There is a ton of proof that Donald Trump intended to be treated like a dictator, constantly argued with military officials, and had a profound ignorance of history. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the former president used World War II to try to convey the kind of unwavering allegiance he demanded of America’s generals.
Apparently, Trump reportedly complained to then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about what he saw to be disloyal generals, according to an excerpt from The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 that appeared in The New Yorker on Monday. . “You fucking generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?”
“The German generals in World War II,” said Trump.
Kelly then reminded the president about Hitler’s minions’ aborted assassination attempts. “You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” Kelly said.
Trump, though, naturally insisted on the contrary. He answered “No, no, no, they were totally loyal to him,” he said.
“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,” Trump reiterated.
Trump has always yearned for the same sort of devotion paid to previous autocrats. Trump stated he wanted “my people ” to treat him the same way North Koreans treat that nation’s murderous head of state. “He’s the head of a country, and I mean, he’s the strong head, don’t let anyone think anything different,” Trump told Fox News. “He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
Trump’s hatred was highlighted in the extract from The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021, which also included the fact that he ordered no disabled veterans take part in a memorial procession. Trump said to Kelly,“Look, I don’t want any wounded guys in the parade,” Trump told Kelly. “This doesn’t look good for me.”
“Those are the heroes,” Kelly responded. “In our society, there’s only one group of people who are more heroic than they are — and they are buried over in Arlington.”
“I don’t want them,” Trump reiterated. “It doesn’t look good for me.”
