ABC’s Good Morning America went full bore in opposition to half the nation on Wednesday, going all out with over 10 minutes (10:28) of hyperbolic tailspins eagerly touting as reality wild claims from former White Home chief of workers John Kelly that Donald Trump is a fascist, hazard to democracy and the American individuals, and enthralled with Adolf Hitler.
In flip, they hurled nothing however venom towards Trump and his supporters as they had been calmly soothed by Vice President Harris’s camp.
Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos — who views defeating Trump as an obligation — gushed over the “actually extraordinary breaking information this morning” of Kelly “talking out with issues you’ve gotten by no means heard earlier than from somebody who has served a president.”
“He says Donald Trump matches the definition of a fascist. He says Donald Trump praised Adolf Hitler, demeaned American battle heroes, calls Donald Trump a person who would govern like a dictator if allowed,” he added.
Truth-check: Pants on fireplace. A easy web search would reveal Kelly first leveled these claims in August 2022 in a e book for liberal elitist snobs Peter Baker and Susan Glasser and doubled down in March 2024 to CNN device and former Obama official Jim Sciutto.
Correspondent Rachel Scott — who has a idolatrous degree of hate for Trump — eagerly shared that Kelly has “paint[ed] an image of a former President and Republican nominee who has no regard for the Structure or rule of regulation, warning that he would rule as a dictator if he might” and a “fascist”.
Scott not solely invoked Kelly’s tall tales about Hitler, however implied Trump is pining for a genocide: “Kelly describing how Trump would reward Nazi chief Adolf Hitler, who orchestrated the systematic homicide of six million Jews and brought on World Warfare II.”
Scott left no stone unturned, enjoying one soundbite after one other from Kelly’s telephone conversations with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and The New York Instances’s Michael Schmidt (who’s married to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace) and gave zero time to something Trump mentioned Tuesday in regards to the 2024 race (click on “develop”):
KELLY: He commented greater than as soon as that, you already know, that Hitler did a few of these issues, too.
SCOTT: Kelly’s on-the-record, first-hand accounts following related reporting in The Atlantic, together with a personal dialog on the White Home the place, in line with Kelly, Trump requested why his generals couldn’t “be extra like” Hitler’s generals.
KELLY: Properly, I’d inform him that, sir, you already know, to begin with it is best to by no means say that. However in the event you knew what Hitler was all about, from the start to the tip, every part he did was in assist of this racist, fascist, life, you already know — the — you already know, philosophy, in order that nothing he did you would argue was good.
SCOTT: The Trump marketing campaign calling that an outrageous lie. Simply as The New York Instances revealed their interview with Kelly, Trump was on stage in Greensboro, North Carolina praising authoritarian leaders like Chinese language President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
TRUMP: He’s good. He’s a wise man. He’s a fierce man. I bought together with him very effectively. Putin, these are individuals which might be robust individuals.
SCOTT: Kelly insisting to The Instances, if given the prospect, Trump would rule as a dictator himself.
KELLY: Oh, I believe he’d, you already know, like to be similar to he was in enterprise. He might inform individuals to do issues and they might do it and not likely hassle an excessive amount of about whether or not — what the legalities had been.
SCOTT: Kelly additionally says Trump typically questioned why individuals would serve the nation in uniform and referred to service members who had been injured or killed as losers and suckers a number of instances, one thing the previous President has repeatedly denied.
KELLY: His not eager to be seen with amputees — amputees that misplaced their limbs in protection of this nation preventing for each American to — him included, to guard him, however didn’t wish to be seen with them.
SCOTT: Kelly, a retired 4 star marine common, who spent 45 years in uniform, misplaced his personal son to fight in Afghanistan. He was handpicked by Trump to guide the Division of Homeland Safety earlier than serving as his longest chief of workers.
TRUMP: Normal Kelly will go down, by way of the place of chief of workers, one of many nice ever.
SCOTT: He says he made the choice to talk out now after Trump talked about utilizing the navy in opposition to what he calls the enemy inside.
TRUMP [on FNC’s Sunday Morning Futures, on 10/13/24]: I believe the larger drawback are the individuals from inside. We have now some very dangerous individuals. We have now some sick individuals, radical left lunatics. And I believe they’re the — ought to be very simply dealt with by, if essential, by Nationwide Guard or, if actually essential, by the navy.
SCOTT: In a press release, the Trump marketing campaign writing, “John Kelly has completely beclowned himself,” calling the tales “fabricated,” and including “Trump has at all times honored the service and sacrifice of all of our navy women and men.”
Scott ended with a laughably absurd declare from Kelly:
ABC’s Rachel Scott: “John Kelly insists he isn’t attempting to inform individuals how you can vote, however he’s asking this nation to contemplate character over coverage, George.”
George Stephanopoulos: “And that every one comes from somebody who served former President Trump.” pic.twitter.com/1bOV1a9gvC
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 23, 2024
After the 2 hurled extra invective (this time about rumored Lawyer Normal candidates) at a person who’s been almost assassinated twice, ABC gave a number of moments to the fluff the pillows of Harris’s marketing campaign.
After all, Mary Bruce obliged:
Right here was as pattern of how ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ lined the Kamala Harris marketing campaign in between its two opening segments oozing over John Kelly.
Mary Bruce — Disney’s in-house North Korean information woman for Kamala Harris — was on the case, fawning over Harris being “centered… pic.twitter.com/7vftsgobhR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 23, 2024
Bruce was so predictable that she needed to finish with celebrities, cheering the Obamas and Bruce Springsteen.
Stephanopoulos took again management of what could be almost 10 minutes straight of marketing campaign protection and introduced in three-time anti-Trump writer Jonathan Karl for extra fear-mongering.
“One of many stuff you’ve reported in your books. I’ve reported it in my e book as effectively. We’ve seen it once more at the moment: among the most damning critiques of Donald Trump’s character and competence come from those that served in these prime nationwide safety positions,” Stephanopoulos solemnly huffed.
Karl has more cash to financial institution in e book gross sales to Resistance liberals, so he wants extra grist to maintain readers hiding below their covers and lamented “[t]he most damning critiques of Donald Trump and essentially the most dire warnings about what it might imply if he got here again into the White Home got here from individuals who served him closest in his administration in essentially the most delicate and necessary positions.”
He even got here with a graphic of former officers who’ve, at a minimal, voiced dismay with Trump.
For good measure, Karl trotted out one other nameless supply who believes Trump is responsible of treason. Karl clearly ignored how the implication of that might be such against the law could be punishable by demise (click on “develop”):
Let me simply undergo a number of of them. I’ve written them down so I don’t go away any out, however I’m going to go away some out as a result of there are lots. Clearly, there are his former Vice President. There’s Rex Tillerson, who was his secretary of state, Invoice Barr, who was lawyer common, John Kelly, Mark Milley, Mark Esper, who was his protection secretary, Jim Mattis, who was his earlier protection secretary, Dan Coats who was in command of the nationwide intelligence. All of those individuals have come out to difficulty dire warnings about Donald Trump. And, George, it — I’ve to say, it’s not simply the individuals who have come out publicly. Plenty of others, and you may see they aren’t endorsing Trump, however they’re not talking publicly. They’re nervous about feed again. Let simply me learn one thing that — an nameless, very prime official who spent daily time with Donald Trump, served a few years within the administration, instructed me about Donald Trump: “Trump lacks any shred of any decency, humility, or caring. He’s traitor and a malignancy on our nation and represents a transparent and current hazard to our democracy and rule of regulation.” Once more, that’s any individual who, similar to Jon Kelly, who was with Trump daily for greater than a 12 months within the White Home.
Stephanopoulos had extra nervousness to trigger amongst his superficial viewers, which ended with him telling Karl that, if Trump had been to turn out to be president, “[t]he guardrails” of our democracy in these former officers would “be gone” (click on “develop”):
STEPHANOPOULOS: Traitor. Let’s put that graphic again up there trigger I wish to make a degree right here of when see that graphic of all of the individuals who have surrounded Donald Trump, these are individuals who had been in The Scenario Room through the instances of disaster. If Donald Trump is election [sic] once more, none of these individuals will likely be there?
KARL: Properly, I’ve spoken to Trump many instances about among the those that have crossed him and I requested him what his subsequent administration could be like. What he instructed me is he didn’t know anyone. He needed to depend on recommendation to rent individuals final time. Now he is aware of individuals. He’ll put individuals in who’re loyal to him. He’ll put individuals that may perform his orders.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The guardrails will likely be gone. Jon Karl, thanks very a lot. Robin.
ROBERTS: Thanks, each.
For good measure, Stephanopoulos reiterated the topline speaking factors in a information temporary to start the second half-hour and, for the second hour, he introduced Scott and Bruce for extra pom-pom waving.
To see the related ABC transcript from October 23, click on right here.