Donald Trump said Adolf Hitler “did some good things” and praised Vladimir Putin on more than one occasion during his time in the White House, his former chief of staff has claimed.
Mr Trump, who is currently on the campaign trail and hoping to land a second stint as president, also repeatedly admired North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, according to a new book.
General John Kelly, a retired marine who became the Trump administration’s longest-serving chief of staff, makes allegations about Mr Trump’s views in a forthcoming book by a CNN journalist.
Mr Kelly tells Jim Sciutto that the then-president “thought Putin was an OK guy and Kim was an OK guy” – before recalling a specific conversation they allegedly had about Hitler.
He says: “[Trump] said, ‘well, but Hitler did some good things’. I said, ‘well, what?’ And he said, ‘well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy’.
“But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world.
“And I said, ‘sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing’.”
Mr Trump is yet to respond to the claims.
During his presidency, the former leader met and spoke with both Mr Putin and Mr Kim on numerous occasions.
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Putin and Trump at the G20 Osaka summit in 2019. Pic: Reuters
He publicly hailed the Russian leader as “very, very strong” and took his side in a row over the FBI – a move which angered senior politicians in the US.
America will go to the polls for a presidential election this November and last week, Mr Trump as good as secured his place as the Republican candidate when he won Super Tuesday, the day when the most US states choose who they think it should be.
Mr Trump’s victory led to his only remaining rival, Nikki Haley, ending her campaign.
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The stage therefore looks set for a Mr Trump versus Joe Biden rematch, even though neither hopeful has officially won over the number of party delegates needed for a majority yet.
Delegates cast their votes at primaries and caucuses across the US and the earliest either candidate could secure a majority is on Tuesday, when votes are held in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington and Hawaii.