Kelly pushed back against Trump on the latter point, pointing out that German officers had conspired to assassinate Hitler on several occasions. Kelly also noted that Trump had apparently "missed the Holocaust," adding that it was "pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater." Hitler's leadership wasn't exactly a win for Germans who supported him either. Far from "rebuilding" the nation, Hitler left Germany in literal ruins with several of its cities reduced to rubble. Millions of German soldiers died in six years of devastating warfare, along with many civilians. Hitler ended by killing himself in an underground bunker rather than risking capture by the Soviets, a fact Trump also overlooks in mythologizing the man who started the deadliest war in history.
Trump's rejection of history isn't just about his apparent innate faith that fascism is more efficient. It's also a manifestation of his limitless narcissism and his obsessive belief that he is owed unquestioning loyalty from the people around him, although he'd happily throw every single one of them under the bus for a nickel. He publicly indulged this fantasy late last week, when hosting Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago. Amid his slobbering praise of the Hungarian prime minister, Trump said, "He’s a non-controversial figure because he says this is the way it’s going to be, and that’s the end of it. Right? He’s the boss."
