Barack Obama: Its A Good Rule Of Thumb To Not Praise Hitler

Former President Barack Obama slammed his successor, former President Donald Trump , on Thursday, following reports Trump as president at one point spoke approvingly of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Earlier this week, former White House chief of staff John Kelly spoke to The Atlantic and The New York Times about his fears of another Trump term. In separate interviews, Kelly told the news outlets he believed his former boss met the definition of a fascist ; recounted how Trump wished Kelly would be totally loyal like Hitlers generals had been; and said he felt compelled to speak out after Trump suggested hed use the military to target his political enemies.

Obama brought up the reports while giving an impassioned speech in support of Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta on Thursday night.

Now, I want to explain that in politics a good rule of thumb is: Dont say you want to do anything like Hitler, Obama told the crowd. Thats just good political advice, but it is useful because it gives us a window into how Donald Trump thinks. And John Kelly isnt the only one saying this. Two of his defense secretaries , people who worked for him, said the same thing.

Obama: I want to explain that in politics a good rule of thumb is don't say you want to do anything like Hitler. pic.twitter.com/1Gl9ddg7nY

Acyn (@Acyn) October 24, 2024","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Acyn","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn","cache_age":86400,"description":"Obama: I want to explain that in politics a good rule of thumb is don't say you want to do anything like Hitler. pic.twitter.com/1Gl9ddg7nY Acyn (@Acyn) October 24, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Acyn on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1849596666170704255","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"671ae12fe4b07a6807471c37","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/barack-obama-donald-trump-hitler-comments_n_671ae12fe4b07a6807471c37","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,barack-obama,2024-elections,kamala-harris,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/832edd4b-2cba-4782-ae6a-9c0c0ea828f4/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"671ae12fe4b07a6807471c37","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Barack Obama ","slug":"barack-obama","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/barack-obama","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/barack-obama","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/barack-obama"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Barack Obama","slug":"barack-obama","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/barack-obama"},{"name":"2024 elections","slug":"2024-elections","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2024-elections","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-elections","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-elections"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2024 Elections","slug":"2024-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2024-elections"},{"name":"kamala harris","slug":"kamala-harris","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/kamala-harris","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/kamala-harris","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/kamala-harris"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Kamala Harris","slug":"kamala-harris","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/kamala-harris"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Obama: I want to explain that in politics a good rule of thumb is don't say you want to do anything like Hitler. pic.twitter.com/1Gl9ddg7nY
Acyn (@Acyn) October 24, 2024

Obama went on to praise Kelly, a former Marine general who also served as Trumps homeland security secretary, as a decorated soldier who in the past had never even talked about politics because ... the military should be above it.

But the reason theyre speaking up is because they have seen that in Donald Trumps mind, the military does not exist to serve the Constitution or the American people, Obama said. He doesnt see being commander in chief as a solemn, sacred responsibility. Just like everything else, he thinks the military exists to do his bidding.

Trump has denied that he made the remarks about Hitler and attacked Kelly as a total degenerate.

The Republican presidential nominee said in an interview earlier this month he was concerned about the enemy within America, referencing those critical of him. Trump told Fox News at the time he believed radical left lunatics could be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.