October 23, 2024
V.P. Kamala Harris intensified ramped up attacks on Wednesday against the Former President Donald Trump by drawing a divisive parallel between him and Adolf Hitler. With just 13 days until the 2024 Election Day, Harris seized on a recently resurfaced article from The Atlantic, which alleges that Trump made remarks praising Hitler during private conversations with his former Chief of Staff John Kelly.
The Atlantic Hit Piece and Harris’s Rebuttal.
The piece, by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, rehashes accusations that Trump insulted Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén, killed in 2020, and that Trump liked some of Hitler’s leadership. Kelly, a former Marine general, is said to have told Trump that “Hitler did some good things,” a reference to Hitler remaking Germany’s economy, according to the article. Kelly, reportedly told Trump not to give Hitler praise at all.
Harris replied to this story in an emergency press conference: “Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the death of six million Jews,” attempting to trace the former president’s supposed comments to the horrors of the Holocaust.
Trump’s Team Responds
Trump smacked back at Harris’s statement as desperate and false. The campaign stated Kamala is a stone-cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles.”
Several Trump supporters were outraged at Harris’s remarks because they say this sort of talk only fuels polarization and puts Trump in his own grave. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk posted: “They’re gonna get Trump killed. Pray.” Kirk’s tweet and a clip of Harris’s press conference were instantly shared on social media.
Fact-Checking the Claims
This new scandal is over the same accusations made by John Kelly in 2020 that were widely denied then. (‘The Atlantic’ was the first to publish Kelly’s tweet about Trump flattering Hitler but it couldn’t find proof. Even after the accusations surface again, there is no new evidence to be gleaned, and Trump hasn’t admitted ever saying this.
Trump actually got into an ugly fight with Goldberg in 2020, after a similar Atlantic story claimed Trump was referring to US war dead as “losers” and “suckers”. That story was also denied by a lot of people close to Trump, but Goldberg’s new piece tries to stir the pot again weeks before the election.
Growing Concerns Over Rhetoric
The two camps have stepped up rhetoric towards the 2024 election as both have turned ugly words on Trump and Trump-supporters say it could lead to violence. Some say Harris’s Nazi-like analogy to Trump is inflammatory, even poisonous, and – according to some – could lead to further political animosity.
Politicians have said Harris’s recent snipes may be an act of desperateness because the polls are showing a tight race in swing states. In contrast, Trump has repeatedly called out former officials such as John Kelly as partisan smear campaigns.
More than two weeks until Election Day and it will be interesting to see how this latest episode will affect both Trump’s and Harris’ campaigns.
Sources:
- The Atlantic: “Trump Disrespected Vanessa Guillén and Celebrated Hitler, Says John Kelly”
- Acyn on X: “John Kelly On Tape Saying Trump Admitted Hitler”
- The Atlantic’s Previous Smear Campaign of Trump
- Trump Campaign Takes Issue with Harris Comments
- Charlie Kirk’s Reaction to Harris’s Smear campaignCharlie Kirk Responds to Harris’s Smear Campaign (https://x.com/charliekirk/status/1717239659)Charlie Kirk is not an enemy of Harris’s.
