A dictionary definition of fascism: “a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.”
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Sinclair Lewis, the celebrated novelist and playwright, entitled his dystopian 1935 story of American fascism It Can’t Happen Here. But Lewis knew it could happen here.
One suspects Lewis would not be surprised that American fascism is happening in the form of a corrupt charlatan from the outer boroughs of New York.
It makes sense. Donald Trump is not really an original, but a Hollywood-like character who captures the fears and imagination – and bigotry, of course – of many Americans and Trump rode that to political power, and for him that really means grifting his supporters, padding his enormous ego and getting even with anyone in his way.
American history has had its Huey Longs, and Strom Thurmond’s, Pat Buchanan’s and David Duke’s. Only Trump was fortunate to have arrived at a time when American culture and politics were willing to fully embrace a performative clown, a rapist, a racist, a convicted felon, a guy who inherited his wealth and has made his life’s work celebrating himself.
He failed at selling steaks and vodka and casinos. He is a serial philanderer and a world-class liar. Without his inherited wealth he couldn’t qualify to manage the night shift at a 7-11. No one in their right mind would hire this guy who talks only about himself and his grievances. Yet, he’s mastered what other charlatans of an earlier age also mastered.
He’s got the fascism thing down cold, particular the big lies, the illusion of power and the huge grievances.
Most American journalists and many commentators long resisted calling Trumpism what it is – fascism – but not any longer.
“Donald Trump has been on a fascist romp,” writes The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols. “At rallies in Colorado and California, he amped up his usual rants, and added a rancid grace note by suggesting that a woman heckler should “get the hell knocked out of her” by her mother after she gets back home. But … he outdid himself in an interview on Fox News, by saying that ‘the enemy within’ —Americans he described as ‘radical left lunatics,’ including Representative Adam Schiff of California, whom he mentioned by name—are more dangerous than Russia or China, and could be ‘very easily handled’ by the National Guard or the U.S. military.”
Too many Americans – way too many – have become numb to this completely unprecedented language from an American politician, particularly one trying to return to the White House.
Anne Applebaum, a scholar of Stalin’s war against his own people, says: “In using this language, Trump knows exactly what he is doing. He understands which era and what kind of politics this language evokes.”
Say it out loud. Donald Trump is a fascist, a modern-day Mussolini, using the precise phrases of El Duce and Hitler. No politician in American history has described his political opponents as “enemies of the people” or an entire class “as vermin,” or threatened to turn the military on opponents. This is the language of fascism.
In addition to the dictionary definition fascism depends, among other factors, upon:
Discrediting an independent press. Trump has done this repeatedly, most recently saying CBS should “lose a license” and be liquidated for broadcasting an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That attack on the press, only the latest from Trump, drew a sharp and rare rebuke from the chair of the Federal Communications Commission. “While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored,” the FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel said.
Perpetuating an enormous lie. Trump has many big lies, including the whopper about a stolen election in 2020, and his latest lie attempts to rewrite the history of his insurrection. “His attempt to recast the events of Jan. 6, 2021,” as the New York Times reported, “came on the same day that he compared his supporters who were arrested, convicted and imprisoned for their actions at the Capitol to the victims of the Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II. And it followed a recent remark in which Mr. Trump declared Jan. 6 a day of ‘love.’”
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears,” George Orwell wrote in his novel 1984, “It was their final, most essential command.”
This Trump lie is beyond belief. His asking his supporters – indeed all of us – to ignore the riot at the Capitol that he instigated, hoping apparently that an enormous lie will help him avoid his own legal jeopardy as the only president ever to oppose a peaceful transfer of power.
A subservient political and business elite: No sitting Republican member of Congress dares take issue with Trump’s American fascism, and the wealthiest man in the world, South African-born Elon Musk, is spending millions to curry favor with Trump and elect him. He’s not alone. Those who intend to clean up with AI technology or crypto currency are all in. Even those who recognize the folly of Trump’s promise of immense tariffs on imported goods convince themselves it’s just a little fascist rhetoric.
“The Republican officials I talk to are hoping that this is just Trump’s bluster — that he’s not actually serious about imposing tariffs but is rather using tariff threats to bully other nations into becoming more friendly to the U.S.,” Brian Riedl, a former aide to GOP senator Rob Portman of Ohio told the Washington Post. “But they’re in denial about this.” Much like the business elite of Weimar Germany believing a buffoonish Adolf Hitler would be useful to them, but also under their control, were wrong, too.
Fascists depend on perverting the legal system, a tactic Trump has mastered by using the judicial branch’s own rules – and his appointed judges – to stymie any day of reckoning. His hand-picked Supreme Court has, in the most frightening ruling since Dred Scott, given Trump broad immunity for past and future crimes.
The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, calls Trump “fascist to the core.” His former chief of staff, John Kelly, a Marine general says, “Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”
Make no mistake. The election on November 5 is not about inflation, housing prices or a migrant crisis, all issues that are international in scope that require hard work and bipartisan cooperation to solve.
The election is about Trump and his fascism. Mark me as an “enemy of the people,” an enemy of the people who would subvert the Constitution, use the American military against political opponents and those who lie about what can be observed with their own eyes.
It’s not as though we haven’t been warned. Trump says he wants to be a dictator, wants to deport 12 million humans – think about the police state that would require – and free the January 6 rioters.
Is this American fascism really the future we want for our country?
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Additional Reading:
A couple of items for your consideration …
Take the Trump-Vance Deportation Policy Seriously
It’s been said – more than once – that we should take the Republican candidate for president seriously, but not literally.
If you read nothing else before the election read this post from Timothy Snyder, the Yale historian and democracy advocate. He takes Trump seriously and literally.
“As an American, and as a historian who writes about forced population movements, I believe that we are not taking the Trump-Vance deportation plan seriously enough.
“This failure of imagination could allow extreme repression within our country as well as a fundamental change in its society and politics.”
It is a chilling piece of writing. Take it seriously.
We needed courage. We got cowardice.
There are few people in American journalism I admire more than Margaret Sullivan. She has held a number of high profile positions with important newspapers, including a stint as media columnist for the Washington Post. She has an almost unique perspective on what is happening with Big Media in America,
Sullivan writes about the decision by the Post and the Los Angeles Times to not endorse a candidate for president.
(Stunned silence from me … )
As Sullivan writes:
“Here’s a statement from a group of columnists at the Washington Post — people I really admire, including Eugene Robinson, Ruth Marcus, Perry Bacon, Catherine Rampell and quite a few others. At the heart of it is the knowledge of what the Post stood for since the Watergate era when — under the great publisher Katharine Graham and editor Ben Bradlee — the paper bravely revealed the corruption of the Nixon administration and had a hand in bringing him down.
“Trump is much worse than Nixon. But the paper is no longer a beacon for democracy.”
I’ve admired the Washington Post for nearly as long as I’ve paid attention to politics. Not always right, but a fierce advocate for facts and accountability. Jeff Bezos, a super-billionaire blew it up on one Friday afternoon.
Read Sullivan’s take here.
Be concerned. Be active. Do something. Democracy is worth fighting – and voting – for.