[Updated]
Continuing from the previous post, I have been looking at the fourteen traits of fascism as outlined by historian Lawrence Britt and how we can see many parallels with Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. I covered the first seven in the last piece and will look at the rest here.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together: This has become quite apparent as many churches have thrown their support toward Trump while he was in office and even more so in the run-up to the 2024 election. And while the former president is anything but the model of a good Christian (not even able to quote from the Bible and currently running a grift by selling his own edition of the book), they look to him as the leader of the Christian Nationalist movement. They want to establish Christianity as the national religion (despite the clear separation of church and state in the Constitution), and Trump is more than willing to take up that charge. And it should be noted that those who most fervently support Trump are among the most militant Christians who are on a crusade to force their beliefs on the rest of the country as exemplified by the anti-abortion movement, the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, the banning of books, and more. And it should also be noted that Project 2025 has all the levers in place to make Christian Nationalism a reality in our country.
9. Power of corporations protected: This trait has not fully expressed itself yet, but if Trump gets back into power, it will become much more apparent. The GOP has always championed the “Free Market”, even though our system is much closer to a corporate oligarchy run by the wealthy than true capitalism. And while business leaders have shown concern about the impacts of Trump returning to power and they appeared to favor Nikki Haley early in the primaries, many would certainly get in line if he were re-elected. They will almost certainly find their freedom to conduct business as they choose hampered, though, with any companies getting on Trump’s wrong side feeling the retribution he has promised if re-elected. But an even more pronounced corporate oligarchy would almost certainly manifest itself under a second Trump term for those companies that prove loyal.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated: This follows along with Number 9 above, and many companies would jump on board a Trump presidency if he were to limit the power of labor. The GOP has successfully convinced the working class that it is on their side, largely by stirring up patriotic fervor. But the fact is that, in its actions, the Republican Party has mostly governed against workers. It is anti-union and has regularly shown an aversion to supporting worker’s rights and assurances of healthcare coverage, and Trump will certainly follow that trend if back in office. He did little to help the working class in his first term, but he certainly helped corporations and the wealthy with his tax cut. If Trump were to return to office, the power of labor would continue to diminish while the influence of corporations—at least those who remain on Trump’s good side—will almost certainly increase.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts: This has been evident in the Republican Party for some time, and Trump has used it often in his us-against-them political rhetoric. The “Liberal Elite” are often presented as a danger to the country and, according to many conservatives, they consist of intellectuals, artists, entertainment personalities, progressives, and other people considered out of touch with the “common” American. Universities and public education have come under attack for allegedly “indoctrinating” people into liberal beliefs, and those ideas have been quite apparent in the culture wars carried out by Trump, Ron DeSantis, and others on the right wing. This will only continue to get worse if Trump returns to power.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment: How many times have we heard Trump refer to himself as the “Law and Order” president? (Despite the fact that he is a convicted felon.) And many on the right wing have been obsessed with this as well. But it is important to note that this is much more about using the law as a cudgel to enforce their will and very little about justice. As evidence of this, look at Trump’s harsh responses to the BLM protests in office, and then in turn look at how he whipped up the passions of a mob to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and continues to praise them to this day. Republicans have also stirred up fears recently of an increase in crime despite a lack of evidence. While in truth, their goal is to consolidate power as much as possible so that they can use “law and order” against those who oppose them.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption: This was known as an impending threat before Trump took office in his first term, and he quickly justified those concerns. He refused to divest himself from his businesses, causing an immediate conflict of interest. He also received large amounts of money through these businesses from foreign governments, violating the emoluments clause in the Constitution. He appointed his own family members into positions of power (and they benefitted financially), and he installed loyalists into many government roles while firing people he considered disloyal. He was impeached for withholding aid from Ukraine while trying to convince Zelensky to interfere with the U.S. elections. And he refused to divulge his finances, even though it was widely suspected that he owes money to multiple foreign entities that could use that against him. And those are only a few examples for Trump alone. The cronyism and corruption go much deeper in the party and that will certainly get worse in a second term.
14. Fraudulent elections: Trump began trying to instill doubt in the election process when he first ran, claiming that the system was rigged then and continuing with those claims to this day. He then issued many challenges in court (almost none of which were successful) when he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election . Meanwhile, the Republican Party has followed a systematic attempt to suppress voters’ rights going back to Project Red Map, which sought to gerrymander the states in their favor. Over the last few years, we have seen increasing attempts to make it harder for people to vote, and there have been attempts to take control of the presidential electors out of the hands of the people. Ultimately, Trump and the right wing would like to have a system much closer to what Putin has established in Russia, with almost total control in the Executive Branch, to keep themselves in power. And once again, Project 2025 is designed to facilitate those plans.
The United States considers itself a Democracy, but at the moment, we are on the cusp of seeing that system challenged and possibly toppled. We have watched as other nations around the world have turned to fascism or totalitarianism or some similar authoritarian rule while many have believed that could never happen here. But as I have outlined in this post and the previous one, the elements of fascism are quite evident in Trump and his MAGA movement. The fact is that it can happen here, and we need to take heed of the warning signs. Trump has told us who he is and even promised to be a dictator. He may claim that will only be for one day, but those who seize power very rarely release it. This country should say no to dictators for one day and every day, and those of us who want to see our democratic system continue should jealously guard it by speaking out and voting against all who threaten it.
See also Robert Reich’s look at whether Trump is fascist.