Donald Trump has accused Kamala Harris of calling him Adolf Hitler, suggesting that the Vice President is “not fit to be President of the United States” because of her choice of rhetoric.
It comes after Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, claimed in the Atlantic that the former president had said he needed “the kind of generals that Adolf Hitler had”.
Vice President Harris responded to Kelly’s allegations in a speech at her residence in Washington D.C., and during CNN‘s Town Hall in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris gives a speech at her residence in Washington, D.C. on October 23, 2024. Harris spoke about John Kelly, former chief of staff for Donald Trump, and his allegations that he said he “needed generals like Adolf Hitler had.”
Associated Press/Mark Schiefelbein
The Claim
In posts on Truth Social and X at 3 am on October 24, Trump claimed that Harris called him Hitler.
He wrote, “Comrade Kamala Harris sees that she is losing, and losing badly, especially after stealing the Race from Crooked Joe Biden, so now she is increasingly raising her rhetoric, going so far as to call me Adolf Hitler, and anything else that comes to her warped mind. She is a Threat to Democracy, and not fit to be President of the United States — And her Polling so indicates!”
Trump’s X post gained more than nine million views, 167,000 likes, 25,000 reposts, and 8,300 replies.
The former president’s post on Truth Social also gained a significant amount of attention, with 23,600 likes and nearly 6,000 retruths.
Comrade Kamala Harris sees that she is losing, and losing badly, especially after stealing the Race from Crooked Joe Biden, so now she is increasingly raising her rhetoric, going so far as to call me Adolf Hitler, and anything else that comes to her warped mind. She is a Threat…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2024
The Facts
Trump’s complaint appears to be a reference to the speech Harris gave at her residence in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
This speech was in response to reports of Kelly’s allegations in the Atlantic article.
When discussing Kelly’s allegation that Trump said he “wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had” during his presidency, she echoed Kelly’s claims that Trump wants a military that will be “loyal to him personally” and “obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the constitution of the United States.”
Harris also referenced Trump’s previous claims about the “enemy within,” and his statement that he would use the military against them.
She said, “It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans. All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is.”
Harris added, “It is clear from John Kelly’s words that Donald Trump is someone who I quote ‘certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.’ Who 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.'”
Harris also commented on allegations that Trump is a “fascist” at CNN’s Town Hall in Pennsylvania on Wednesday night.
Harris told Anderson Cooper that undecided voters should listen to Kelly and others who worked with him who have spoken about the former president.
Asked directly if she believes Trump is a “fascist”, she said, “Yes I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.”
Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Harris for comment via email outside of business hours.
In a statement sent to Newsweek, Steven Cheung, Trump Campaign Communications Director, said, “Kamala Harris is a stone-cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles. That is why she continues to peddle outright lies and falsehoods that are easily disproven.”
He continued, “The fact is that Kamala’s dangerous rhetoric is directly to blame for the multiple assassination attempts against President Trump and she continues to stoke the flames of violence all in the name of politics. She is despicable and her grotesque behavior proves she is wholly unfit for office.”
The Ruling
Needs Context.
Harris didn’t directly call Trump “Hitler”. However, many will think she came very close to it: she confirmed that she believes Trump is a fascist, quoted Kelly’s unfavorable comments, and suggested Trump would “invoke” Hitler.
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