John Kelly, former President Donald Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, has recently characterized Trump’s leadership style as “dictatorial” and “fascist,” raising concerns about his empathy in interviews this week. This criticism has been embraced by Vice President Kamala Harris as she campaigns to attract moderate Republican voters and independents in pivotal swing states, asserting that Trump poses a risk to democracy and is unfit for office.
Harris emphasized, “So the bottom line is this, we know what Donald Trump wants — he wants unchecked power. The question, in 13 days, will be what do the American people want?” She made this statement in reference to the upcoming Election Day on November 5.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kelly, who is the most prominent former Trump official to express dissent, stated that Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.” He noted that Trump displays authoritarian tendencies, admires dictators, and has exhibited a lack of respect for military personnel.
Following Kelly’s remarks, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, dismissed his comments as “fabricated stories” and asserted that Trump has consistently honored military service members.
Harris is leveraging the criticism from former officials against Trump, collaborating with them in her campaign efforts and encouraging moderate Republicans to support her candidacy instead. During a town hall event, Trump responded by downplaying the dissent from his former officials, claiming it comes from only a “small number” of individuals.
Among those who have criticized Trump’s leadership since departing from office are former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former national security adviser John Bolton. Reports suggest that recent remarks made by Trump about using the military against an “enemy from within” prompted Kelly to speak out against him, and it has also been noted that Kelly had previously corrected Trump on his comparisons to Hitler’s regime during his tenure as chief of staff.