“He thought #Putin was an OK guy & #Kim was an OK guy — that we had pushed #NorthKorea into a corner,” retired Gen #JohnKelly, who served as #Trump’s chief of staff, told me. “To him, it was like we were goading these guys. ‘If we didn’t have #NATO, then Putin wouldn’t be doing these things.’”
Trump’s lavish praise for Hungarian PM #Orbán while hosting him at MarALago on Fri, just days after all but sealing the #Republican nom…, shows it’s a worldview he’s doubling down on.
…TFG’s admiration for #autocrats has been reported b4, but in comments by Trump recounted to me for my new book, “The Return of Great Powers,” …Kelly & others who served under #Trump give new insight into why they warn that a man who consistently praises #autocratic ldrs opposed to #UnitedStates interests is ill-suited to lead the country in the GreatPower clashes that could be coming, telling me they believe that the root of his admiration for these figures is that he envies their #power.
“He views himself as a big guy,” #JohnBolton, who served as #NationalSecurity adviser under #Trump, told me. “He likes dealing w/other big guys, & big guys like #Erdogan …get to put people in jail & you don’t have to ask anybody’s permission. He kind of likes that.”
“He’s not a tough guy by any means, but in fact quite the opposite,” #JohnKelly said. “But that’s how he envisions himself.”
Trump allegedly reserved some of his most unnerving praise for #Hitler, who led #Nazi Germany during WWII.
“[#Trump] said, ‘#Hitler did some good things.’ I said, ‘what?’ & he said, ‘[Hitler] rebuilt the economy.’ But what did he do w/that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people & against the world. & I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,’” #JohnKelly recounted. “I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.”
“It’s pretty hard to believe he missed the #Holocaust, though, & pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400k American GIs that were killed…
…#Trump’s admiration for #Hitler went further…acc/to Kelly. He also expressed admiration for Hitler’s hold on snr #Nazi officers. Trump lamented that Hitler…maintained his snr staff’s “loyalty,” while Trump often did not.
“He would ask about loyalty issues &…when I pointed out to him German generals as a group were not loyal …& in fact tried to assassinate him …he didn’t know that,” Kelly recalled. “He truly believed, when he brought us generals in… that we would do anything he wanted us to do”
…Trump’s fmr advisers say he most consistently lavished praise on #Russia’s #Putin. Bolton recalled a comment from #Trump during the 2018 #NATO summit.
“He says to the press…, ‘I think the easiest meeting might be w/ Vladimir Putin. Who would ever think that?’” recalled Bolton. “There’s an answer to that question. Only 1 person. You. You are the only person who would think that. The shrinks can make of that what they will, but I think it was,‘…I wish I could act like they do.’”
“…[#Trump] likes the dictators so much is that’s who he is” Kelly said “Every incoming president is shocked that they actually have so little #power w/o going to #Congress, which is a good thing. It’s Civics101, #SeparationOfPowers, 3 equal branches….But in his case, he was shocked that he didn’t have #dictator-type powers to send US forces places or move money around in the budget & he looked at #Putin, #Xi & that nutcase in NorthKorea as people who were like him in terms of being a tough guy”
…#Trump’s affinity for authoritarians represents a defining issue for the #UnitedStates as the #2024election approaches. Several of his own fmr advisers believe, in a 2nd term, he would bring a fundamental shift in the US’ vision of itself & its role in the #world, including potentially pulling the US out of #NATO & reducing the US’ commitment to other defense #alliances.
“NATO would be in real jeopardy,” Bolton told me. “I think he would try to get out.”
Many veterans of the #Trump admin have a similar warning for #Ukraine as it battles #Russia’s invasion. “US support for Ukraine would end,” said a snr US official who served under Trump & #Biden.
“The point is, he saw absolutely no point in #NATO,” Kelly said. “He was just dead set against having troops in #SouthKorea, again, a deterrent force, or having troops in #Japan, a #deterrent force.”
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