On Oct. 22, 2024, an article published in The Atlantic triggered a wave of outrage from Democrats. In it, author Jeffrey Goldberg — who also serves as the magazine's editor in chief — claimed that in 2020, two people testified that former U.S. President Donald Trump said in a private conversation at the White House that he needed "the kind of generals that Hitler had ... people who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders."
Dozens of social media users shared the claim and article — including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose post that referenced the claim had amassed more than 2.4 million views as of this writing. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris also responded to the allegation on Oct. 23, saying in a press conference outside her Washington, D.C., residence: "This is a window into who Donald Trump really is, from the people who know him best, from the people who have worked with him side by side in the Oval Office and in the situation room."
Donald Trump vowed to be a dictator on day one. He vowed to use the military to carry out personal and political vendettas. His former chief of staff said he wanted generals like Hitler's.
Trump wants unchecked power. In 13 days, the American people will decide what they want. pic.twitter.com/p26wvGiN4i— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 23, 2024
However, some social media users were skeptical. One X user replying to Walz's post asked: "This is an exceptionally serious claim. What is your source?"
Nonetheless, The Atlantic did report that Trump said he needed "the kind of generals that Hitler had," but Goldberg did not provide details regarding who provided him with this alleged quote, nor any physical proof of Trump saying it (such as an audio or video recording). But this was not the first time people had accused Trump of idolizing Adolf Hitler.
Did Trump Say 'I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had'?
The Atlantic article described an interaction Trump allegedly had with two people. The relevant section read as follows:
As his presidency drew to a close, and in the years since, he has become more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship, and the absolute control over the military that he believes it would deliver. "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had," Trump said in a private conversation in the White House, according to two people who heard him say this. "People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders." ("This is absolutely false," [Alex] Pfeiffer [a Trump spokesperson] wrote in an email. "President Trump never said this.")
Goldberg offered no extra insight into the reporting process — for example, The Atlantic provided no other evidence explaining its confidence in publishing the claim, except for citing two anonymous people who allegedly "heard [Trump] say this."
Snopes emailed the magazine seeking further proof, and to ask whether the two people in question spoke directly with Goldberg. We will update this story if we receive a response.
As of this writing, however, there was no corroborating evidence beyond the alleged testimony of the two unnamed people. Therefore, until more information is released regarding the context of this quote and its origins, we have rated this claim as unproven.
Nevertheless, this was not an isolated accusation — Trump's former chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, once also claimed the former president had made positive comments about Hitler.
This Isn't the 1st Time People Accused Trump of Idolizing Hitler
In May 2024, Snopes reviewed claims put forth by Kelly that Trump said Hitler "did some good things." We rated this rumor as unproven as it needed further corroboration from witnesses, or either audio or video recordings.
More recently, Kelly spoke with both The Atlantic (in the same article) and The New York Times. In the former, he claimed the Republican nominee once said he wished his generals were more like those of Germany, and in the latter Kelly said Trump once told him: "You know, Hitler did some good things, too."
The relevant paragraph in The Atlantic article read as follows:
This week, I asked Kelly about their exchange. He told me that when Trump raised the subject of "German generals," Kelly responded by asking, "'Do you mean Bismarck's generals?'" He went on: "I mean, I knew he didn't know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, 'Do you mean the kaiser's generals? Surely you can't mean Hitler's generals? And he said, 'Yeah, yeah, Hitler's generals.' I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after taking part in a plot against Hitler." Kelly told me Trump was not acquainted with Rommel.
Likewise, in the 2022 book "The Divider: Trump in the White House," journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser wrote about how Kelly once relayed to his associates that Trump had asked him: "Why can't you be like the German generals?" to which Kelly reportedly responded that German generals "tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off." According to Kelly, Trump then said: "No, no, no, they were totally loyal to him."
In a piece by The New York Times published the same day as The Atlantic article, when asked if he considered Trump to be a fascist, Kelly said: "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."
Trump responded to Kelly's comments on Oct. 23, writing on X and Truth Social:
(Truth Social user @realDonaldTrump)
However, Trump's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said in an interview with CNN's Katilan Collins on Oct. 22: "You can take what John [Kelly] says to the bank."
The Bottom Line...
In sum, two people reportedly accused Trump of saying: "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had," and his former chief of staff had also claimed on multiple occasions that the former president said he wished his generals were more like German generals.
However, Goldberg, the Atlantic author, did not offer any details regarding who provided him with this quote or any physical proof of Trump saying it. Therefore, until The Atlantic is able to provide further insights into its reporting, or physical proof or further corroboration from witnesses becomes available, we have rated this claim as unproven.