The morning after The New York Times and The Atlantic reported that former President Donald Trump had praised historys most famous monster, Adolf Hitler, and suggested he wanted U.S. military leaders to be more like the German generals, the morning show of Trumps favorite network went into overtime to defend the GOP presidential nominee.

I can absolutely see him going, Now, you know what, it would be great to have German generals that actually do what we ask them to do knowing thats a third maybe not fully being cognizant of the third rail of German generals who were Nazis and whatever, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade said on Wednesdays show.

On Tuesday, the Times and The Atlantic published stories with interviews from Trumps former chief of staff, John Kelly, in which Kelly described alleged instances where Trump, as president, praised Hitler and what he understood to be the structures of the Nazi regime. He commented more than once that, You know, Hitler did some good things, too, Kelly told the Times.

In The Atlantic, the focus was on Trumps desire to command the militarys unquestioning obedience. Kelly told the magazine that when he asked Trump what he meant when the president said Why cant you be like the German generals, Trump confirmed that he meant the generals of Nazi Germany.

I knew he didnt know who [Otto von] Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War, Kelly told The Atlantic. I said, Do you mean the kaisers generals? Surely you cant mean Hitlers generals? And he said, Yeah, yeah, Hitlers generals.

In statements, the Trump campaign denied the comments, calling The Atlantics reporting dishonest and telling the Times that Kelly had beclowned himself.

The Fox & Friends hosts also tried to justify Trumps apparent desire for unquestioned military authority by comparing it to his business experience.

Hes also from a world where his company is huge, but its a family company. So when he asked Eric [Trump] or somebody to do something, they do it. Its not even publicly traded. He doesnt even have board members, said Kilmeade. All of a sudden, now hes like, Do this. What do you mean you cant do it? Do this. What do you mean you cant do it? What do you mean Im not allowed to do it? And after a while, while being investigated, there were probably times when he [said], Wouldnt it be great if generals actually listened? (By the way, Trumps company, the Trump Organization, has been found guilty of financial fraud stretching back years.)

Its not actually true that Hitlers generals showed him unquestioning loyalty. In fact, the most famous attempt to assassinate Hitler , Operation Valkyrie which is even the subject of a Tom Cruise movie was led by Nazi military officers, as Kelly himself said he pointed out to Trump.

Nor is it accurate, as Kilmeade seemed to imply Wednesday morning, that adherence to Nazi ideology was somehow a peripheral aspect of life in the military command structure of Third Reich Germany, which was tasked with carrying out the Nazi agenda .

Trump has long been known to have an admiration for authoritarianism, and has explicitly said he wouldnt be a dictator in a potential second term except for day one hardly a reassuring statement.

As Trump campaigns for a second term, his own rhetoric and stances have grown increasingly authoritarian and anti-democratic including suggesting terminating the U.S. Constitution , suggesting he will send the military after people who oppose him politically, and promising mass deportations , among other things. And that list doesnt even include Trumps attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 election, which culminated in his incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Both Kelly and retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, who served as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the latter half of Trumps term, have said they believe Trump to be a fascist.

I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize hes a total fascist, Milley previously told journalist Bob Woodward.