Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co chief executive and Republican donor Meg Whitman reiterated her opposition to Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee and compared him to fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, according to media and two sources.
Whitman made the comment Friday at a conference hosted by previous Republican nominee Mitt Romney, while she challenged US Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan on his endorsement of Trump, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.
Two participants at the off-the-record session in Park City, Utah confirmed Whitman's language to Reuters. Whitman could not immediately be reached for comment.
A billionaire and former supporter of failed candidate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Whitman has been actively working to stop Trump's nomination, including fundraising for an anti-Trump Super PAC.
In February, the technology CEO called Trump "unfit" to be president. Since then, Trump has become the presumptive Republican nominee and is likely to run against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.
Ryan, addressing the 300 attendees of the session, explained the difficulty he had with the decision to endorse, the Post said, including weathering pressure from House Republicans to lend his backing to Trump.
Trump on Saturday showed no inclination to make peace with his critics. He went on Twitter to note how Romney "choked like a dog" when he lost to then-incumbent President Barack Obama in 2012 and reiterated it at his campaign stops.