Of Course Trump Thinks Hitler Shouldn’t Be Judged by That One Genocide

If aliens were dropped on planet Earth today and for some reason wanted a quick primer on the previous president, perhaps as a way to stop his alien counterpart from gaining power on Mars or Jupiter, the CliffsNotes on Donald Trump would start with the fact that he’s a dangerous moron prone to saying and doing things that elicit the response, “What the f–k is wrong with you?” Obviously some of the main examples illustrating his M.O. include purposely lying to the public about a deadly virus and holding super-spreader rallies with no regard for how contagious it was; throwing an international hissy fit when he was told he couldn’t buy Greenland; and the fact that he’s apparently been telling people he’s going to be president again by next month. And now we have another story that strikes at the heart of Trump’s…unique worldview, which just happens to involve Adolf Hitler.

The Guardian reports that a new book out next week recounts an exchange Trump allegedly had in Europe with his second chief of staff, John Kelly, wherein the president of the United States defended Hitler and argued the guy shouldn’t be judged by that one genocide:

On a visit to Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war, Donald Trump insisted to his then chief of staff, John Kelly: “Well, Hitler did a lot of good things.” The remark from the former U.S. president on the 2018 trip, which reportedly “stunned” Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general, is reported in a new book by Michael Bender of The Wall Street Journal.

Bender reports that Trump made the remark during an impromptu history lesson in which Kelly “reminded the president which countries were on which side during the conflict” and “connected the dots from the first world war to the second world war and all of Hitler’s atrocities.”

Bender says unnamed sources reported that Kelly “told the president that he was wrong, but Trump was undeterred,” emphasizing German economic recovery under Hitler during the 1930s. “Kelly pushed back again,” Bender writes, “and argued that the German people would have been better off poor than subjected to the Nazi genocide.” Bender adds that Kelly told Trump that even if his claim about the German economy under the Nazis after 1933 were true, “you cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler. You just can’t.”

Setting aside the fact that the leader of the free world had to be reminded which countries were on which side during World War II, it’s amazing, in a completely terrifying way, that Trump’s staff needed to basically sit him down and say, “Now, what did we talk about, Donny? We’re not going to say anything nice about Hitler in public today, right? Can you remember that?”

Equally scary is the fact that the white supremacist/neo-Nazi contingent of Trump’s supporters would no doubt have loved to hear him proclaim that Hitler did a lot of positive things for society, and it’s extremely easy to imagine him offering some stream of consciousness aside at one of his rallies about how “nobody ever talks about all the good things Hitler accomplished.”

During a presidential debate in 2020, Trump was asked if he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups. He struggled with the answer and eventually told the far-right Proud Boys group to “stand back and stand by.” In 2017, in the aftermath of a neo-Nazi march in Virginia which earned supportive remarks from Trump, the German magazine Stern used on its cover an illustration of Trump giving a Nazi salute while wrapped in the U.S. flag. Its headline: “Sein Kampf”—his struggle.

In a statement a Trump spokesperson insisted to The Guardian, “President Trump never said this. It is made-up fake news, probably by a general who was incompetent and was fired.” (Trump, you may recall, has a thing for hiring people and then deeming them incompetent after they give an honest accounting of what it was like to work for him.) According to a 1990 Vanity Fair profile by Marie Brenner, Trump kept a book of Hitler’s speeches next to his bed.

Of course Trump isn’t the only member of the Republican Party with a disturbing affection for Nazis. Rep. Paul Gosar has attended at least one event with a known Holocaust denier. Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene—who made a name for herself blaming California wildfires on Jewish laser beams—has likened mask mandates and encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to the systemic murder of 6 million Jews, which some might say downplays the latter.

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Matt Gaetz wingman apparently has more dirt to dish to the feds

Once again, it’s not a great time to be Matt Gaetz. Per Politico:

Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector who in May pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and corruption-related charges, requested in a motion filed Tuesday a delay in his sentencing, which is scheduled for August 19. Prosecutors are not opposing the motion, court records show. He faces a minimum of 12 years in prison.

“Mr. Greenberg has been cooperating with the Government and has participated in a series of proffers. Said cooperation, which could impact his ultimate sentence, cannot be completed prior to the time of his sentencing,” read the motion. “The parties expect that Mr. Greenberg will participate in additional proffers, and a continuance would provide Mr. Greenberg with additional time to do so prior to his sentencing.”

Gaetz, who has denied any and all wrongdoing, is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly paying women for sex and sleeping with a minor and transporting her across state lines. While Greenberg‘s plea did not mention the Florida congressman, last year he reportedly wrote a “confession” letter detailing the alleged sex crimes committed by the two men, as part of a failed attempt to secure a pardon from Trump with the help of Roger Stone. And when it first emerged that Greenberg would be cooperating with the feds, his lawyer told reporters that Gaetz should not be “feeling very comfortable.” As of last month, the congressman was said to additionally be under investigation for possibly obstructing justice after allegedly patching into a phone call between an ex-girlfriend and a government witness. (A spokesperson for the congressman responded to the news by claiming “Congressman Gaetz pursues justice, he doesn’t obstruct it. The anonymous allegations have thus far amounted to lies, wrapped in leaks, rooted in an extortion plot by a former DOJ official. After two months, there is still not a single on-record accusation of misconduct, and now the ‘story’ is changing yet again.”)

Trump is taking his social media bans in stride

And by in stride we mean he’s sued all the companies who kicked him off after he incited an insurrection. Per Bloomberg:

Billing the effort during a Wednesday press conference as a move to defend First Amendment rights, Trump filed three separate class-action lawsuits in federal court in Florida against the tech giants and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and Google’s Sundar Pichai. The lawsuits seek court orders to restore his social-media accounts, along with punitive damages, to ensure other users can’t be banned or flagged by the tech giants. The legal team is being led by John P. Coale, a trial attorney involved in lawsuits against big tobacco companies. “We’re going to hold big tech very accountable,” Trump said during the press conference at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. “If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone.”

Trump is seeking to overturn a federal law that shields internet companies from liability for content posted by users. Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act protects social media platforms from lawsuits accusing them of unfairly removing posts or accounts, among other legal challenges. The First Amendment prohibits the government from forcing tech companies to leave up or take down certain categories of posts. The companies are private and therefore not subject to First Amendment claims from users and have liability protections under Section 230. But in his lawsuits, Trump is arguing that the tech giants worked with the government to censor Americans and thus are “state actors” who can be sued.

In a statement, tech advocacy group NetChoice said the ex-president’s suit shows a “deliberate misunderstanding of the First Amendment” and has no merit, adding, “President Trump has no case. The First Amendment is designed to protect the media from the President, not the other way around.” The Computer & Communications Industry Association, whose members include the three companies, said the tech giants have the right to enforce their terms of service and “frivolous class action litigation will not change the fact that users—even U.S. presidents—have to abide by the rules they agreed to.”

Trump explains how he gets his supporters to believe his cornucopia of bullshit

Elsewhere!

Trump Country Rejects Vaccines Despite Growing Delta Threat (Bloomberg)

Kathryn Garcia Concedes After New York Democratic Primary Called for Eric Adams (Bloomberg)

FBI infiltrates group whose members wanted to test homemade bombs, surveil Capitol, secede from U.S., court records show (CNN)

Bill Gates will lead foundation after two years if he and Melinda French Gates can’t work together (The Washington Post)

Trump pleads ignorance about tax code after claiming to be an expert (Independent)

Revolt Against Bank Fees Mints a $3 Billion Fortune for Fintech Founders (Bloomberg)

Wisconsin Considers Making Colby Official State Cheese in Snub to Cheddar, Mozzarella (Bloomberg)

Juvenile Reworks “Back That Thang Up” as Pro-Vax “Vax That Thang Up” (Rolling Stone)

Gramercy Park for dogs (WSJ)

You can be Joe Biden’s neighbor for $2.4 million (NYP)

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