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Vice President Kamala Harris warned voters that reelecting Donald Trump to the White House would allow him to pursue “unchecked power,” drawing attention to reports that Trump praised Adolf Hitler while in the White House and has long sought to use military power against domestic enemies. 

In unusual remarks issued from the vice president’s residence Wednesday afternoon, Harris described Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, as “increasingly unhinged and unstable” and said he would not have guardrails against taking extreme action if elected to another term as president. 

Harris, who polling indicates is in a tight race against Trump for the presidency, pointed to comments by John Kelly, the Trump White House’s longest-serving chief of staff. Kelly said he was concerned about what Trump’s reelection would mean for the country. The vice president warned that a second Trump term would be more dangerous than the first because people like Kelly would no longer be there to rein him in. 

“It is clear from John Kelly’s words that Donald Trump is someone who, I quote, ‘certainly falls into the general definition of fascist,’ who in fact vowed to be a dictator on day one and vowed to use the military as his personal militia to carry out his personal and political vendettas,” Harris said. “All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is. This is a window into who Donald Trump really is from the people who know him best.”

In a series of recorded interviews with The New York Times published Tuesday, Kelly, who also served as homeland security secretary under Trump, described listening to the former president praise Adolf Hitler and chafe at the limits on presidential power. Kelly concluded that based on his years working alongside the former president, Trump met the definition of a fascist and may govern like a dictator if reelected.

“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,” Kelly said. “He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”

Kelly, who said he will not endorse any candidate in the upcoming election, agreed to the interviews following comments by Trump that he would use the military against “the enemy from within” if chaos ensued after the election, referring to what he called, “radical left lunatics.” The retired Marine general said that he was deeply troubled by Trump’s view of military power, including his willingness to deploy such powers to target fellow Americans. Kelly said that Trump does not understand the limits of presidential power over the nation’s armed forces, and expected unformed and retired generals named to his administration to show unwavering loyalty.

The comments by Kelly confirmed previous reports about Trump’s views on Hitler and remarks by Trump showing contempt for disabled veterans and those who have died on the battlefield. 

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that Kelly had “beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated.”

Kelly is the latest in a number of former Trump supporters to sound the alarm on their concerns that the former president poses a threat to national security and democracy. In public appearances with Harris this week, former Rep. Liz Cheney urged her fellow Republicans to support Harris in the presidential election. She has cited the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as a key turning point for her.

“For anybody who is a Republican, who is thinking that they might vote for Donald Trump because of national security policy, I ask you: Please, please study his national security policy. Not only is it not Republican, it’s dangerous,” Cheney said alongside Harris in Michigan on Monday. “Don’t think that Congress can stop him,” she later added.

In a call with reporters Wednesday morning, Harris’ campaign brought together two retired senior military officials to sound the alarm about Kelly’s remarks.

Retired Army Reserve Col. Kevin Carroll, a former senior adviser to Kelly, said that Trump tried to enlist the military to overturn the results of the 2020 election and that Kelly “stood in the breach and acted as a check to Trump’s worst impulses.”

“A second time around, those guardrails won’t exist,” Carroll said, adding that Kelly’s decision to speak publicly about Trump “was no small step.” 

Retired U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Steve Anderson, a Republican who is part of a group of national security leaders supporting Harris, said he too was concerned about Trump’s use of the military to “suppress” enemies within the country.

Trump faces charges in at least two cases, both tied to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He has been convicted of 34 felonies and faces three other criminal cases. He also has been found liable in civil court for sexual abuse, defamation and fraud.

Reporter Jennifer Gerson contributed to this report.

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