Former Chief of Staff John Kelly gave a scathing review of former President Donald Trump during an interview with The New York Times, providing Vice President Kamala Harris with a new line of attack as the presidential election nears.
Harris seized on Kelly's comments during a campaign event.
"This is a window into who Donald Trump really is, from the people who know him best," said Harris.
Kelly, in his interview, described Trump as an authoritarian who admires dictators.
"So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure," Kelly said.
Kelly also confirmed reports that Trump, on more than one occasion, spoke positively of Adolf Hitler.
"He wants a military who will be loyal to him personally, one that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States," Harris added.
In response, the Trump campaign issued a statement saying, "John Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his president well while working as Chief of Staff."
Trump did not directly address Kelly's comments during a town hall with faith leaders in Georgia. He focused on Christian voter turnout instead.
"If you look over the last 30 years or so, for whatever reason, Christians are not tremendous voters, in terms of percentage. If they were, we'd never lose an election. We wouldn't have these people in office," Trump said.
Trump held back-to-back events in battleground states, where supporters expressed confidence in his leadership.
"Did he run this country as a dictator the four years he was in? Absolutely not. No wars, the economy was absolutely incredible. Everybody was making money. He wasn't a dictator then, why should he be a dictator now?" said Deborah Mann, a Georgia voter.
Harris participated in a town hall in a Philadelphia suburb and is scheduled to campaign in Atlanta tomorrow, where Bruce Springsteen will perform at her rally.