Donald Trump's Former Chief Of Staff Turned On Him. Inside Their Feud

There's no doubt that Donald Trump has been one of the most polarizing figures in the world of politics, and his win in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election came as a shock to many. His tenure turned out to be controversial, and the way he behaved after losing the election in 2020 made people realize that he might not be an ideal candidate for running the Oval Office. Now that Trump has once again been chosen as the presidential nominee from the Republican party, his problematic comments on armed forces have prompted condemnation from his former chief of staff just days before Election Day.

John F. Kelly, who served as the White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, has come out publicly and slammed the former president for his controversial remarks about using the army against his opponents who are openly criticizing him for his policies and statements. In an interview with The New York Times in October 2024, Kelly noted that voters should use their minds and be very careful about who they choose to run the country. Moreover, he didn't shy away from calling Trump a "fascist" and a "dictator" because of his behavior and his approach to leadership.

"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," Kelly said.

John F. Kelly remained the White House chief of staff for two years, becoming the longest-serving chief of staff in Donald Trump's administration. He worked closely with the former president and has an idea about what was said behind closed doors. However, as soon as Kelly stepped away from the White House, he didn't hesitate in sharing his true feelings about Trump. The feud between Trump and Kelly first came to light in 2023 when Kelly opened up about the former president's controversial remarks on veterans, calling them "suckers" and "losers." The aforementioned comments were mentioned in an article published in The Atlantic in September 2020.

In a statement given to CNN in October 2023, Kelly confirmed that Trump did say those words about the men and women who lost their lives on the battlefield. He stated the former POTUS is "a person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat or spend years being tortured as POWs are all 'suckers' because 'there is nothing in it for them." In March 2024, the former chief of staff also revealed Trump's belief that Adolf Hitler did "some good things" while he ruled over Germany. Apparently, the deaths of millions of innocent people in the Holocaust doesn't bother Trump, whose appreciation of Hitler was backed up by his late ex-wife, Ivana.

Donald has already denounced Kelly for his comments, calling him a "degenerate" and a "low life" on his social media platform, Truth Social. His running mate, JD Vance, also attacked the former chief of staff and labeled him a "disgruntled ex-employee" to CNN.