Yes, Donald Trump is a Fascist

Image via Axios

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The debate on whether or not Donald Trump is a fascist has haunted contemporary political discourse since 2016. Despite compelling evidence suggesting he at the least exhibits fascist tendencies, there still remained a shadow of doubt around the usage of the term. However, after the first month of Trump’s second term, no doubt should remain on whether or not the “fascist” label applies. Recently, even establishment figures—such as former chief of staff John Kelly— have called Trump a “fascist,” an assessment which Kamala Harris also affirmed. As the term gains renewed currency amidst concerns about democratic backsliding in nations such as Turkey, Hungary, India, and Slovakia, it becomes crucial to dissect its meaning and why it applies to Trump. Using the work of Robert O. Paxton, Michael Parenti, and Hannah Arendt, the following analysis will seek to define and categorize the aspects of fascism and search for patterns within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

Robert O. Paxton is a historian known for his work on fascism, particularly his 2004 book, The Anatomy of Fascism, in which he centers his definition around a form of political behavior defined by an obsessive focus on community decline, humiliation, or victimhood, alongside cults of unity and purity. According to Paxton, this behavior is enacted by a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants collaborating with traditional elites to abandon democratic liberties. This collaboration enables the pursuit of internal cleansing and external expansion through violence, unrestrained by ethical or legal limits. Paxton argues that fascism thrives where liberal democracy is seen as causing division and decline and is propelled more by feelings than ideas. He emphasizes that fascism does not rest on an elaborate philosophical system but on popular feelings.

Michael Parenti, progressive scholar and recipient of Ph.D. of political science from Yale University in 1962, defines fascism as a tool employed to secure the interests of large capitalist entities against popular democracy. According to Parenti, fascism achieves this by using irrational mass appeals to maintain class control. He emphasizes that fascism underscores the primacy of the State, subordinating individual interests to it, while also benefiting from conservative class ideology and patriarchal structures. Parenti’s analysis suggests that fascism manipulates irrational symbols to maintain class control, ultimately serving the interests of capitalist entities against the demands of popular democracy.

Hannah Arendt was a political theorist who wrote extensively on totalitarianism, with her book The Origins of Totalitarianism being a seminal work in the field. Arendt views fascism through the lens of totalitarianism, which aims to dominate individuals from within by eliminating the separation between rulers and the ruled. According to Arendt, totalitarianism seeks to destroy social life, so that the leader becomes merely a functionary of the masses. Her analysis emphasizes the fragmentation and atomization of government as characteristic of fascism’s radicalization process. Arendt’s work delves into how totalitarian regimes, including fascist ones, establish unprecedented forms of mass-based dictatorship by capitalizing on societal fragmentation and the destruction of social and political life.

Compiling the analyses of all three aforementioned scholars, five core elements of fascism emerged which I will use to evaluate Trump’s actions and statements:

1.  Suppression of Democracy and Individual Freedoms
2.  Use of Mass Appeal and Propaganda 
3.  Ethno-Nationalism
4.  Government Private Sector Partnership
5.  Autocracy and Centralized Authority

Suppression of Democracy and Individual Freedoms

Fascism inherently necessitates the suppression of democracy and individual freedoms, achieved through various means, including dismantling existing political and social structures, prosecuting political opposition, and repressing free speech in the public and media. There is no shortage of examples of Trump expressing or enacting anti-democratic sentiments and policy. Trump won his first presidential election with slogans such as “Lock her up!” in reference to his opponent Hillary Clinton. During his first term, Trump and his administration were “markedly more aggressive” in abusing its authority to obtain information collected by journalists according to the ACLU. When protests swept over the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, Trump vowed to “step in and do what has to be done, and that includes using the unlimited power of our Military and many arrests.” Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said that President Trump asked Joint Chief of Staff General Mark Milley: “Can’t you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?” in reference to demonstrators. Not to mention the elephant in the room: he denied and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a subsequent insurrection attempt on January 6th.

Somehow, he has managed to surpass even his own record in the first month of his second term in the oval office. Within days of taking office, Trump threatened to deport international students who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus who he referred to as “pro-jihadist” and “Hamas sympathizers.” The crackdown on the media has also been more severe, with Trump banning the Associated Press from events and news conferences in retaliation for them not calling the Gulf of Mexico by its new name (Gulf of America). 

Use of Mass Appeal and Propaganda 

Fascism utilizes mass appeal and propaganda by manipulating irrational symbols to achieve rational ends of class domination. It cultivates a revolutionary aura without genuine revolutionary class content, presenting a “New Order” that protects the interests of the moneyed elite. Trump used an ersatz economic populism appealing to working-class concerns. He told a New Hampshire audience to tell businesses that moved to Mexico “to go fuck themselves.” Such rhetoric resonated with voters, even as his policies favored corporations and the wealthy. 

Because fascism lacks a concrete philosophical system and end goal, it thrives on obsessive preoccupation with community decline and a sense of overwhelming crisis. The foundations of the MAGA movement rest upon these ideas with Trump repeatedly disparaging the current state of the nation and beckoning for a return to an idealized past. During his 2024 campaign, Trump referred to the U.S as a “third world hellhole ruled by censors, perverts, criminals and thugs.” In order to sell the idea of victimhood to the masses, Trump, like other fascists, created an in-group and “other” to scapegoat and blame for the supposed destruction of the country. The hate towards these marginalized groups is motivated through barrages of propaganda and misinformation such as the Haitains eating pets in Springfield, DEI causing mass deaths in plane/boat accidents, and transgender surgeries on illegal immigrants—just to name a few. 

Ethno-Nationalism

The problem of white supremacy is one that the United States has carried from its conception. The systemic roots of racism run deep, but activists and marginalized peoples have made up a lot of ground in the past century in terms of legal and social equality. However, Trump’s ethno-nationalist rhetoric and policies tapped into long-standing ethnic myths and symbols of American identity, resonating with a significant portion of white Americans. His reluctance to condemn white supremacists, defense of Confederate monuments, and “anti-woke” rhetoric, all signal a willingness to cater to and embolden ethno-nationalist sentiments. During his first four years, Trump enacted a Muslim travel ban, utilized inflammatory rhetoric about Mexicans and other immigrants coming through the Southern border, and denigrated Black Americans repeatedly, among countless other transgressions. In his second term, he has so far shown an even greater likeness to other fascist leaders in his mass deportation plan, anti-DEI crusade and, especially, through expansionist and irredentist rhetoric. In just over a month, Trump has called to buy Greenland from Denmark, reclaim the Panama Canal, make Canada the 51st state, and to redevelop the Gaza strip after eliminating Palestinians. This is a significant development since his last term that mirrors the actions of past fascist nations like Germany and Italy. 

“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.” – Trump, during his inaugural address.

Government Private Sector Partnership

Fascism often involves a close collaboration between the government and the private sector, where the state supports businesses in exchange for loyalty and the prioritization of national interests. This relationship entails government support for businesses and repression of anti-business or pro-labor movements. Trump’s vision for the government is to run it like a business, generating the maximum profit for him and his allies at the expense of the American people—with Elon musk as his second-in-command. During his second inauguration, Donald Trump stood in front of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and other billionaire tech CEOs, totalling a combined net worth of almost one trillion dollars.

Autocracy and Centralized Authority

Trump and his supporters have shown an affinity for autocracy and centralized authority through various actions and statements. A key aspect of this is the unitary executive theory, which asserts that the president has absolute power over the executive branch and is not subject to oversight from the other branches of government. This perspective manifested in Trump’s war with the courts. 

 Trump also showed a willingness to override Congress, as seen in his attempts to divert military construction funds to build border wall segments that Congress had refused to fund. The Trump administration further sought to undermine government bureaucracy, through the removal and replacement of civil servants and traditionally apolitical appointees with loyalists willing to do his bidding. In his first week of office, Trump illegally fired inspectors general across 17 different agencies who were in charge of protecting taxpayer money by preventing corruption, fraud, waste, and mismanagement. These actions collectively reflect a preference for centralized power, disregard for traditional checks and balances, and a willingness to challenge established norms and institutions.

The discourse around Donald Trump being a fascist is not just an academic exercise; it is essential for recognizing and addressing the potential dangers he poses to democratic institutions and social equality, and knowing how to combat it. The utility of using a term like “fascism” is that it has successfully been thwarted and fought before.

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This article was edited by Emily Caro and Naomi Rea.