In response to the release of an audio recording in which retired General John Kelly was heard saying that former President Donald Trump told him that he desired military leaders similar to those that Adolf Hitler once had, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Trump.
On Wednesday, October 23, Harris stated that the 78-year-old does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution but rather one that is only "loyal to him." This statement was made while Harris was speaking with reporters, OK! Magazine reported.
"He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally, one that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States," Kamala added.
Harris also referenced Trump's comments about Democrats being "the enemy within," claiming he considers his enemies to be "anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him," including judges, journalists, and nonpartisan election officials.
"It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler," Kamala said. "The man who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans."
Kamala continued by saying that this provides a glimpse into Donald Trump's true nature from those who have the most intimate knowledge of him and from those who have worked alongside him in the Oval Office and the Situation Room, both individually and collectively.
The vice president added that Donald Trump is an individual who, to quote John Kelly, "certainly falls into the general definition of fascist." Trump made a promise to be a dictator from the very beginning of his presidency, and he also made a promise to use the military as his militia to carry out his personal and political vendettas.
Under the guise of describing him as "increasingly unhinged and unstable," Kamala warned that if Trump is elected to a second term, individuals like Kelly will no longer be in place to serve as "guardrails."
"So, the bottom line is this — we know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power. The question in 13 days will be, what do the American people want? Thank you," she concluded.
This is not the first time that Kelly has asserted that Trump has discussed the German dictators with him. The book "The Return of Great Powers" by Jim Sciutto claims that the former president of the United States of America stated that Hitler had done "good things" for his country.
"I said, ‘Well, what?’ And he said, ‘Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.’ But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,’ I mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison," an excerpt of the book read.
Meanwhile, even though the key swing states are virtually tied, the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be a dead heat just over two weeks before the election. At least six surveys conducted over the past week have shown that Harris has a slight advantage over Trump, while three others have found that Trump has a slim lead.
The Wall Street Journal released a survey of registered voters on Wednesday. Trump is currently leading by 47% to 45%. This represents a shift in favor of Trump since August, when Harris led by 47% to 45% in a survey conducted by the Journal (with a margin of error of 2.5, and respondents could choose third-party candidates).
Trump also leads Harris by two points, 51% to 49%, nationally among likely voters, including those leaning toward one candidate, according to a HarrisX/Forbes survey released on Wednesday (margin of error 2.5). Additionally, Trump is up one point, 49% to 48%, without these so-called leaners.
According to Harris, Trump has a lead of 49%-48% with leaners and is tied at 47% without leaners. This is because respondents can also select third-party candidates.
Harris has a three-point advantage over Trump, 47% to 44%, among respondents who said they "definitely" or "probably" planned to vote for one of the candidates. In comparison, 4% chose "other," and 5% chose no candidate, according to a poll conducted by Monmouth University on October 17-21 and released Wednesday. The poll was conducted with 802 registered voters.
With third-party candidates on the ballot and respondents being given the options of choosing "other," "not sure," or "would not vote," Harris is up by three points, 49% to 46%, in an Economist/YouGov survey of likely voters that was also released on Wednesday (margin of error 3). This represents a one-point drop in her lead from the previous study that the groups conducted between October 12 and October 15.
Harris is in the lead by four points, 50% to 46%, in the weekly poll released by Morning Consult on Tuesday. This is in line with the results of the previous week's poll, but it is a decrease from her lead of 51% to 45% in the two polls before the most recent one.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday also found Harris with a three-point lead, 46% to 43% (but two points when using rounded figures, which is within the poll's two-point margin of error); a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted the previous week also found her with a three-point lead, 45% to 42%.
Harris has gained one point, from 45% to 44%, in a poll of likely voters conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University on October 14-18 (with a margin of error of 3.1). This is due to Trump's narrowing of the margins of victory since the last poll conducted by these groups in August, which found Harris ahead by five points.
After posting two-point leads in September and early October and a four-point lead in August, Harris also led Trump by just one point in a poll of likely voters published on Friday by Emerson College. The poll indicated that the margin of victory was 49%- 48%.
After leading Harris by a margin of 50%- 48% in September, Trump regained the lead over her in a poll conducted by Fox News and released last week. The poll found that Trump had a lead of 50%- 48% among likely voters, which is a change from the 50%- 48% edge that Harris had in September.
According to the weighted polling average of FiveThirtyEight, Harris has eliminated President Trump's lead over Vice President Joe Biden since she announced her candidacy on July 21. However, her advantage has decreased slightly over the past two months, reaching its highest point of 3.7 points in late August.
Business Times has reached out to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for comments.
