LAST UPDATE | 23 Oct

DONALD TRUMP REPORTEDLY praised Adolf Hitler in conversations in the White House, and said that he needed generals that were “totally loyal to him, that follow orders”.

Retired US Army General John Kelly, who was Chief of Staff under Trump, has said that the Republican nominee praised Hitler’s generals for their loyalty while President, asking why his own generals could not emulate them.

Trump has reportedly grown “more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship”, according to Jeffrey Goldberg, writing in the US online platform The Atlantic

The Trump campaign has completely rejected Kelly’s claims.

A spokesperson for the campaign said that Kelly had “beclowned himself”, and suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” for which he should receive “professional help”.

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has filed a complaint against the UK Labour Party for what it claims is “interference” in the US election.

The complaint to the Federal Election Commission in the United States is against Labour and Kamala Harris’ US election campaign for “making and accepting illegal foreign national contributions”.

In other campaign news, podcaster Joe Rogan has announced Trump will make an appearance on his show this Friday. Harris has also appeared on podcasts during the presidential race, including the popular Call Her Daddy show.

Trump has previously criticised Rogan for his support of independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has since dropped out.

“It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring??? MAGA2024,” Trump wrote on his social media site in August.

Here we go! 🇺🇸 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/bgja6JPqsQ

— Joe Rogan Podcast (@joeroganhq) October 22, 2024

Trump has also drawn criticism for comments he made at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania about late golfing legend Arnold Palmer, including comments referring to Palmers’ genitalia.

Palmers’ daughter, Peg Palmer Wears, said that it was a “poor choice of approaches” to honouring her father’s memory, but that she wasn’t overly upset.

“There’s nothing much to say. I’m not really upset I think it was a poor choice of approaches to remembering my father, but what are you going to do?” she said.

The Trump campaign’s complaint against Labour refers to reporting regarding meetings between party officials and the Harris campaign and people connected to Labour going to the US to volunteer for the Democrat campaign.

A statement on DonaldJTrump.com on Tuesday night claimed that “far-left” Labour has “inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric”.

The statement said that “The Trump-Vance Campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against the Harris-Walz Campaign and the Labour Party of the United Kingdom for illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections”.

The linked complaint addressed to the Federal Election Commission refers to reports by The Telegraph newspaper with regards to people associated with Labour going to the US to campaign for Kamala Harris.

It claims that reporting “surrounding the relationship between the Harris campaign and the Labour Party create[s] a reasonable inference that the Labour Party has made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions”.

The letter also refers to a report in the Washington Post which claims that advice has been offered between Labour Party strategists and Ms Harris’ campaign, and other reporting regarding meetings between senior Labour staff and the Democratic campaign.

Those referenced in the letter include Matthew Doyle, the director of communications, and Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.

The complaint also references a social media post, which now seems to have been deleted, in which a Labour staff member appeared to have said there were “nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) going to the US in the next few weeks” to swing states.

The letter refers to a “volunteer exemption” in US elections which means foreign nationals can volunteer, but the letter states “they may not be compensated, foreign nationals may not make expenditures, and they may not direct or control activities of US campaigns”.

It is understood that volunteer trips have been organised in a personal capacity and accommodation has been arranged by volunteers for the Democrats.

Volunteers are understood to have gone to the US in their own time.

Sir Keir Starmer met with Mr Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, during a trip to New York last month.

The Prime Minister visited Trump Tower for talks ahead of the US election, and said he wanted to meet Mr Trump face-to-face because “I’m a great believer in personal relationships on the world stage”.

A Labour Party spokesperson has said it is “common practice” for campaigners “from around the world” to volunteer during US elections and Labour activists “do so at their own expense”.

The spokesperson said: “It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections.

“Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules.”

With reporting from David Mac Redmond