President Trump’s emphasis on border security has also been used to paint him as a fascist. His policies have been interpreted by leftists as some kind of nationalist bigotry, but the policies he has espoused would have had the full support of Democrats just ten years ago. No one thought them fascist back then, because these policies hardly fit the textbook definition of an authoritarian or fascist regime.
So where did people get the idea that President Trump was going to be a fascist authoritarian? Let’s look back at what we were all reading about in 2016.
Is Donald Trump a Fascist? An Expert Weighs In, Slate, 2/10/2016
Donald Trump’s Authoritarian Fantasies, Reason, 2/29/16
Trump’s Totalitarian Instincts, RedState, 2/27/16
George Clooney: Donald Trump is a “Fascist,” Variety, 3/3/16
Trump: The authoritarian’s candidate of choice, Washington Post, 3/4/16
Trump: The American Fascist, BillMoyers.com, 3/11/2016
Trump’s not Hitler, he’s Mussolini, Salon, 3/12/16
The rise of American authoritarianism, Vox, 3/1/16
Is Donald Trump actually a fascist? Toronto Star, 4/3/16
Donald Trump and the Authoritarian Temptation, The Atlantic, 5/3/16
Here’s How Donald Trump’s Authoritarianism Would Actually Work, New York Magazine, 5/13/16
Eclectic Extremist: Donald Trump’s distinctly American authoritarianism draws equally from the wacko right and wacko left, Slate, 5/13/16
This is how fascism comes to America, Washington Post, 5/18/16
I asked 5 fascism experts whether Donald Trump is a fascist. Here’s what they said, Vox, 5/19/16
Rise of Donald Trump Tracks Growing Debate over Global Fascism, New York Times, 5/28/16
Yes, a Trump Presidency Would Bring Fascism to America, Forbes, 5/31/16
Fascism is rising in the U.S. and Europe—and Donald Trump is the face of this disturbing new reality, Salon, 6/12/16
Is Donald Trump an Actual Fascist? Vanity Fair, 6/14/2016
The F-Word: Donald Trump and concerns about fascism, National Review, 6/20/16
Is Donald Trump a Fascist? Newsweek, 7/07/15
What Would Trump Fascism Look Like? Ten Traits, Daily Kos, 7/10/16
An American Authoritarian, The Atlantic, 8/10/2016
Is Donald Trump a fascist? The New Republic, 9/30/16
Is Trump an Ur-Fascist? The Atlantic, 10/5/2016
Trump is America’s Franco: How Fascism Finds a Foothold in Democratic Nations, Paste Magazine, 10/11/16
How Fascist is Donald Trump? There’s actually a formula for that, Washington Post, 10/21/16
A Scholar of Fascism Sees a Lot That’s Familiar with Trump, The New Yorker, 11/04/2016
Is Donald Trump a Fascist? Financial Times, 11/5/2016
Donald Trump Is Already Acting Like an Authoritarian, The New Republic, 11/14/16
Donald Trump is actually a fascist, Washington Post, 12/9/16
Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy? New York Times, 12/16/16
Donald Trump: Strong Leader or Dangerous Authoritarian? NPR, 12/16/16
Those are just from the election year. That list reads like one big Democrat PR campaign. And maybe it was.
To be fair, some of these pieces are opinion submissions. Several of them conclude that Trump is not a fascist, albeit with subheadlines like these from The New Republic: “His ‘movement’ lacks the revolutionary élan of classical fascism, but the repercussions for American democracy are still frightening.” Or this one: “Just days since the election, the worst fears about him are coming true.” Incidentally, this notion that the worst fears about Donald Trump ever came true is patently absurd. It hardly seems possible given the tone and tenor of the fearmongering in the articles on this list.
Of course, as the articles published in 2016 demonstrate, we don’t necessarily agree on exactly what fascism means. As author Jonah Goldberg deftly explained in his 2008 book Liberal Fascism, “even though scholars admit that the nature of fascism is vague, complicated, and open to wildly divergent interpretations, many modern liberals and leftists act as if they know exactly what fascism is. What’s more, they see it everywhere—except when they look in the mirror.”
Ruling with Force
To the extent that elements of fascist philosophy have emerged, they have come from the left. Freedom and fascism are not compatible. When you implement policies that expand freedom, force contracts. When you expand force, freedom is suppressed. And the left is all about suppressing freedom.
That’s not to say that I equate progressive politics with fascism, socialism, or any other ism. I think such labels degrade our political discourse and leave us with no language to describe the real thing when it emerges. However, I find it ironic that those scaremongering about right-wing fascism are actually themselves promoting policies that employ more force and less freedom.
The many articles published in 2016 were right about the growing threat of fascist tendencies (not to be confused with outright fascism). They just misdiagnosed the source of those problems. In Democrats’ zeal to stop the perceived authoritarian tendencies of Donald Trump, they have doubled down on deploying the very authoritarian strategies they claimed to be trying to prevent.
Political neophyte Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has proposed a Green New Deal that openly seeks to phase out cars, air travel, hamburgers, and access to affordable power. Is there any possibility that this agenda can be implemented without a massive show of force? To make it a reality, government will have to take on new responsibilities—enforcing new restrictions on how we can travel, what we can eat, and what we can sell. Americans will have to accept dramatic price increases in energy, goods, food, and transportation. What are the chances they will do so willingly?
Nearly every declared Democratic presidential hopeful initially praised this specific proposal and continues to support its broad framework. Not one Democratic senator was willing to vote against it when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it to a vote. Instead they all voted “present” in the hope of avoiding going on the record.
There are plenty of other examples of force-deploying policies from the left. Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris has released a comprehensive immigration plan that would prevent the deportation of over 6 million illegal border crossers. The proposal bypasses Congress completely. Her unconstitutional solution calls for a presidential expansion of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) that would eliminate any requirement for Dreamers to apply for legal status by the age of thirty-one, would raise to seventeen the age at which qualifying applicants could have been brought to the United States as children, and would give Dreamers green cards. All without any input from the lawmaking branch of government.
Bernie Sanders is supporting a Medicare-for-all scheme that would make private health insurance illegal and centralize the power over every American’s health in the federal bureaucracy. The House version of the bill has 107 cosponsors—half of the Democratic caucus. The bill replaces what’s left of the free market in health care (such as it is) with policies that restrict freedom and expand force. Your freedom to choose a private or employer-sponsored health plan will be taken away. In its typical one-size-fits-all fashion, the government will dictate your health plan, your doctor, your hospital, and your ability to get approved for a procedure. Government will set the prices for drugs, surgeries, and preventive care. This represents a massive expansion of government force with no means for anyone to opt out of the program. This policy encompasses the key components of fascism: centralization of authority and stringent socioeconomic controls.