'Hitler. Mao. Stalin.': Trump Compares Himself to Trio of Despots in New Interview as He Boasts 'No Other President Could Do Some of the S--- I'm Doing'
Donald Trump compared himself to despots like Mao Zedong and Adolf Hitler.
June 25 2026, Updated 12:24 p.m. ET
Donald Trump compared himself to some of history's most notorious dictators and despots, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In an interview for their new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan say the 80-year-old's ego was on full display.
Trump Trumps Himself
The president rattled off a list of history's most infamous dictators during an interview.
"No other President could do some of the s--t I'm doing," the book quoted him as saying.
He then rattled off a long list of history's powerful figures, explaining how each fell short of his own efficacy as U.S. President.
Trump Shares a List of Leaders
Trump praised Stalin for maintaining 'power through fear,' according to a new book.
His list included names like Alexander the Great, William the Conqueror, Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun, which he jokingly emphasized one big difference.
"They didn’t have airplanes, right?" Trump said in reference to Air Force One. "You couldn’t travel around."
Trump also mentioned three other leaders – "Hitler. Mao (Zedong). Stalin" – whom he said "maintained power through fear."
The president then asked, "Who would ever do a thing like that?"
Trump Accused of Defending Hitler
The president has famously defended Hitler in the past.
Trump has faced harsh criticism after he reportedly privately shared his admiration for Hitler.
The president's former chief of staff, John Kelly, told CNN in 2024 that Trump argued the mass murderer saved Germany’s economy following World War One. Trump also reportedly admired the loyalty that Hitler received from his officers.
"He said: Well, but Hitler did some good things," Kelly alleged at the time. "I said: Well, what? And he said: Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.”
"But what did he do with that rebuilt economy?” Kelly continued. "He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said: Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing."
Trump's Controversial 'Approach to Government'
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Trump has been accused of preferring a dictatorial approach to leadership.
Kelly also claimed that Trump overlooked the Holocaust and the "400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater" during World War Two.
He said to CNN: "It’s pretty hard to believe he missed the Holocaust, though, and pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater. But I think it’s more, again, the tough guy thing."
According to Kelly, Trump "had little understanding of the Constitution and was frustrated by the limits to his power," and "certainly prefers the dictator approach to government."
Kelly later doubled down on his disdain for Trump in a series of New York Times audio interviews, in which he called out the president's leadership style.
He stated Trump "certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure."
Kelly claimed: "Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It's a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, and belief in a natural social hierarchy."
