not that anyone would expect Trump to know this, but Hitler rebuilding the economy was kind of a fraud. He basically used fake currency (before it was cool), banned unions and made it nearly impossible to quit a job, and stole from a big chunk of Germany's own population and those surrounding it. Ordinary Germans saw a decline in their real wages by 25% from 1933 to 1938, and obviously things only got worse from there.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

That actually is the core Nazi ideology. Honest work building something up by the rules is not cool, means weakness and degeneracy. Fraud and robbery is cool, means strength and cunning. But at the same time putting yourself into something sacrificial is cool too. "We do not sow" and all that.

So it was fraud, but I think most of the Germans loyal to that ideology understood that emotionally.

Many people in the Middle East and Africa have such worldview today.

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[–] Ghostalmedia 30 points 8 months ago (2 children)

The right has always loved to say shit like “Mussolini made the trains run on time,” as code for “maybe a little fascism is good.”

[–] TheSealStartedIt 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yes.. Where I'm from it's "Hitler invented and built the Autobahn". (Also not true btw...)

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[–] ObviouslyNotBanana 26 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I do like how Kim is just "an OK guy"

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Surprised Pikachu

(This is my Riker's trombone playing a sour note standard reaction)

[–] FlyingSquid 8 points 8 months ago

You're stealing my bit, man!

[–] resetbypeer 21 points 8 months ago (5 children)

To be fair, Hitler was a more talented painter than Trump is a businessman. A biiiiiiiig /s.

[–] Witchfire 28 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Hitler also killed Hitler. Maybe Trump should aspire to reach that level of commitment to the role.

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[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I, too, have a list of things I love about Adolf Hitler:

  1. He's long dead
  2. He ruined that stupid mustache for all time
[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot 17 points 8 months ago (2 children)
[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife 14 points 8 months ago

But TBF he was also killed by Hitler, so I think that one's a draw.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Grow the mustache, you coward.

[–] Ghostalmedia 8 points 8 months ago

I’ve never even seen that guy with a 5 o’clock shadow or razor burn. It’s really weird.

He occasionally comes makes a rare appearance without the bronzer or without his hairspray, but never even a hint that he’s capable of growing facial hair.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (3 children)

This will not sway republicans from voting for him.

I wonder how they’d react if “Trump” was switched with “Biden”. Or, LOL, “Obama”.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Somehow, Conservatives will still find a way to justify voting for him. This would be a deal breaker in any other decade.

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[–] Bytemeister 18 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I could build a good economy too, if I redistributed wealth while saddling an entire ethnic/religious demographic with debt, forcing them in to slavery and excluding them from economic statistics. Oh, and make meth legal for the workforce.

[–] FlyingSquid 10 points 8 months ago

Seizing the assets of a vast number of people is indeed a great way to prop up your economy even before you decide to use them as slave labor.

And that's already legal in America! Hooray!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

“You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy, the more I don’t care for him.” - Norm Macdonald

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[–] Suavevillain 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

GOP Voters: "I don't see the problem here."

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Hey I've got a list of things I like about Hitler too! Lemme read them off to you....

  1. Some of his paintings are decent
  2. He killed Hitler

......

Wait sorry that was the entire list

[–] FlyingSquid 8 points 8 months ago

I wouldn't go that far with number one. I'd say his paintings were not unskilled, but pretty boring.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Y'know on first glance I thought this article was from The Onion but no...

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Here's mine:

  1. He's dead
[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

My grandmother said similar stuff fifty years ago. She was not a very bright person to start with and in serious mental decline by her early fifties.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Kanye is his ghostwriter

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