Ex-Trump Official Concurs with John Kelly: Trump "does not operate by the rule of law"
Kelly’s disclosures have disrupted the presidential campaign significantly.
TroibNews 
A former high-ranking Homeland Security official in the Trump administration expressed on Wednesday that the former president exhibits “authoritarian tendencies” and “does not operate by the rule of law,” reinforcing a critique made by his former chief of staff and other prominent figures.
Elizabeth Neumann, who held the roles of deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security and assistant secretary for threat prevention and security policy, voiced her agreement with former Marine Gen. John Kelly’s striking assessment that Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency.
“Does he have authoritarian tendencies? Yes,” Neumann, who has backed Vice President Kamala Harris, stated in a brief interview with PMG. “Is he kind of leaning towards that ultra-nationalism component? Absolutely. That is kind of his brand, right? He’s made nationalism the new definition of the Republican Party.”
Neumann's statements, in conjunction with Kelly’s explosive warnings that Trump fits the “definition of a fascist” and would govern as a dictator if reelected, have added urgency to the narrative being pushed by Harris and her supporters in recent days. They argue that Trump is not merely “unfit” for a second term but is increasingly power-hungry and “unhinged.”
Harris labeled it “deeply troubling” and “incredibly dangerous” that Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, “who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
“Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable,” Harris remarked in brief comments delivered outside her residence on Wednesday. “And in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions.”
Harris and her team have been formulating their campaign’s closing argument around the hazards of a potential second Trump term, revisiting a theme that was pivotal in President Joe Biden’s now-concluded campaign. This comes in response to Trump's ramping up of authoritarian messaging.
Historically prone to violent and inflammatory rhetoric, Trump has become increasingly extreme in his current presidential bid. During the primary, he drew parallels to Hitler by depicting his political adversaries as “vermin” and characterizing immigrants as “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Recently, he has labeled those opposing him as the “enemy from within” and threatened to weaponize the military and judicial systems against them. Trump has insisted he did “nothing wrong” during the events of January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to overturn the election results. He recently spoke of wielding “extreme power” as president and has described migrants in increasingly dehumanizing and racist language, a shift in rhetoric that political scholars say strongly resonates with authoritarian and Nazi ideology.
Harris has seized on Trump’s recent remarks to assert that the former president poses a threat to democracy. Last week, her campaign rolled out a television advertisement in battleground states warning that Trump would “ignore all checks that rein in a president’s power.” Following this, Harris toured the Rust Belt states alongside former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, emphasizing the dangers of a second Trump term.
On Wednesday, her campaign debuted an ad in English and Spanish that highlighted Trump’s remark during a town hall with Latino voters, which characterized the January 6 riot as a “day of love.” Harris is also anticipated to further address Trump’s comments during a CNN town hall with undecided voters. Additionally, she plans to deliver a speech on Tuesday at the Ellipse, the site where Trump rallied his supporters before the Capitol riot, outlining the risks of granting him another term, according to a senior campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Harris and her advisors believe that Trump’s controversial rhetoric, along with the increasing number of Republicans, former Trump administration officials, and military leaders speaking out against him, could alienate independents and disaffected Republican voters.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents in a national NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released earlier this month indicated that preserving democracy would be a “deciding factor” in selecting a candidate. This sentiment included 72 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans.
Internal research by the campaign has shown that contrasting Trump’s instability with Harris’s image as a steady leader bolsters their messaging aimed at appealing to undecided voters in these crucial final days of campaigning, a Harris campaign official stated.
In the closing days of this competitive presidential race, Harris's campaign has quickly capitalized on Kelly’s recent remarks, which provide fresh and stark insights into Trump’s mindset, especially from someone who served as his chief of staff for nearly 17 months.
Before departing for battleground Pennsylvania, Harris urged Americans to contemplate whether they want to grant Trump “unchecked power.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, shared with reporters on Wednesday that Trump does not “respect the rule of law,” asserting that his rhetoric has crossed a “red line.”
Conversely, former Republican national security officials, participating in a press call organized by the Harris campaign, encouraged Americans to heed those who have experienced working with Trump closely during his presidency.
“People that know him best are most opposed to him, his presidency,” stated retired Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson.
Although Kelly has not endorsed any candidate in the presidential race, retired Army Reserve Col. Kevin Carroll, who previously served as a senior counselor to Kelly in the Trump White House, stated that Kelly would “rather chew broken glass than vote for Donald Trump.”
In response, Trump criticized Kelly via a social media post on Wednesday evening, claiming his former aide “made up a story” out of “hatred” and branded him a “bad” general, asserting that he no longer sought his advice during his presidency.
Trump’s campaign retaliated with statements accusing both Harris and Kelly of disseminating “falsehoods” about him, also chastising the vice president for utilizing “dangerous rhetoric” that they allege has directly contributed to two assassination attempts against the Republican nominee.
According to Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, Harris “continues to stoke the flames of violence all in the name of politics” and is “wholly unfit for office.” He further claimed that Kelly has “totally beclowned himself.”
Democratic strategists and some prominent party officials believed even prior to Kelly’s revelations that it was essential for Harris to redefine the presidential race not only as a question of Trump’s fitness to serve but also as a referendum on his years of falsehoods.
“You’re seeing her respond because his rhetoric and his disinformation is getting more and more harmful,” commented Andy Beshear, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, regarding Harris’ messaging at a campaign event last week in New Hampshire. “At the end of the day, I hope people will step back and say an angry, dishonest president is something that we absolutely cannot have in this country.”
Republicans have cast doubt on this strategy, asserting that voters have long been aware of Trump’s connections to authoritarian figures. They noted that Kelly has raised similar concerns about Trump in the past, potentially diminishing the “shock value.” Furthermore, some Democratic Senate candidates have complicated the top of the ticket’s anti-Trump messaging by promoting their ties to the former president on specific policies.
Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration appointee, observed that for Kelly to make such direct criticisms of Trump is significant but perhaps not shocking. “Yet it is not something that is new,” he remarked.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who has rallied behind Trump following his initial support for one of Trump’s primary competitors, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, downplayed the potential impact of Trump’s Hitler comparisons despite disavowing them.
“We’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump, it’s kind of par for the course. It’s really, unfortunately, with a guy like that, it’s kind of baked into the vote at this point,” Sununu stated on Wednesday during a CNN interview. “Those last swing voters are just going to kind of push towards ‘what’s going to get a little ease on my family?’”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
Elizabeth Neumann, who held the roles of deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security and assistant secretary for threat prevention and security policy, voiced her agreement with former Marine Gen. John Kelly’s striking assessment that Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency.
“Does he have authoritarian tendencies? Yes,” Neumann, who has backed Vice President Kamala Harris, stated in a brief interview with PMG. “Is he kind of leaning towards that ultra-nationalism component? Absolutely. That is kind of his brand, right? He’s made nationalism the new definition of the Republican Party.”
Neumann's statements, in conjunction with Kelly’s explosive warnings that Trump fits the “definition of a fascist” and would govern as a dictator if reelected, have added urgency to the narrative being pushed by Harris and her supporters in recent days. They argue that Trump is not merely “unfit” for a second term but is increasingly power-hungry and “unhinged.”
Harris labeled it “deeply troubling” and “incredibly dangerous” that Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, “who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
“Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable,” Harris remarked in brief comments delivered outside her residence on Wednesday. “And in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions.”
Harris and her team have been formulating their campaign’s closing argument around the hazards of a potential second Trump term, revisiting a theme that was pivotal in President Joe Biden’s now-concluded campaign. This comes in response to Trump's ramping up of authoritarian messaging.
Historically prone to violent and inflammatory rhetoric, Trump has become increasingly extreme in his current presidential bid. During the primary, he drew parallels to Hitler by depicting his political adversaries as “vermin” and characterizing immigrants as “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Recently, he has labeled those opposing him as the “enemy from within” and threatened to weaponize the military and judicial systems against them. Trump has insisted he did “nothing wrong” during the events of January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to overturn the election results. He recently spoke of wielding “extreme power” as president and has described migrants in increasingly dehumanizing and racist language, a shift in rhetoric that political scholars say strongly resonates with authoritarian and Nazi ideology.
Harris has seized on Trump’s recent remarks to assert that the former president poses a threat to democracy. Last week, her campaign rolled out a television advertisement in battleground states warning that Trump would “ignore all checks that rein in a president’s power.” Following this, Harris toured the Rust Belt states alongside former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, emphasizing the dangers of a second Trump term.
On Wednesday, her campaign debuted an ad in English and Spanish that highlighted Trump’s remark during a town hall with Latino voters, which characterized the January 6 riot as a “day of love.” Harris is also anticipated to further address Trump’s comments during a CNN town hall with undecided voters. Additionally, she plans to deliver a speech on Tuesday at the Ellipse, the site where Trump rallied his supporters before the Capitol riot, outlining the risks of granting him another term, according to a senior campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Harris and her advisors believe that Trump’s controversial rhetoric, along with the increasing number of Republicans, former Trump administration officials, and military leaders speaking out against him, could alienate independents and disaffected Republican voters.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents in a national NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released earlier this month indicated that preserving democracy would be a “deciding factor” in selecting a candidate. This sentiment included 72 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans.
Internal research by the campaign has shown that contrasting Trump’s instability with Harris’s image as a steady leader bolsters their messaging aimed at appealing to undecided voters in these crucial final days of campaigning, a Harris campaign official stated.
In the closing days of this competitive presidential race, Harris's campaign has quickly capitalized on Kelly’s recent remarks, which provide fresh and stark insights into Trump’s mindset, especially from someone who served as his chief of staff for nearly 17 months.
Before departing for battleground Pennsylvania, Harris urged Americans to contemplate whether they want to grant Trump “unchecked power.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, shared with reporters on Wednesday that Trump does not “respect the rule of law,” asserting that his rhetoric has crossed a “red line.”
Conversely, former Republican national security officials, participating in a press call organized by the Harris campaign, encouraged Americans to heed those who have experienced working with Trump closely during his presidency.
“People that know him best are most opposed to him, his presidency,” stated retired Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson.
Although Kelly has not endorsed any candidate in the presidential race, retired Army Reserve Col. Kevin Carroll, who previously served as a senior counselor to Kelly in the Trump White House, stated that Kelly would “rather chew broken glass than vote for Donald Trump.”
In response, Trump criticized Kelly via a social media post on Wednesday evening, claiming his former aide “made up a story” out of “hatred” and branded him a “bad” general, asserting that he no longer sought his advice during his presidency.
Trump’s campaign retaliated with statements accusing both Harris and Kelly of disseminating “falsehoods” about him, also chastising the vice president for utilizing “dangerous rhetoric” that they allege has directly contributed to two assassination attempts against the Republican nominee.
According to Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, Harris “continues to stoke the flames of violence all in the name of politics” and is “wholly unfit for office.” He further claimed that Kelly has “totally beclowned himself.”
Democratic strategists and some prominent party officials believed even prior to Kelly’s revelations that it was essential for Harris to redefine the presidential race not only as a question of Trump’s fitness to serve but also as a referendum on his years of falsehoods.
“You’re seeing her respond because his rhetoric and his disinformation is getting more and more harmful,” commented Andy Beshear, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, regarding Harris’ messaging at a campaign event last week in New Hampshire. “At the end of the day, I hope people will step back and say an angry, dishonest president is something that we absolutely cannot have in this country.”
Republicans have cast doubt on this strategy, asserting that voters have long been aware of Trump’s connections to authoritarian figures. They noted that Kelly has raised similar concerns about Trump in the past, potentially diminishing the “shock value.” Furthermore, some Democratic Senate candidates have complicated the top of the ticket’s anti-Trump messaging by promoting their ties to the former president on specific policies.
Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration appointee, observed that for Kelly to make such direct criticisms of Trump is significant but perhaps not shocking. “Yet it is not something that is new,” he remarked.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who has rallied behind Trump following his initial support for one of Trump’s primary competitors, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, downplayed the potential impact of Trump’s Hitler comparisons despite disavowing them.
“We’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump, it’s kind of par for the course. It’s really, unfortunately, with a guy like that, it’s kind of baked into the vote at this point,” Sununu stated on Wednesday during a CNN interview. “Those last swing voters are just going to kind of push towards ‘what’s going to get a little ease on my family?’”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
