Former President Donald Trump reportedly asked his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly why American generals couldn’t more like the German generals who were “totally loyal” to Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler during World War II.
According to an excerpt from The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 published in The New Yorker on Monday, Trump once complained to Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general, about disloyal military leadership.
“You fucking generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?” Trump asked Kelly.
“Which generals?” Kelly asked.
“The German generals in World War II,” Trump responded.
Kelly pointed out that Hitler’s generals tried to kill him three times “and almost pulled it off.”
But Trump disagreed telling Kelly, “no, no, no, they were totally loyal to him.”
Asked for comment, Trump told the New Yorker, “these were very untalented people and once I realized it, I did not rely on them, I relied on the real generals and admirals within the system.”
