In respectable society, criticizing Donald Trump isn’t just fashionable – it’s requisite.
And there’s plenty to criticize: Trump is inarticulate, unprofessional, rude, hyperbolic, devoid of empathy, deficient on policy, clearly the strangest person ever to occupy the presidency.
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But consistently, Trump bears a more significant charge: fascist. Is that true?
Is Trump a Fascist?
“Donald Trump and His Two Forms of Fascism,” a Mother Jones headline offered. “Biden speech last night called out Trump fascism. Good,” NBC declared. “What Trump and Orvan want: It’s fascism – it’s not a metaphor,” Salon wrote. “If Trump looks like a fascist and acts like a fascist, then maybe he is one,” The Guardian mused.
Fascism is a serious charge, typically reserved for the likes of Hitler, Mussolini, and Pol Pot.
Is Trump a fascist, too?
No.
Let’s be serious.
Calling Trump a fascist is another example of “concept creep,” a modern phenomenon in which discreetly defined concepts are used so frequently and carelessly that they lose their meaning.
Other terms, methodically being expanded to the point where they no longer meant what they used to mean, include “violence,” “trauma,” “gaslighting,” and “literally.”
Fascism, which today is used to describe just about any politician you disagree with, has a rigid definition. According to Merriam-Webster, fascism, pronounced fa-shi-zem, is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
So, that’s what fascism means (literally, as in the pre-Twitter understanding of the word). If you’re using fascism in any way not consistent with the above definition, you’re misusing a serious, serious charge – one associated with numerous genocides and political upheavals.
Now, working with the real definition of fascism, rather than the Mother Jones definition or your gender studies professor’s definition, let’s apply Trump’s behavior methodically to the definition, to gauge whether we get any overlap.
Fascism is 1. a political philosophy or regime that 2. Exalts nation and often race above the individual AND 3. Stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by A. a dictatorial leader B. severe economic and social regimentation AND C. forcible suppression of opposition.
Okay, 1. Trump’s MAGA was a political philosophy, sure. Most politicians subscribe to some overarching political philosophy. 2. Does MAGA exalt nation and race above the individual? MAGA explicitly exalts America above other nations (“America First”) but MAGA wasn’t especially heavy on exalting America before the individual. Actually, Trump spoke less to the power of our unity, less to our collective efforts than many of his predecessors (“ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”). Trump’s rhetoric appealed to a demographic who believed strongly that they had to fight to preserve their individual freedom in the face of an oppressive and ever-advancing state; the type of people who own firearms to protect themselves from the government, who drive trucks equipped for the zombie apocalypse and have a basement full of post-apocalyptic supplies.
Moving on to the second part of factor 2. Did Trump promote race above the individual? Trump took a lot of heat as a racist and a xenophobe. His 2016 campaign was centered around cubing illegal immigration; he executed an immigration ban that seemed pretty clearly designed to curb Muslim immigration; Trump certainly appealed to white nationalists. But did Trump exalt the white race above the individual, the way Hitler exalted the Aryan race above the individual? No, of course not. Being racially insensitive, or wanted to curb illegal immigration – like Obama before and Biden after – is not on par with fascist racial attitudes.
If we accept the definition of fascist at face value and the elements test prescribed within, Trump fails at element 2 as he does not place nation or race above the individual. But for the sake of thoroughness let’s continue.
3. Did Trump stand for a centralized autocratic government? No. When Trump was faced with the COVID crisis – the type of crisis most true autocrats would seize as an opportunity to consolidate power – Trump demurred; he told the governors to deal with it. Trump gave away power at the moment a Hitler-type would have declared martial law. So Trump did not stand for a centralized autocratic government, nor was he A. a dictatorial leader. Instead, Congress and the Judiciary held Trump in check, regularly thwarting the Executive’s agenda. Nor did Trump preside over B. severe economic and social regimentation. No. Our economy and society were structured the same under Trump as his predecessor and successor. Lastly, C. Did Trump oppress the opposition? No. Trump and his GOP cronies were often accused of voter suppression – which is a commonly made charge, often deployed casually. Concerning oppressing the opposition, gerrymandering and using tactics that make it harder for poor people to vote are not oppression – certainly not by the standard that fascists oppress their opposition, not by the standard of modern Russia, where Putin’s critics and opponents mysteriously keep ending up dead or in jail.
Trump is a problem for so many reasons: he’s anti-intellectual; he’s marketed himself as a savior of the middle and working class while in reality he’s an elite corporatist, happy to enact an agenda that further decimates the middle and working class; anecdotal evidence suggests he treats women poorly; his interactions with foreign leaders impede diplomacy; his persistence that the 2020 election was stolen casts doubt on US election validity. There are plenty of legitimate criticisms to heave at Trump. But he’s not a fascist.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. He lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken. Follow him on Twitter @harrison_kass.
