What specific quotes or events were cited as evidence that Trump praised Hitler and how were they contextualized?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
John Kelly and multiple outlets report that Donald Trump, in private remarks while president, praised Adolf Hitler’s generals’ loyalty and allegedly said “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” and Kelly also recalled Trump saying “you know, Hitler did some good things, too” — each claim is reported and disputed in the press [1] [2] [3]. The Trump campaign has denied these reports as “absolutely false” and other Republicans have pushed back or offered alternate readings of the cited remarks [4] [5].
1. The central quotes: what was reported and where it appeared
Multiple news outlets attribute two core lines to Trump in reporting based on interviews and books: that he said “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” and that he remarked “you know, Hitler did some good things, too.” Those formulations appear in reporting summarized by The Atlantic, PBS, Newsweek and the Associated Press, which cite John Kelly’s accounts and book reporting from Peter Baker and Susan Glasser [1] [3] [2]. The Hill and local outlets also ran headlines quoting the “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had” line [4] [6].
2. The source chain: how reporters attribute the remarks
The most detailed public attributions trace to reporting and interviews that involve: Jeffrey Goldberg’s Atlantic piece, John Kelly’s interviews with The New York Times and subsequent media appearances, and earlier book reporting by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. News outlets cite Kelly recounting private conversations in which Trump allegedly contrasted loyalty and effectiveness of German generals and reportedly praised their loyalty to Hitler [1] [7]. Forbes, PBS and other outlets reference the same Kelly/Baker/Glasser reporting line [8] [1] [7].
3. Context offered by those who reported the lines
Reporters and Kelly’s interlocutors present the quotes as arising in private White House conversations and in the course of broader discussions about military leadership and loyalty. Kelly’s reported correction — that several German generals tried to kill Hitler — is presented as a direct challenge to the alleged praise; accounts say Trump was “not swayed” by Kelly’s correction and emphasized loyalty instead [7]. The AP notes Kelly’s broader claim that Trump “commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” connecting these comments to concerns about authoritarian tendencies [2].
4. Denials and political responses
The Trump campaign has “vehemently denied” that Trump made the remarks, calling the reporting “absolutely false,” and Trump himself pushed back on Kelly via social posts, per media accounts [4] [6]. Prominent Republicans publicly disputed the interpretation or significance of the reports; Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty declined the framing that Trump “praised Hitler” and instead highlighted Trump’s respect for the U.S., arguing against the characterization [5].
5. How advocates and critics framed the quotes
Democrats and critics used the reported comments to warn about alleged authoritarian impulses, with the DNC deploying billboards quoting the Atlantic headline to make a political point about loyalty and threats to democratic norms [4]. Supporters and some conservative commentators treated the reporting as partisan or inaccurate, redirecting focus to other issues or asserting that the quotes were mischaracterized [5].
6. Historical and evidentiary limits in the public record
Available sources show the alleged lines come from secondhand accounts — memoirs, interviews and reporting — rather than public, on-the-record quotes recorded contemporaneously at a publicly accessible event. The reporting rests on witnesses’ recollections and journalists’ sourcing in The Atlantic, The New York Times and books by Baker and Glasser; the materials cited by outlets show agreement about the gist but rely on private conversations rather than an audio or video record made public at the time [1] [3] [7]. If you seek a verbatim, contemporaneous on-the-record recording of Trump saying these exact words, available sources do not mention such a recording.
7. Competing interpretations and why they matter
Supporters argue the accounts are politically motivated or inaccurate; critics argue the remarks — if accurately reported — reveal what Trump values in leaders (loyalty above other norms). News outlets present both positions: the reporting outlets cite Kelly and other officials to substantiate the claim [1] [7], while campaign statements and some Republican figures reject the reports and question motives [4] [5]. The political stakes are explicit: opponents use the quotes to warn of fascist tendencies, while allies frame the reports as partisan attacks [2] [4].
8. Bottom line for readers
The specific quoted lines — “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had” and “Hitler did some good things, too” — appear repeatedly in mainstream reporting grounded in former officials’ recollections and book journalism [1] [3] [7]. The Trump campaign denies the remarks and political actors dispute their meaning. The public record includes consistent secondhand reporting but does not, in the sources provided, point to a contemporaneous public recording or direct transcript of Trump speaking those exact words [1] [3] [7].