'Really disturbing': Blitzer clashes with GOP gov who downplayed Trump’s praise of Hitler

23 October 2024

CNN primetime host Wolf Blitzer recently had a testy exchange with New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu over former President Donald Trump's praise of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

On Wednesday night, Blitzer invited Sununu onto his show to ask him directly what he thought of the 45th president of the United States saying complimentary things about Hitler to Marine General John Kelly when he served as Trump's White House chief of staff. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an article Tuesday describing conversations with Kelly, in which he confided that Trump longed to have the same kind of "totally loyal" generals "that Hitler had." He also said that Hitler "did some good things" with Germany's economy with Kelly reminding him that he can't "ever" say anything complimentary about the architect of the Holocaust.

Throughout their exchange, Sununu downplayed and equivocated and attempted to pivot to criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. Blitzer, however, directly confronted Sununu on multiple occasions over whether he thought it was anti-Semitic for Trump to both compliment Hitler and to dine with white supremacist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

"Why do you want to vote for someone who thinks, quote, 'Hitler did some good things?'" Blitzer asked Sununu, after introducing him to viewers as someone who is supporting Trump in November.

"So let's be clear, those comments are not helpful, especially with these last couple of weeks. They're extreme," Sununu said. "I mean, this is a time when folks are going to say extreme things. I have all the respect in the world for John Kelly. Half the country doesn't think they're voting for a fascist. That's not where the American voter is."

After Sununu wrote off Kelly's comments as "white noise" and opined that they wouldn't move the needle in swaying undecided voters, Blitzer pushed back.

"Governor, do you actually think that having positive things to say about Hitler, or dining with Holocaust deniers, is anti-semitic?" Blitzer asked.

At first, Sununu misinterpreted the question as Blitzer equating Trump with a dictator "who murdered six million Jews." But the CNN anchor clarified his question.

"I didn't compare Trump to Hitler," Blitzer said. "I asked you if you think having positive things to say about Hitler, like Trump reportedly has said, according to several retired four-star generals who worked closely with him, or dining with Holocaust deniers at Mar-a-Lago, for that matter, is anti-Semitic."

Sununu again admitted that Trump's praise of Adolf Hitler was "not helpful," but then switched gears to ask the CNN host what he thought about the nationwide college campus protests of Israel's bombing of Gaza, which he characterized as "constant anti-Semitism" (many participants in those protests were Jewish). But Blitzer then countered that it wasn't just Kelly speaking out about Trump, but multiple senior members of the Trump administration, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former National Security Advisor John. Bolton, among others.

"What's really disturbing, governor, is that virtually all of Trump's hand-picked to national security officials who worked closely with him for years are now warning about the threat he poses," Blitzer said. "How disturbing is that to you? Are they all wrong?"

Watch the full segment below, or by clicking this link.

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