It seems that no political conversation in America is complete these days without somebody calling somebody a fascist, and if you are unlucky to be caught up in one of those discussions, you will no doubt hear one name shouted out louder than all the others. And that name is spoken more often than all of the other top ten most evil fascists of all time. I am referring, of course, to the 47th president of the United States, Donald John Trump.
For many left-of-center Americans, Trump has risen to the top of their lists of the most heinous, the most evil and the most dangerous enemies of democracy.
For them, he is the progenitor of all fascists that have scorched the Earth with their death and destruction, no matter Trump has killed no one and has, himself, been the target of at least two assassination attempts on his life.
Just yesterday, Donald Trump was in Israel helping to celebrate the return of Israeli hostages after brokering a ceasefire with some real fascist captors, Hamas. That may have earned him a few points with most of the world (certainly with the Israelis), but his critics will tell you that his presence in Israel standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they also regard as a fascist and a war criminal, lost him all the points he gained.
Before we get too far down the field, let's see what the geniuses at ChatGPT have to say about what constitutes a "fascist."
The AI engine said:
A fascist is someone who backs a mass-mobilizing ultranationalist rebirth project that rejects liberal democracy, concentrates power in a single leader or party, treats political violence as purifying, and subordinates individual rights to the imagined unity and purity of the nation.
Taking the definition apart, I have difficulty ascribing an "America first" posture as being fascistic. Ronald Reagan used the phrase, "Make America Great Again" in his 1980 campaign, and Bill Clinton used it in his remarks in 1992. Many presidents before Donald Trump were supporters of an America-first doctrine like Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Woodrow Wilson was a Democrat while Harding and Coolidge were Republicans.
If we're going to go fascist-label-crazy then I suppose we'll have to include Reagan, Clinton, Wilson, Harding and Coolidge into the club because each believed that a strong, prosperous and united America was a bulwark against fascism, not part of its DNA.
And the term ultranationalist, I would argue, cannot be applied to Donald Trump. An ultranationalist is someone who holds an extreme view of nationalism that elevates the nation above all other values, often demanding cultural/ethnic homogeneity, viewing outsiders or internal minorities as threats, and accepting harsh (sometimes authoritarian or violent) measures to secure the nation’s “unity” and “purity."While Trump may be using extreme measures to re-secure America's border, he is not opposed to legal immigration nor does he hate minorities.
While Trump believes in a strong America, he does not view the U.S. as a nation to be respected over its values. On the contrary, he believes that the nation is its values and those values must be protected.
The next item:
concentrates power in a single leader or party, treats political violence as purifying, and subordinates individual rights to the imagined unity and purity of the nation.
It is no secret that Donald Trump wants power to realize his goals, but he is not advocating political violence as a means to achieve them nor is he trying to take away people's rights for either an imagined or real unity and purity of the nation.
He is willing to let his actions stand the test of the courts and will obey their rulings when they have been through the entire appellate process.
This is not the mark of a fascist that would overrule the courts and take the law into his own hands.
Many of his critics would point to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC as a moment that would define Donald Trump's motives and validate his "fascistic" tendencies.
On that very day, he told his supporters to proceed in a peaceful manner to the Capitol building to make their voices heard, and at no time did he encourage violence.
This is not the trademark of a fascist.
ChatGPT did give me a list of the "top ten" world-recognized fascists, and nowhere was Donald Trump on that list.
However, the names did include leaders of nine European countries and one Asian country: Germany, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Norway and Japan.
There are, however, warning signs of fascism that every nation should be aware of and they are:
• The myth of national decline and rebirth calling for an urgent call to “save” the nation
• An exclusionary view of citizenship (ethnic or cultural litmus tests)
• A tendency towards militarism and readiness to use force against perceived “enemies” both internal and external
• Illegal suppression of dissent; loyalty tests; leader-centered politics
• Revisionist/irredentist aims (recovering “lost” territories or past glory)
Both critics and supporters of Donald Trump have a duty to come together and debate the above five points and leave the "fascist" epithet out of the conversation until all voices are heard.
Can a fascist also be a dictator and are both the same?
A dictatorship describes a form of rule (one person wielding unchecked power), while fascist rule describes a specific ideology and movement. A fascist regime is almost always a dictatorship — but many dictators aren’t fascists. Trump does not wield unchecked power. He is limited by our Constitution and the separation of powers. Neither he nor His MAGA movement advocate for a one-party system though they are understandably happy that the Democrats are in disarray.
The left has never let the facts about fascism influence their opinion of Donald Trump. To them, he is a fascist and will always be one.
That is the sad part of American political discourse today. The facts of any matter are deemed irrelevant by the American left because of their pathological hatred for Donald Trump. They are unable to discuss any issue without first calling Trump a fascist. Charlie Kirk's assassination is emblematic of the reality that certain Americans are incapable of a spirited conversation or debate without resorting to name-calling or violence.
Fascism has many faces.
There is another form of abuse that has worked its way into our body politic, and it's similar to fascism in the way that it depends on the cruel, unjust and unaccountable use of power to intimidate those who would exercise their right to conduct an open and civil dialogue.
I'm speaking of tyranny, more specifically the tyranny expressed by the radical left's coercion and ruthless condemnation and vilification of their opponents. This is not to say that there are no right-wing practitioners of tyranny. There are, but nowhere near the degree that we see every night on the left-leaning news media.
Fascism is here to stay.
As long as there is freedom of speech there will be those who cry "fascism" and not be called to task for it.
In America, every one may be heard and is subject to the judgment of the court of public opinion. At present, there is no statute of limitations on insensitivity, stupidity or the willful disregard of basic civility. Our Constitution affords us all certain inalienable rights, and among them is the right to be wrong, but, thankfully, it does not forbid society from punishing those who are repeat offenders.