An ally's attempt to defend Donald Trump after his onetime chief of staff alleged startling praise for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's generals was repeatedly shut down on CNN Wednesday morning.
Trump's former strategic communications director Marc Lotter faced off against The Grio senior vice president Natasha Alford in a dark debate about John Kelly's recent report to the Atlantic that the former president requested he be more like "Hitler’s generals."
"Voters need to listen to people who are in the inner circle," Alford said. "There's no reason to lie."
Alford's warning to American voters came in response to Lotter's claim that Kelly's words should be dismissed as "one man's perspective."
Lotter claimed he'd never heard the former president praise Nazi leadership's loyalty, accused Trump's critics of name-calling and told voters to put prioritize financial concerns and immigration policy over everything else.
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"The world was safer when Donald Trump was in the White House compared to the mess we've got going on right now," Lotter said.
Lotter did not explain by what metric he measured safety and economic success. Under President Joe Biden's administration, violent crime has dropped to historic lows, inflation has decreased and jobs and wages increased.
This may be why Alford asked Lotter to check his numbers.
"This is about more than the dollar," Alford said. "We are talking about the ability to be able to do business, right, to do the business of democracy, going forward."
Alford praised Kelly's courage at stepping forward, urged other former Trump allies to do the same and voters to listen.
"Think about not just the public persona you see, not the charming sort of charismatic personality that Donald Trump may put on when he's trying to get you to vote for him," she said. "Think about how he will actually run the country behind closed doors."
Tempers flared at the end of the segment when Lotter made a call for unity and warned of darkness to come otherwise.
"How powerful would that message be if Donald Trump said that," Alford snapped. "He's not saying that."
Lotter cut in to blame Democrats for calling Trump a threat to democracy, a comment that spurred a fact check from host Sara Sidner
"It wasn't a Democrat in this instance," she said.
Added Alford, "Look at what John Kelly just said."
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