As Holocaust survivors pass on, some have expressed fear that humans won't meet the call to never forget. Forgetting is dangerous, especially as autocrats seem to be on the rise and democracies fostering equality and liberty are threatened. | CNNOpinion
Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book"Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" and co-author, with Peter Eisner, of the book"High Crimes: The Corruption, Impunity, and Impeachment of Donald Trump." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.
In excerpts from the upcoming book,"Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost," Michael C. Bender alleges that Donald Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, recounted a grotesque episode he said took place during a 2018 presidential visit to Europe. According to Kelly, Trump interrupted a discussion of Nazi atrocities to say,"Well, Hitler did a lot of good things.
Michael D'Antonio Bender describes Kelly giving the former president a rapid history lesson and, per The Guardian's reporting, an"undeterred" Trump noting Germany's economic gains under Hitler. Kelly is said to have responded,"The German people would have been better off poor than subjected to the Nazi genocide," adding,"You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler. You just can't.