Former US president Donald Trump clashed repeatedly with his generals over his desire to hold a huge military parade in Washington DC, the New Yorker reports.
According to the report, Paul Selva, an Air Force general and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Trump it was a bad idea and that “it’s what dictators do.”
Trump also angered the military leaders by telling them he didn’t want any injured vets taking part in the parade. “I don’t want them,” Trump reportedly said. “It doesn’t look good for me.”
Later, as Trump grew frustrated that the generals were not exhibiting blind loyalty to him, he exclaimed to his chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general: “You fucking generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?”
“Which generals?” Kelly asked.
“The German generals in World War II,” Trump responded.
“You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” Kelly said.
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