Trump compared to Hitler by top US general in turbulent last days

Coming book about the former president's last year in office describes how Gen Mark Milley considered him to be 'dangerous' and 'illegal'

Former US president Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas. AFP

Former US president Donald Trump has been compared to Adolf Hitler by a top military general who said he was preaching “the gospel of the Fuhrer”.

In a new book titled I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, Washington Post reporters Carol Leonning and Philip Rucker describe how Gen Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the highest-ranking military officer in the US, and other officials planned to step down from their positions.

They refused to be linked to Mr Trump, who they considered to be “dangerous” and “illegal”.

Following Joe Biden’s election win, Gen Milley recalled a friend warning him that Mr Trump and his allies were attempting to “overturn the government”, the book says.

Gen Milley reportedly said: “They may try, but they’re not going to … succeed. You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the CIA and the FBI. We’re the guys with guns.”

Prior to the US Capitol riots on January 6, Gen Milley met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike.”

On January 6, when the Electoral College results were officially announced, Mr Trump’s supporters attacked Congress. Five people died in the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

Gen Milley warned his aides that America was facing a “Reichstag moment”, in reference to the arson attack on the German Parliament in 1933, which the Nazis used to consolidate their power.

Shortly after Mr Biden’s victory, which Mr Trump baselessly claimed was possible due to electoral fraud, Gen Milley was greatly concerned for the country’s stability as the transfer of power approached.

Long before the attack on government buildings, Gen Milley believed that Mr Trump “was stoking unrest, possibly in hopes of an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act and call out the military”.

The book gives a “definitive behind-the-scenes story” of Mr Trump’s final year in office following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which the government had failed to contain, as well as the presidential elections.

It is expected to be released on July 20.