More than a dozen former Trump administration officials have signed a letter supporting former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly‘s comments about the former president, which described the Republican nominee as a “fascist” who reportedly praised German dictator Adolf Hitler.
“This is who Donald Trump is,” the letter states.
The letter, first reported by Politico, continues: “We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments.”
It urged Americans to “heed General Kelly’s warning.”
Newsweek reached out to several signatories for comment and to receive a copy of the letter.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, told Newsweek on Friday, “This is nothing more than disgruntled, former low-level employees who had remarkably undistinguished careers in government and are now trying to survive as Never Trump pundits fighting over cable news contracts.”
The statement continued, “The fact remains they did not serve their country and President well, and will have to live with that dishonor for the rest of their miserable lives.”
Friday’s letter comes shortly after Kelly’s remarks were published and 11 days before the November 5 election, in which Trump is seeking a second term in the Oval Office.
An October surprise—a major, narrative-changing piece of news that could upend the presidential race in its final stretch—could tip the scales in the extremely tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. It is unclear what impact Kelly’s reported comments will have on voters.
Several political commentators and analysts have referred to Kelly’s remarks as potentially an October surprise, with commentator Charlie Sykes calling it an “October shock, rather than a surprise,” in an MSNBC opinion article, “because Trump’s affinity for strongmen and brutality has been a feature of his politics from the beginning, and his rhetoric has been increasingly suffused with Reichian rhetoric.”
Jim Messina, President Barack Obama‘s 2012 campaign manager and an informal adviser to the Harris campaign, posted on social media that Kelly’s public remarks are “as close to an October surprise as you can get. Trump’s own former top aide issuing a dire warning. Never seen anything like it.”
Former chief of staff John Kelly shakes hands with former President Donald Trump at the White House on July 31, 2017. Earlier this week, Kelly reported several remarks Trump made during his tenure.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Kelly, Trump’s White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, told The Atlantic that the former president repeatedly praised Hitler while in office. The Atlantic reported that Trump said during his tenure, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
The former general also told The New York Times in an interview that Trump praised Hitler on more than one occasion and that the former president had told him, “Hitler did some good things.”
Kelly also said that he believes Trump is a “fascist” and “prefers the dictator approach to government.”
Kelly has been critical of Trump in the past, including claiming that the former president previously called veterans killed in combat “suckers” and “losers.” Kelly has not endorsed Harris for president, but those close to him have said he would “rather chew broken glass” than vote for Trump.
Trump called the reports about his conversation with Kelly “a lie” and said that his former official “made up a story out of pure Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred!”
He wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this week, “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,” adding that “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!”
According to Politico, more than a dozen former Trump White House officials had signed the open letter supporting Kelly’s claims as of Friday. Some signatories have publicly backed Harris’ campaign, while others have warned that Trump is unfit for office.
“We applaud General Kelly for highlighting in stark details the danger of a second Trump term,” the letter reads.
Who Has Signed the Letter?
- Kevin Carroll, former senior counselor to Kelly
- Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary
- Elizabeth Neumann, former assistant secretary of Homeland Security
- Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director
- Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
- Stephanie Grisham, former White House press secretary
- Alyssa Farah Griffin, former press secretary to the vice president
- Olivia Troye, former national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence
Newsweek has sought to obtain a copy of the letter to identify the other signatories.
