Is Donald Trump a Fascist? (Part II)
Analysis
Previous article: Part I (Background)
Content
This article has four main sections:
- What is fascism?
- Common traits of fascism.
- How does Donald Trump compare?
- Is Donald Trump a fascist?
So let’s start with the basics.
What is fascism?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, fascism is:
A political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) 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.
According to The American Heritage Dictionary, fascism is:
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, fascism is:
A political system based on a very powerful leader, state control of social and economic life, and extreme pride in country and race, with no expression of political disagreement allowed.
According to Dictionary.com, fascism is:
A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
Common traits of fascism.
Let’s consolidate the characteristics of fascism common to all definitions listed above.
- A dictator with complete power.
- Forcible suppression of the opposition.
- Forcible suppression of criticism.
- State control of industry and commerce.
- An emphasis on racism.
- An emphasis on nationalism.
How does Donald Trump compare?
We can now measure Donald Trump against key standards of fascism.
(1) A dictator with complete power.
To say that President Trump is a dictator with complete power is a difficult case to make. Here’s why:
He was impeached.
Authoritarian leaders don’t get impeached. In fact, the concept of impeachment doesn’t even exist (in any practical sense) in fascist regimes. Fascist dictators use violence and intimidation to suppress opposition. Therefore, a dictator who can be censured, indicted or removed from office by political means is not, by definition, a fascist dictator.
He’s consistently failed to repeal Obamacare.
Repealing Obamacare was a major Trump campaign promise. Yet, throughout 2017, 2018 and 2019, he failed repeatedly to get the job done. In two major attempts in 2017, he couldn’t get enough votes in Congress for repeal (with members of his own party casting the deciding “no” votes). Although he’s been able to repeal the “individual mandate”, which many thought would kill the law, Obamacare is still in effect in 2020.
Trump proposed replacing Obamacare before the 2020 elections with a new Republican program, but his idea was rejected by his own party. (The Senate Republican leader said that he won’t revisit health care until both houses of Congress are under Republican control.)
References:
- Is Obamacare repealed, as Trump said? ~ CBS News
- The GOP’s failed effort to repeal ObamaCare ~ The Hill
- Trump is targeting Obamacare again ~ CNBC
He can’t get full funding for “the wall”.
This was another major campaign promise. The idea was to build a physical barrier along the U.S.–Mexico border. But in year after year since he was elected, he’s failed to get Congress to provide full funding for the wall. In fact, he’s been forced to divert funds from other programs to pay for the project. As a result, as of 2020, very little new wall has been built, and most work has been limited to renovations of existing barriers.
References:
- Trump’s border wall: A broken promise, a second term, or both? ~ BBC News
- Trump wall — all you need to know about US border in seven charts ~ BBC News
- Congress’s massive new spending bill completely whiffed on Trump’s demands for ‘the wall’ ~ Business Insider
He couldn’t get his full team approved by Congress in a reasonable time.
By 2018, the second year of his term, Trump had the smallest percent of nominees confirmed by the Senate at that point in any presidency (and some of the opposition came from his own party). “Trump’s wait for his Cabinet picks was nearly the longest in 30 years”, wrote The Washington Post.
Setbacks in court.
Again from The Washington Post:
Federal judges have ruled against the Trump administration at least 63 times over the past two years, an extraordinary record of legal defeat that has stymied large parts of the president’s agenda on the environment, immigration and other matters.
For these and many other reasons it is clear that Donald Trump is subject to the separation of powers. He is not a dictator with complete power.
(2) Forcible suppression of the opposition.
President Trump is a Republican. The primary opposition party — the Democrats — are operating openly, freely and actively. Their campaigns are in full swing for the 2020 congressional and presidential elections.
There have been no reports of Democrats being jailed, kidnapped, tortured or killed by the Trump administration.
The same was true in the 2018 mid-term elections: Democrats were free to run their campaigns.
Again, no reports of Democrats being jailed, kidnapped, tortured or killed by the Trump administration.
On the contrary:
- In 2018, the Democrats were able to re-capture the House of Representatives (allowing them to stall Trump’s agenda and impeach him).
- In 2020, Trump used his pardon power to release a former Democratic governor from prison.
There’s also this:
- During the impeachment proceedings in 2019–20, the Democrats voted almost unanimously to impeach him (in the House) and remove him from office (in the Senate).
- Democrats regularly mock, criticize and taunt him. Here’s just one example, from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, where she publicly announces to him: “we don’t fear you”.
Still, not a single report of Democrats jailed, kidnapped, tortured or killed by the Trump administration.
Trump hasn’t banned opposition parties, nor has he deprived the opposition of their constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom to assemble.
All of this would be happening in a fascist regime.
There is no suppression of the opposition by the Trump administration.
(3) Forcible suppression of criticism.
Actually, criticism of President Trump is everywhere.
- It’s within your community, your neighborhood, and your family.
- It’s in major newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
- It’s on major television networks like CNN, MSNBC and, increasingly, Fox News.
- It’s even in his own party (“Never Trumpers”, Sen. Mitt Romney, etc.) and in the comments section of his own Twitter feed.
There is an endless stream of criticism of this president happening at all times and from all places — freely, publicly and with impunity. None of this criticism, not even a tiny fraction of it, would be tolerated in a fascist regime.
There is no suppression of criticism by the Trump administration.
(4) State control of industry and commerce.
President Trump is loosening government controls over industry and commerce.
He’s enthusiastically cutting taxes.
He’s gleefully slashing regulations.
Allowing people to keep more of their own money and removing government controls over the economy are not policies pursued by fascists. In fact, they’re the opposite of fascist policies, which seek to establish a strong national government with totalitarian control over the economy.
There is no tightening of government control on industry and commerce (or inclination toward corporatism) by the Trump administration.
(5) An emphasis on racism.
Fascists persecute and oppress minority groups.
President Trump, on the other hand, can’t stop taking credit for all the good things happening for minority groups during his administration.
All Americans are benefiting from the labor market’s continued improvement. The lowest unemployment rates on record were matched or set in September 2019 for African Americans, Hispanics, and people with disabilities.
On his Twitter feed:
Unemployment for African Americans fell to a new low. Unemployment for Hispanics at an all-time record low.
He seemingly takes credit for any policy or achievement that benefits minority groups under his administration.
Here are a few more policy examples:
- Criminal justice reform
- Increased funding for predominantly black colleges and universities.
- Opportunity Zones
- Reducing violence, exploitation and abuse in Native American communities.
In terms of appointments, here are just two:
- Trump appointed General Charles Q. Brown to serve as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, making Gen. Brown the first person of color to serve in one of the Air Force’s two highest positions.
- Trump appointed Richard Grenell to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, making him the highest serving openly gay man to hold federal office in United States history.
Fascist dictators don’t promote black and openly gay men to high level positions. And they don’t loudly and repeatedly brag about those promotions.
In reality, fascist leaders openly acknowledge their prejudice. They’re proud of it. They see it as a character feature, not a flaw.
Contrary to all this, Trump likes to claim: “I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world.”
(6) An emphasis on nationalism.
Donald Trump is a nationalist. I think both his critics and supporters can agree on that.
- He’s built his entire agenda on the concept of “America First”.
- He even identifies as a nationalist, announcing at political rallies, “I’m a nationalist”.
So, the President of the United States is a nationalist.
Adolf Hitler was also a nationalist. So was Benito Mussolini.
Based on that common thread, the conventional wisdom goes like this: If fascist leaders were nationalists, and Trump is a nationalist, then Trump is also a fascist.
Right?
Wrong.
Nationalism is by no means a defining characteristic of fascism.
- Mahatma Gandhi was a nationalist.
- Nelson Mandela was a nationalist.
- Josef Stalin was a nationalist (“The Great Patriotic War”, “For the Motherland!”).
- All African and Latin American anti-colonial leaders, like Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and Fidel Castro in Cuba, were nationalists.
Fascists? Obviously not.
History is filled with political leaders who embraced nationalism and rejected fascism.
The fact that Trump is a nationalist does not mean he’s a fascist.
Here are a few more traits of fascism that are absent in the Trump administration:
A fascist government seeks a monopoly on firepower.
Fascists want to minimize resistance to their rule, so they pass strict gun control policies designed to leave the people defenseless. They confiscate guns. They make it illegal to possess guns. They punish violators with the death penalty. Hitler, for example, disarmed all Jews and political opponents before Kristallnacht and the genocide that followed.
In contrast, President Trump tends to oppose gun control legislation and is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. His position on guns has earned him the support of the National Rifle Association (NRA), America’s leading gun-rights advocacy group.
Hitler and Mussolini each had a paramilitary force.
Fascist leaders govern with the help of armed thugs who use violence and intimidation to enforce their decrees and shut down opposition. Hitler had the Brownshirts. Mussolini had the Blackshirts. Trump has no such group.
Lastly:
- Trump doesn’t reject individualism or materialism.
- Trump doesn’t reject modernity or the Enlightenment.
- Trump doesn’t view society organically.
- Trump doesn’t use violence as a guiding philosophy or political strategy.
- Trump is not ideological.
- Trump isn’t contesting term limits.
- Trump wasn’t highly popular when he assumed office.
Is Donald Trump a fascist?
Considering that Donald Trump and his administration possess almost none of the defining characteristics of fascism, it’s simply not reasonable or credible to associate him with fascism.
In fact, of the 15 standards of fascism listed above, Trump aligned with only one: nationalism (and an explanation is provided as to why that alignment fails to make the connection).
Donald Trump is not a fascist. For the most part, he represents the exact opposite of fascism.
