New York mayor refutes Kamala Harris, says Trump is not a fascist

“I have had those comments hurled at me by some political leaders in the city — my answer is ‘no’,” said an embattled Mr Adams, when asked about the criticism of Mr Trump.

“I know what Hitler has done, and I know what a fascist regime looks like. I think, as I have called for over and over again, that the level of conversation, I think we can all dial down the temperature,” added Mr Adams, a moderate Democrat currently facing federal corruption charges.

Mr Adams made the remarks while speaking at a Manhattan news conference outlining what he called “large police presence” being planned for Mr Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden began hammering Mr Trump this week after claims emerged that the former commander-in-chief had praised Hitler while in the Oval Office.

The allegation surfaced in The Atlantic and was later confirmed by retired Marine Corps General John Kelly, Mr Trump’s one-time White House chief of staff.

“I invite you to listen and go online to listen to John Kelly … who has told us Donald Trump said, why — essentially, ‘Why aren’t my generals like those of Hitler’s, like Hitler,’” the Vice President told voters on Wednesday during a CNN town hall broadcast to millions of viewers.

“This is a serious, serious issue. And we know who he is. He admires dictators,” she went on.

At the start of the event with voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania, Ms Harris also said “yes” when directly asked whether Mr Trump was a “fascist”.Ms Harris’ campaign this week put out more than a dozen press releases further harping on the claims Mr Kelly made about his private conversations with Mr Trump — including one in which the then-chief executive remarked that “Hitler did some good things” by having “rebuilt the [German] economy”.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied ever asking anything positive about Hitler and accused The Atlantic of being “a failing magazine”.

Harris surrogates are also using the Sunday’s MSG event to smear Mr Trump for attempting to “re-enact” a Nazi rally held there 85 years ago.

“Trump [is] actually re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939,” said failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on CNN’s The Source on Thursday night.

However, Mr Adams said he “strongly disagree[s]” with anyone saying the rally should be scrapped.

“This is America. This is New York, and I think it’s important that we allow individuals to exercise their right to get their message clear to New Yorkers,” he said. “And our job as a city and as a Police Department is to make sure they can do that in a peaceful, in a peaceful way.”

The NYPD said it plans to designate areas around The Garden for protesters but warned it won’t tolerate any criminal activity.

“You will see a … heavy uniform presence around The Garden,” Chief of Patrol John Chell said.

“We’ll see heavy weapons teams, counter terrorism, aviation … blocker vehicles. We are the best at what we do. We prepare for protests every day. We will have a very safe day tomorrow for all New Yorkers.”

This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission