The American Fascist
This Isn’t Our First “Dance with Fascism”
We are in 2024, an election year, a year I call “the Year of the Precipice” for our democracy. To better equip Americans to exercise their civic duty this year, we have begun a series in Democraticus examining important ways of thinking and belief systems, such as those pertaining to leadership, which can have a major impact on our democracy’s future.
Authoritarian Leadership- Winning is Everything and the Only Thing
To an authoritarian, leadership is a “zero sum game”. A nation can only be a winner or a loser, there is no middle ground, leaving little or no room for collaboration or cooperation with other nations. Winning is everything, and each country must fend only for itself by itself to win.
Thus, alliances are not valued by the authoritarian leader for, to them, they are unnecessary encumbrances. In fact, an authoritarian’s turning away from alliances is often fanned by what the late former Secretary of State Madelaine Albright called “rabid nationalism”[1] based on the authoritarian’s argument that such alliances are unfair, too costly, and inequitable to their country.
As president, Trump demonstrated this type of hyper-nationalism when he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord [2] and the Iran nuclear deal [3] or made his complaints about our NATO allies needing to pay a larger share of that alliance’s defense costs [4]. In the view of an authoritarian, world peace or global warming do not advance the United States’ international interests or can even supersede its domestic interests.
When Nationalism Becomes Rabid
This rabid nationalism is often promoted by a leadership style that is strong on sound bites and charisma, but weak on policy ideas or initiatives, except for policies that are viewed negatively or are opposed to by the leader. This rabid nationalism has led for some to conclude that Trump’s authoritarian leadership style is that of a fascist.
Whether or not Trump’s authoritarianism is fascist, is up to the reader to decide. However, if you accept the late Albright’s assertion that fascism is less about political ideology and more about finding a pathway to power and then holding on to it[5], then the reader is likely comfortable with Trump’s authoritarian leadership style being labeled as not only authoritarian, but fascist.
Clearly, Masha Gessen, in her article for The New Yorker, “Donald Trump’s Fascist Performance”, has come to that conclusion, saying:
“A power grab is always a performance of sorts. It begins with a claim to power, and if the claim is accepted- if the performance is believed- it takes hold. Much as he played a real-estate tycoon in the most crude and reductive way, Trump is now performing his idea of power as he imagines it. In his intuition, power is autocratic, it affirms the superiority of one nation and one race; it asserts total domination; and it mercilessly suppresses all opposition. Whether or not he is capable of grasping the concept, Trump is performing fascism.”[6] (emphasis mine)
How to Evaluate for Fascist Leadership Tendencies
Madelaine Albright offers a set of diagnostic questions to use to evaluate and determine if a leadership style is one of a fascist. These include:
· “Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed, or party as unworthy of dignity and respect?
· Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances, and set our sights on revenge?
· Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process?
· Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy such as an independent press and a professional judiciary?
· Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism- the flag, the pledge- in a conscious effort to turn us against one another?
· If defeated at the polls, will they accept the verdict or insist without evidence that they have won?
· Do they go beyond asking for our votes to brag about their ability to solve all problems, put to rest all anxieties, and satisfy every desire?
· Do they solicit our cheers by speaking casually and with pumped-up machismo about using violence to blow enemies away?
· Do they echo the attitude of Mussolini: “The crowd doesn’t have to know,” all it had to do is believe and “submit to being shaped”[7]
Keep in mind that Albright wrote these questions well before much of the Trump presidency had unfolded with his two impeachments and an almost successful insurrection. It is almost as if Albright could predict the future. Based on the events that occurred, one could easily conclude that she did indeed do just that.
The “Trademarks” of Fascism
Jason Stanley, in his book How Fascism Works[8], reinforces and parallels Albright’s perspectives, as well as those of strongman expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, on how to determine if a leader is fascist. These include not only the leader’s use of a “mythic past”, but also using the components of unreality, creating an “us and them mentality” towards certain groups (example- Mexican immigrants), victimhood, anti-intellectualism, and the use of propaganda.[9] Ben-Ghiat points out that “…At its core, propaganda is a set of communication strategies designed to sow confusion and uncertainty, discourage critical thinking, and persuade people that reality is what the leader says it is.”[10] Certainly, fascism also rests on what Ben-Ghiat terms as the “glue” of national greatness. The authoritarian leader then uses this pursuit of national greatness to justify his claims of need for power and reinforce “…his narratives of risking everything to save the nation from domestic crisis and humiliation.”[11]
Don’t Stereotype Fascism- There are Multiple Varieties
When we hear the word fascist, we are accustomed to thinking of photographs in our history books of Hitler’s goose-stepping Nazi SS or Mussolini’s pompous El Duce’s role playing. But as David Frum writing for The Atlantic explains:
“We are so accustomed to using the word fascist as an epithet that it feels awkward to adjust it for political analysis. We understand that there were and are many varieties of socialism. We forget that there were varieties of fascism as well, and not just those defeated in World War II. Peronism, in Argentina, offers lots of insights into post presidential Trumpism.”[12] (emphasis mine)
How Trump’s Words Parallel His Fascist Predecessors
Frum points to parallels between Donald Trump’s post-election actions and words, and those of Argentina’s Juan Peron. Peron’s disastrous time as a fallen leader of Argentina is, according to Frum, an example of how a fascist authoritarian can devastate a nation.[13] But for Frum, the culmination of Trump’s fascism happened in Trump’s remarks in a July 11, 2021 interview, where the pretense that there was “…no insurrection on January 6th” has been replaced with another sound bite- “guilty but justified’. The election of 2020 was a fraud, and so those who lost it are entitled to overturn it.”[14]
Frum points out that this is not new fascist thinking. Adolph Hitler said stated similar thinking at his trial for his 1923 Munich putsch:
“I do not consider myself guilty. I admit all the factual aspects of the charge. But I cannot plead that I am guilty of high treason; for there can be no high treason against that treason committed in 1918.”[15]
Frum elaborates, saying Hitler argued: “…You are not entitled to the power you hold, so I committed no crime when I tried to grab it back. You blame me for what I did; I blame you for who you are.”[16] (emphasis mine) Frum concludes his analysis of Trump’s fascism by saying:
Trump’s no Hitler, obviously. But they share some ways of thinking. The past never repeats itself. But it offers warnings. It’s time to start using the F-word again (i.e., fascism), not to defame, but to diagnose.[17]
Fascism Shapes Both Its Leader and His Followers
And Trump’s authoritarian journey into fascism does not stop with him, it extends to his followers. A leader’s leadership style molds his or her followers. Richardson makes note of this saying, “…What has surprised me the most in the six months since (the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection) is how quickly the leaders of the Republican Party turned from establishing oligarchy- a process that the country has undergone in the past- to embracing authoritarianism, which it hasn’t (i.e., undergone in the past).”[18]
Another example of a leader shaping his follower’s beliefs is the 180 degree turn the Republican Party has made in its position on Russia during Trump’s presidency, going from one of the Reagan position of distrusting Moscow (“trust but verify”), to embracing it. Proof of this change of mind by Trump followers was reported in the Daily Mail of two surveys taken of Republicans in advance of the 2021 Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva which found that Vladimir Putin was more popular with them than President Biden.
According to the Bob Crilly of the Daily Mail: “The stark divide was spotted by Will Saletan of Slate who said it was part of a realignment during the Trump years when the right’s distrust of Moscow was reversed. “…Trump has delivered more than the Kremlin could have asked for: He turned Americans against one another, attacked our institutions, attempted a coup, and relentlessly defended Russian aggression, ‘Crilly wrote.”[19] Ronald Reagan must be rolling in his grave.
What Our Founders Feared Most
This post-2020 election evolution of Trump fascism explains why Levitsky and Ziblatt describe Trump as “…precisely the kind of figure that had haunted Hamilton and other founders when they created the American presidency…”[20] (emphasis mine). They go on to explain why the founders were worried about an authoritarian singing their “siren song” to Americans:
“Democracy is grinding work. Whereas family businesses and army squadrons may be ruled by fiat, democracies require negotiation, compromise, and concessions. Setbacks are inevitable, victories always partial. Presidential initiatives may die in Congress or be blocked by the courts. All politicians are frustrated by these constraints, but democratic ones know they must accept them. But for outsiders (i.e., the authoritarian), particularly those of a demagogic bent, democratic politics is often intolerably frustrating. For them, checks and balances feel like a straitjacket…would be authoritarians have little patience with the day-to-day politics of democracy…they want to break free.”[21] (emphasis mine)
History Testifies We Are Revisiting Fascism Today
History shows us that what has been going since 2016 with fascism rearing its head here is nothing new. We Americans have had a major flirtation with it before when some Americans embraced fascism in the 1930s joining the Nazi friendly Friends of New Germany organization or its successor, the German American Bund.[22]
Historian John Meachum makes this history clear when he recounts the story of a small group of wealthy Wall Street businessmen in the 1930s. Disenchanted with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) New Deal, its taxes, and what they believed were its “socialist” programs, they attempted to recruit respected veteran Marine major general Smedley Butler to raise an army of disaffected Americans (WWI veterans) to march on Washington, D.C. and take it. Fortunately, Butler recognized this for it what it was- a threat to our government by “…a bunch of rich men who wanted fascism” and “blew the whistle” on it before it happened.[23]
Meachum also points out that the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh embraced fascism as well. Lindbergh became a leading figure in the “American First” movement (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) in the early 1940s opposing the U.S. entry into the Second World War. Lindbergh became such a political thorn in FDR’s side with his anti-war position and apparent attraction to what was going on in Hitler’s Germany that FDR told his Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr.: “…I am absolutely convinced that Lindbergh is a Nazi.”[24]
There Is Something Different with U.S. Fascism Today
However, there is one major difference in the American fascism of today compared to that of the 1930s. It is something that has never happened before in U.S. history. That difference today is fascism has taken control of a major American political party- the Republican Party.[25]
Let us move next to educating ourselves on hybrid forms of fascism that are arguably, the most toxic, and that Americans, as of late, seem most susceptible to. Stay tuned…
We will continue exploring topics like this that are not given near enough time and emphasis in our civic education efforts, if they are even taught at all. Democracy is so important. But it’s hard to keep, and it’s easy to lose. It’s up to us, and only us, to protect it. Support democracy, become a Democratist! Spread the word! Please share this Democraticus with others! For more information, go to www.tomthedemocratist.com
[1] Fascism- A Warning, by Madelaine Albright, pg. 11, Copyright 2016, Ibid
[2] “Trump Serves Notice to Quit Paris Climate Agreement”, by Lisa Friedman, New York Times, November 4, 2019, Updated February 19, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/climate/trump-paris-agreement-climate.html
[3] “Trump’s withdrawal From the Iran Nuclear Deal, Explained”, by Zack Beauchamp, Vox, May 8, 2018, 2:22pm EDT, https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/8/17328520/iran-nuclear-deal-trump-withdraw
[4] “Trump Repeats Questionable NATO Funding Claims in GOP Convention Speech”, by Joe Gould, August 28, 2020, Defense News, https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/08/28/trump-boosts-questionable-claims-in-gop-convention-speech
[5] Fascism- A Warning, by Madelaine Albright, pg. 9, Copyright 2016, Ibid
[6] “Donald Trump’s Fascist Performance”, by Masha Gessen, June 3, 2020, The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/donald-trumps-fascist-performance
[7] Fascism- A Warning, by Madelaine Albright, pg,253 Copyright 2016, Ibid
[8] How Fascism Works, The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley, pp 218, Copyright 2018, Random House, Penguin Random House LLC, New York
[9] How Fascism Works, The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley, pp 218, Ibid
[10] Strongmen, How they Succeed, How they Fail, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, pg. 93, Ibid
[11] Strongmen, How they Succeed, How they Fail, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, pg. 66, Ibid
[12] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/theres-word-what-trumpism-becoming/619418
[13] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, Ibid
[14] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, Ibid
[15] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, Ibid
[16] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, Ibid
[17] “There’s a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming”, by David Frum, The Atlantic, July 13, 2021, Ibid
[18] Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson, July 6, 2021, Copyright 2021
[19] “Russian President Vladimir Putin is More Popular Among Republicans Than President Joe Biden, According to New Polls”, by Bob Crilly, Daily Mail, June 18, 2021, 5:54 EDT, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9702447/Vladimir-Putin-HIGHER-approval-rating-Biden-Republicans-new-poll-reveals.html
[20] How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Copyright 2019, pg. 65, Ibid
[21] How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Copyright 2019, pg. 77, Ibid
[22] German American Bund, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund
[23] The Soul of America, The Battle for Our Better Angels, by Jon Meachum, pp 139-141, Ibid
[24] The Soul of America, The Battle for Our Better Angels, by Jon Meachum, pp 156, 159-160, Ibid
[25] “Trump Indictment: Scholar of Fascism Says GOP Has Become an “Autocratic Party” Led by a “Cult Leader”, Democracy Now!, June 13, 2023, https://www.democracynow.org/2023/6/13/ruth_ben_ghiat_trump_indictment