It's Fascism, Stupid

Time to Call a Spade a Spade.

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One of the most controversial comments to make is to call Trump a fascist. The moment such an epithet is used to describe former President Trump, the accusation of being a rabid Trump hater is levied (much along the lines of a more extreme version of Trump Derangement Syndrome).

However, dismissing the comment in such a cavalier fashion does not give justice to the underlying analysis and potential justification.

At the time of the Republican National Convention in mid-July, Trump was cruising to a landslide victory, convinced that his re-election was unavoidable. The withdrawal of Joe Biden from the race and Kamala Harris's faultless campaign to replace him has completely changed the dynamics of the race. Trump now finds himself struggling to keep up, both in terms of enthusiasm, voter engagement and fundraising. Although the race is still a toss-up, Harris has yet to reach her full potential, whereas Trump has already hit his ceiling. Sensing the race slipping away from him, Trump's true colours are showing, and he is falling back on the only playbook he knows, one based on hatred, division and blaming immigrants for all the troubles of the US. Not only is he resorting to the same old racist tactics, he is becoming more and more extreme in both the vocabulary and the description of the so-called ills that the immigrants are responsible for.

What has always been a most discomforting and uncomfortable practice has become even more vile and disgusting. SIngling out immigrants in such a manner as to dehumanise them, accusing them of eating cats and dogs and being responsible singlehandedly for the alleged increase in the rape and murder rate in the US is patently a big lie and is totally in line and similar to Hitler's hatred and portrayal of the Jews during the 1930s. The declared intention to organise mass deportations and to set up staging camps near the border are ominous and harken back to the infamous concentration camps set up in 1933 in Germany.

True to form, both Trump and his running mate are doubling down on the made-up stories about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Although the Haitians are legal immigrants and are, as per the words of the Republican Governor of the State, much appreciated as hard workers by their employers, Trump and Vance continue to say that they are illegal and that they are responsible for an 81% increase in the murder rate in Springfield and that they not only steal pets but that they also capture the geese from the public parks and lakes for consumption - once again totally false. JD Vance even admitted in several TV interviews that he "created" the stories about them to make sure that the American media would focus on that particular problem (and, by extension, not emphasise the lack of concrete plans for healthcare, for example). Trump admitted during the debate that he did not have firm plans for replacing Obamacare - after nine years of trying to do so - but merely concepts of a plan.

At the risk of falling foul of the well-known Godwin's law, comparing Trump to Hitler is no longer an exaggeration or hyperbole. Trump is, on the contrary, actively seeking the comparison by using the same expressions and analogies as Adolf Hitler and that such "coincidences" will only increase exponentially. Much has been correctly said of the references of immigrants as "vermin" and "poisoning the blood of our nation", but we shouldn't forget the March 2023 speech of Mr Trump at CPAC and subsequent speeches, mentioning "this is the final battle."[1] Lest we forget, the title of the original translation of Mein Kampf, when it was published in the US (the so-called Dugdale Abridgement of July 29th 1933), was "My Battle"…… He goes on to say: "I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution". Likewise, a favourite theme for Adolf Hitler, who stated on March 2nd, 1932, "Our day of retribution has come".[2]

One year later, at the 2024 CPAC conference, Trump took this logic further: "Your victory will be our ultimate vindication, your liberty will be our ultimate reward, and the unprecedented success of the United States of America will be my ultimate and absolute revenge."[3] If the audience didn't understand what he was getting at, he added, "But for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day!". 

Incidentally, Trump, who famously hates reading, is perfectly able to flawlessly name the original version of Hitler's book as "Mein Kampf" when he denies ever having read it. Q.E.D.

But Trump doesn't stop there as he also adopts the style and mannerisms of another famous fascist, Benito Mussolini, who predated Hitler. In many respects, Trump's appearance and characteristics are more akin to Mussolini's as opposed to Hitler, who adopted a more militaristic demeanour. Mussolini also portrayed himself as the strongman taking the hits for all Italians and being a victim on behalf of all the enemies of the State. Sound familiar? During his same speech at the 2024 CPAC, Trump outrageously proclaimed himself "a proud political dissident" and stated that he was a victim of "Stalinist show trials". And just as Mussolini pardoned his violent supporters to strengthen his power, Trump has unequivocally declared that he will pardon the January 6 "hostages".[4] 

More importantly, Trump is not simply adopting the linguistic style of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, but he is using the same techniques and favours the same underlying philosophy. Granted, he is not explicitly attacking Jews as Hitler did, but he has and continues to dog whistle concerning Jews in the USA, as demonstrated by his comments at Charlottesville or memes he has retweeted that are antisemitic. He does not take any such precautions when he refers to immigrants, who are consistently dehumanised in an extreme manner that would make Hitler proud. As any fascist knows, creating a common enemy is an essential part of the program.[5] 

Let's take a closer look at how Hitler came to power and what has happened to date with Donald Trump, whose political career, by definition, is still ongoing. The similarities are becoming more and more glaring. Referring to one such analysis by a German historian who wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post in November 2016, four key points were mentioned to explain Hitler's access to power, namely, (i) scapegoating, i.e. blaming minority groups for policy failures and/or the state of the economy; (ii) media co-optation; control of the media and use of advanced propaganda techniques; (iii) paramilitary organisations and political violence and (iv) emergency laws. The conclusion in 2016 was clearly that any such comparison was a clear exaggeration and was not even remotely valid. Fast forward to December 2023, and the picture looks very different – notably because of January 6, 2021.

The first three characteristics are present in the current US today, and as far as emergency laws are concerned, the use of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to quell civil unrest, as advocated by some Trumpists to allow Trump to hang on to office after the 2020 election is akin to implementing emergency laws.

The importance and impact of the January 6, 2021 events cannot be emphasised enough. The gravity of the assault on the Capitol, the attempt to overthrow Congress and to hang Vice President Mike Pence, and the reaction or non-reaction of Trump when he offered support to the rioters whilst the assault was happening in real-time are facts that have been demonstrated notably in the "January 6 Report – The Report of the select committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol" and in Liz Cheney's subsequent book, "Oath and Honor."[6] Such egregious behaviour on behalf of the then-president was imaginable, and yet it happened.

The American media and commentators have been very reluctant to call Trump what he is, i.e. a fascist. Other words are used instead, but the actual "F-word" has been scrupulously avoided ever since Trump glided down his golden escalator in June 2015. The sole exception is Bill Maher, who not only declared that Trump was a fascist even before the 2016 election but who consistently since 2018 was adamant that Trump would not leave office peacefully if he were to lose the 2020 election. Very few people took him seriously, and yet it happened.[7]

Attitudes have started to change, with some pundits daring to refer to Trump as a fascist, such as Nicole Wallace on MSNBC (Deadline White House)[8] and Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski likewise on MSNBC (Morning Joe).[9] The question remains: is this enough?

One of the leading Members of the House Committee mentioned above, Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland (also the lead prosecutor in the second impeachment trial), is not afraid to use the much feared "F word in US politics". He has gone several times on record to state that "Two of the hallmarks of a fascist political party are, one, they don't accept the results of elections that don't go their way. And two, they embrace political violence." It is also reported that he has a detailed list on the wall of his congressional office describing the 14 items that characterise fascism to remind him of the constant threat facing the country.

Referring to Trump as a fascist is still taboo in American politics, and some say that using such terms only actually helps him, and the word loses all sense and purpose. Since referring to explicit fascist terminology such as "poisoning the blood of the people", Trump has turned the accusation of fascism against his opponents, calling the left and the Democrats fascists (whilst at the same time radicals, Marxists and communists). He does this to demonise the left and to neutralise the meaning of the word fascism so that it becomes just another synonym for "evil" and that, by extension, it is his opponents who are evil.

The fact that everybody and their mother has at one point in time been branded a "fascist" in the modern exaggerated political discourse risks undermining the essence of the original term. The "crying wolf syndrome" is relevant, but when confronted with genuine fascism, we need to keep the wolves from the door.

Trump and his supporters have coined the phrase "Trump Derangement Syndrome" (TDS) to claim notably that anybody referring to Trump as a fascist "needs mental help support"[10] as a way of denigrating the fascist label. Trump refers to this so-called "derangement syndrome" to deflect from the substance of any legitimate criticism, thus avoiding any much-needed scrutiny. Alternatively, once a scathing, fact-based and accurate criticism is made, dismiss it entirely as being untrue.

One of the most recent examples of this is particularly telling as it precisely refers to Trump’s admiration of Hitler. Trump’s second chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, recounted to the writer Jim Sciutto that Trump believed “Hitler did some good things”.[11] Trump demonstrated his ignorance of the historical significance of Nazi and Italian fascism. Kelly ironically mentioned that Trump “missed the holocaust”.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesperson, countered by saying that Kelly, an honourable retired Marine General who lost a son in Afghanistan serving the nation, suffered from TDS,[12] and, therefore, his comments were not to be taken seriously.

Perhaps ex-President Trump’s wife also suffered from TDS after her 13 years of marriage to him. She claimed in a 1990 Variety Fair interview, “After the Gold Rush”[13] that during her divorce proceedings, she informed her then-lawyer, Michael Kennedy, that Trump kept a book of Hitler’s speeches “, New Order,” in his bedside cabinet and that he read them from time to time. Trump denied ever having received such a book. Still, he did say that a friend of his, Marty Davis from Paramount, had given him a copy of Mein Kampf (directly denying his recent declarations on never having read Mein Kampf). Davis confirmed that it was, in fact, a book of Hitler’s speeches.

But avoiding using the word is denying the truth. When a politician uses direct Nazi terminology, it becomes a moral obligation to denounce them. Truth should always – dare I say – trump everything. Words matter, and the truth matters.

In the words of Maya Angelou, the American memorialist, poet and civil rights activist, “When somebody shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are.”

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck, albeit a team of ducks with red hats and confederate flags on their tails, carrying tiki torches and waddling in harmony to a distinctively Wagnerian tune.

It is our responsibility to call a spade a spade and to call Trump out for what he is: want-to-be fascist and not only on day one of his future potential presidency. Project 2025, which he has disingenuously distanced himself from, although he has appeared at the Heritage Foundation to support them, is the blueprint for a fascist program that seeks to destroy American democracy and bury the values of the American Revolution just shy of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Talking about "strongmen, authoritarianism, dictators, and such is no longer enough. If we do not call a spade a spade and declare loud and clear that "It's fascism, Stupid!" we will be complicit in burying American democracy.

[1] “Trump Speaks at CPAC 2023 Transcript”, Rev, March 6th 2023, www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/trump-speaks-at-cpac-2023-transcript

[2] Stettin : Electoral speech before the 13 March 1932 elections 

[3] David Smith: ”My ultimate and absolute revenge’: Trump gives chilling CPAC speech on presidential agenda”, Guardian, February 25 2024, www.theguardian.com/us news/2024/feb/24/donald-trump-cpac-speech

[4] Lauren Sforza: “White House: Trump calling those convicted on Jan. 6 charges ‘hostages’ is ‘grotesque”, The Hill, January 8 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4395685-white-house-trump-jan-6-defendants-hostages/

[5] See “The Anatomy of Fascism” by Robert Paxton

[6] For further readings. page 167

[7] Nick Romano: “Donald Trump: Bill Maher warns he could be president for life, blasts media“, Entertainment Weekly, November 5, 2016, https://ew.com/article/2016/11/05/bill-maher-donald-trump-could-be-president-life-blasts-media/

[8] “Deadline White House”, MSNBC,  October 27, 2023

[9] “Morning Joe”, MSNBC, November 21, 2023 “A vote for Trump is a vote for Fascism.”

[10] Bernard Goldberg:  “MSNBC's Obsession with Nazis ... and Donald Trump “, Bernard Goldberg’s Commentary, September 2, 2019, www.bernardgoldberg.com/p/msnbcs-fascination-with-hitler-and-donald-trump

[11] The Return of Great Powers, p 257.

[12] Cailey Gleeson: ”Trump’s Alleged Praise Of Hitler Resurfaces In New Book”, Forbes, March 11, 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/03/11/trumps-alleged-praise-of-hitler-resurfaces-in-new-book/?sh=7ed0d06e5223 

[13] Vanity Fair, September 1990, Profile by Marie Brenner “After the Gold Rush”.