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Thirteen former Trump administration officials released an open letter today amplifying warnings from John Kelly, Donald Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, that the former president would rule like a dictator if he returned to office.

The former officials wrote that they were shocked but “not surprised” after Kelly, a former Marine general, told The New York Times that Trump had said more than once that “Hitler did some good things” and had complained that U.S. generals were not sufficiently loyal to him.

“This is who Donald Trump is,” wrote the 13, all “lifelong Republicans,” according to the letter. “Donald Trump’s disdain for the American military and admiration for dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked power.”

The letter did not describe any of the former officials hearing Trump speaking glowingly of Hitler, the Nazi dictator who presided over the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews and millions of others.

But the letter said its signers had “witnessed, up close and personal, how Donald Trump operates and what he is capable of.”

“The American people deserve a leader who won’t threaten to turn armed troops against them, won’t put his quest for power above their needs, and doesn’t idealize the likes of Adolf Hitler,” the letter said.

In his comments to the Times, Kelly described Trump’s appreciation of history as limited, and he recalled attempting to explain to the president why it was problematic to praise Hitler. Still, Kelly said, Trump continued to make positive comments about Hitler.

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, Steven Cheung, accused Kelly of fabricating his account in a statement today that also claimed that Kelly and the former Trump administration officials who signed the open letter were suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

In this year’s election, Trump has described Democrats, some by name, as the “enemy from within” and has contemplated deploying the National Guard to address the threat he claims they could pose.

The letter, organized Wednesday after Kelly’s comments were published in the Times on Tuesday, was signed by several outspoken supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, including two who gave speeches at the Democratic National Convention: Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump White House press secretary, and Olivia Troye, who was an adviser to Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence.

Other signers included Anthony Scaramucci, who had a memorable 10-day run as communications director in the Trump White House; Brooke Vosburgh Alexander, who was a top aide in the Commerce Department; Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as Pence’s press secretary; Mark Harvey and Peter Jennison, who worked on the National Security Council; Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary; and Robert Riley, who was the U.S. ambassador to Micronesia.

Three former Homeland Security Department officials also signed the letter: Kevin Carroll, Elizabeth Neumann and Sofia Kinzinger, who is married to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of the most vocal Republican opponents of Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“For the good of our country, our democracy, and our Constitution, we are asking you to listen closely and carefully to General Kelly’s warning,” they wrote.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company