Donald Trump said Adolf Hitler “did some good things” and praised Vladimir Putin on more than one occasion during his time in the White House, his former chief of staff has claimed.
Mr Trump, who is currently on the campaign trail and hoping to land a second stint as president, also repeatedly admired North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, according to a new book.
General John Kelly, a retired marine who became the Trump administration’s longest-serving chief of staff, makes allegations about Mr Trump’s views in a forthcoming book by a CNN journalist.
Mr Kelly tells Jim Sciutto that the then-president “thought Putin was an OK guy and Kim was an OK guy” – before recalling a specific conversation they allegedly had about Hitler.
He says: “[Trump] said, ‘well, but Hitler did some good things’. 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’.”
Mr Trump is yet to respond to the claims.
During his presidency, the former leader met and spoke with both Mr Putin and Mr Kim on numerous occasions.
America will go to the polls for a presidential election this November and last week, Mr Trump as good as secured his place as the Republican candidate when he won Super Tuesday, the day when the most US states choose who they think it should be.
Mr Trump’s victory led to his only remaining rival, Nikki Haley, ending her campaign.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:09
Where will Nikki Haley’s votes go now?
The stage therefore looks set for a Mr Trump versus Joe Biden rematch, even though neither hopeful has officially won over the number of party delegates needed for a majority yet.
Delegates cast their votes at primaries and caucuses across the US and the earliest either candidate could secure a majority is on Tuesday, when votes are held in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington and Hawaii.
Christina Applegate, the US actress best known for her roles in Anchorman and Dead To Me, has said she is living "kind of in hell" after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Applegate, 52, who found out she had the potentially debilitating auto-immune disease in 2021, told Good Morning America: "I live kind of in hell. I'm not out a lot, so this is a little difficult, just for my […]
Post comments (0)