Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly called him a Hitler-admiring authoritarian. It took Fox nearly 24 hours to play the audio.

This is the latest example of Fox News’ refusal to tell its audience about former Trump administration figures’ opposition to the GOP nominee

Written by Lis Power

Published

Updated

Donald Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly went on the record in interviews released by The New York Times saying that Trump is a fascist, that he has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, and that he repeatedly denigrated soldiers and the military. Fox News has so far refused to play those audio recordings for its audience.

In a triplet of recorded interviews released by The New York Times, Kelly — Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff — went on the record over concerns he has about Trump. In a series of breathtaking quotes, Kelly claimed that Trump “is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure,” and that Trump has “commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too.’"

Fox News has yet to play the publicly available audio recordings of those quotes.

While Fox personalities have discussed some of the recent accusations of Trump’s admiration for Hitler, embarrassingly defending the former president, they’ve focused mostly on a different story from The Atlantic, titled “Trump: ‘I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” which also alleged Trump has a “preoccupation with dictators” and a “disdain for the American military,” — not the Kelly interview from the Times.

Fox’s decision to not air the audio of Kelly’s quotes separates them from other TV news outlets. All three major broadcast networks’ morning news shows played parts of the Kelly recordings, as have CNN and MSNBC. This isn’t the first time that the network has chosen to keep its audience in the dark about how former Trump administration officials have come out against the former president.

Update (10/24/24): The October 23 edition of Fox News' Special Report played the Kelly audio.

From the October 23, 2024, edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier

BRET BAIER (ANCHOR): But, first, does it qualify as an October surprise? Comments by a former chief of staff for then President Trump making headlines less than two weeks ahead of the election. Former General, former Chief of Staff John Kelly says President Trump, the former president, would rule like a dictator, has no understanding of the Constitution, and meets the definition of a fascist. Kelly has made disparaging remarks about his former boss before, but these come obviously at a particularly crucial time. Vice President Kamala Harris saying today Kelly's comments reveal Trump for who he really is. The Trump campaign pushing back. We're learning tonight Harris will make a major closing argument on the Ellipse, here in Washington, Tuesday, one week before Election Day. Chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel leads us off tonight with this. Good evening, Mike.

MIKE EMANUEL (CORRESPONDENT): Bret, good evening. Former Chief of Staff John Kelly has done two highly critical interviews of former President Trump. The interviews blowing up less than two weeks before Election Day.

[CLIP BEGINS]

JOHN KELLY: Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he's certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators -- he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.

[CLIP ENDS]

In an interview with The Atlantic, John Kelly recounted how Trump told him he wanted generals that were loyal like Hitler's. Vice President Kamala Harris was quick to jump on Kelly's criticism.

[CLIP BEGINS]

KAMALA HARRIS: Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution. He wants a military that is loyal to him.

[CLIP ENDS]

  Retired Army Brigadier General Anthony Tata says Kelly's use of fascism is a cheap shot and dangerous.

[CLIP BEGINS]

BRIG. GEN. ANTHONY TATA (RET.): I am shocked that General Kelly has made these comparisons of Trump to Hitler when he knows they're not true. He knows that he's enabling a Harris-Walz ticket that would continue to help the Middle East unravel and drive our enemies together.

[CLIP ENDS]

The Atlantic also referenced Mr. Trump inviting the family of 20-year-old Army Private Vanessa Guillén, who was murdered at a military base in Texas, to the Oval Office. At one point, the president offered to pay for her funeral. Then Atlantic sources suggest Trump blew up when he heard the price tag would be $60,000. A former Pentagon chief of staff says that is not true.

[CLIP BEGINS]

KASH PATEL: He said if the military didn't pick up the tab, he would in its entirety. That's the commander-in-chief.

[CLIP ENDS]

Guillén's sister accused The Atlantic of exploiting her sister's death for politics and said, quote, "President Trump did nothing but show respect to my family and Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today."

Nick Ayers, a former chief of staff to then Vice President Mike Pence, called Kelly's commentary, quote, "patently false." So some are asking about two weeks before Election Day, why an interview about incidents reportedly from more than four years ago are coming out just before the election, Bret.

BAIER: Yeah, and we're seeing more of that. You had the former chief of staff -- commander-in-chief -- the chairman of the joint chiefs Mark Milley quoted in a Bob Woodward book saying something similar. But this is the first audio we've heard on the record.

EMANUEL: That's right, John Kelly speaking in his own words. We can hear his voice, his points of emphasis. It makes you wonder if he may come on camera before long to talk more about what he believes.