Former President Donald Trump says his former White House chief of staff, John Kelly, fabricated headline-grabbing stories about him out of “Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred.”

“This guy had two qualities, which don’t work well together. He was tough and dumb,” Mr. Trump posted late Wednesday on Truth Social. “The problem is his toughness morphed into weakness, because he became JELLO with time!”

Mr. Trump was responding to on-the-record comments in which Mr. Kelly, who worked closely with Mr. Trump from 2017 to 2019, said the former president met the definition of a fascist and said admiring things about Hitler.

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In conversations with The New York Times, Mr. Kelly confirmed stories that Mr. Trump said negative things about disabled veterans and characterized soldiers who died in battle as “losers and suckers.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic allies are leaning on the stories about Mr. Trump to paint him as unfit.

The former president insists Mr. Kelly made up the stories out of animus.

“The story about the Soldiers was A LIE, as are numerous other stories he told,” Mr. Trump said. “Even though I shouldn’t be wasting my time with him, I always feel it’s necessary to hit back in pursuit of THE TRUTH. John Kelly is a LOWLIFE, and a bad General, whose advice in the White House I no longer sought, and told him to MOVE ON!”

Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris are locked in a tough battle for the presidency that runs through seven battleground states.

While Ms. Harris leads nationwide polls, forecasters have given Mr. Trump an edge in the swing states that will determine the winner through the Electoral College, while cautioning the race remains a coin flip.