RolloTreadway on Nostr: npub1g0tuf…3tvm4 I said repeatedly in 2016 (on the social media platforms of the ...
npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 (npub1g0t…tvm4) I said repeatedly in 2016 (on the social media platforms of the day) that Trump was running an unequivocally fascist campaign, and that being so, whether he privately was a fascist was quite irrelevant (ascribing any ideology to Trump beyond mere self-interest seemed iffy, but also unimportant - words and deeds are what counts).
Unfortunately, the word fascist had been so grotesquely misused that people were unable to spot fascism when it was in front of them. For decades, the word fascist had been lazily and constantly used to refer to any hint of authoritarianism or of bigotry - or, alternatively, to refer ultra-specifically to the exact forms and styles of the Nazis.
At the time, I argued, Trump's approach was closer to the fascism of Mussolini than Hitler or other fascist leaders. And Mussolini is the very historical definition of fascism; if anyone wants to suggest that Mussolini wasn't really fascist then they've gone down entirely the wrong road.
I don't think the subsequent eight years have done anything to suggest Trump was or has become less fascist. It seems clear that the Maga movement - always a fascist movement - has grown ever closer to Nazism in particular, and it would be hard to argue that Trump has been less than a very willing participant.
The problem is not calling Trump and his gang fascists. They are, in word and deed. The problem is in using the word fascist to describe a vast array of people and organisations who, though undoubtedly unpleasant, are literally not fascists.
Unfortunately, the word fascist had been so grotesquely misused that people were unable to spot fascism when it was in front of them. For decades, the word fascist had been lazily and constantly used to refer to any hint of authoritarianism or of bigotry - or, alternatively, to refer ultra-specifically to the exact forms and styles of the Nazis.
At the time, I argued, Trump's approach was closer to the fascism of Mussolini than Hitler or other fascist leaders. And Mussolini is the very historical definition of fascism; if anyone wants to suggest that Mussolini wasn't really fascist then they've gone down entirely the wrong road.
I don't think the subsequent eight years have done anything to suggest Trump was or has become less fascist. It seems clear that the Maga movement - always a fascist movement - has grown ever closer to Nazism in particular, and it would be hard to argue that Trump has been less than a very willing participant.
The problem is not calling Trump and his gang fascists. They are, in word and deed. The problem is in using the word fascist to describe a vast array of people and organisations who, though undoubtedly unpleasant, are literally not fascists.