Trump’s former chief of staff says he fits ‘fascist’ definition and prefers ‘dictator approach’

John Kelly, the former Marine general who was Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, told The New York Times that the former president fits “into the general definition of fascist” and “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”

John Kelly, the retired Marine general who was Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, told The New York Times that the former president fits “into the general definition of fascist” and “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” The newspaper reported on Tuesday that in a recorded interview, Kelly was asked whether the former president met the definition of a fascist and responded by reading aloud a definition he’d found online. “Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” Kelly said. “So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America.” Kelly continued: “Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.” The comments from a top Trump White House official come two weeks before Election Day, as Trump faces Vice President Kamala Harris in his bid to return to the Oval Office four years after losing an election he falsely maintained was riddled with fraud. Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement that Kelly had “totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”