how to spot a fascist
the 14 characteristics of fascism
Is Donald Trump a fascist? The signs are numerous:
A group of Yale professors who are experts on authoritarianism announced that they would all be leaving the United States due to their concerns about the Trump administration.
Trump’s biggest supporter (up until a few weeks ago), Elon Musk, made a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration.
Kanye “Ye” West, another avid Trump supporter, has proudly proclaimed himself a Nazi and praised Adolf Hitler.
This might be a hot take, but I think that being on the same side as Nazis probably means you’re on the wrong side of history.
Let’s investigate using political science theory.
Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt identified the 14 Characteristics of Fascism after studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile).
If we use this framework to study Trump’s presidency, we can see that much of his strategy has been ripped from the very same fascist playbook:
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascists are suckers for branding, especially when it comes to flags, slogans, and other patriotic paraphernalia. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan is a prime example of this, complete with an entire merch line of hats, t-shirts, and even children’s toys.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Since Trump’s second inauguration, the U.S. has experienced a significant rollback of human rights, landing it a spot as 1 of 5 countries on CIVICUS Monitor’s human rights watch list.Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
Trump unites his supporters by convincing them to project their anger onto marginalized groups. Right now, MAGA is convinced that immigrants and trans people are the source of all their problems, despite the fact that all Americans are immigrants (or descendants of immigrants) on stolen Indigenous land, and trans people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population.
31 detainees in a Texas detention center used their bodies to send out an SOS to a nearby drone. (Source: Global News) Supremacy of the Military
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” isn’t beautiful at all: it strips funding from essential services that benefit citizens while boosting military spending by $157 billion.Rampant Sexism
From appointing Supreme Court judges who stripped away abortion rights to selecting a Vice President who calls Democrats “childless cat ladies”, Trump has always been about oppressing women. 16 women have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault and various beauty pageant contestants (including teen pageants) have alleged that Trump walked in on them while they were dressing.
Real footage from deposition video in civil rape case filed by E. Jean Carroll against Trump. (Photo: Trial Exhibit) Controlled Mass Media
The Trump administration exerts indirect control of the media by barring non-sympathetic journalists from the White House, defunding public outlets NPR and PBS, and cozying up to right-wing news network Fox News.
Obsession with National Security
Trump promotes a narrative of fear and division through his anti-immigration stance. His ICE raids have resulted in racial profiling towards people of colour and numerous human rights violations in the name of “protecting” America.
Source: Los Angeles Times Religion and Government are Intertwined
Despite Trump’s own actions being far from Christ-like, the Republican party continually claims to align itself with Christianity. In fascist nations, governments weaponize the most common religion to rise to power, even if their own actions contradict that religion.Corporate Power is Protected
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg were all in attendance at Trump’s inauguration. These elite business leaders are provided with special privileges as long as they support Trump: just look at Musk, who was appointed to DOGE and promoted Tesla outside the White House during his short-lived bromance with Trump.
Trump and Musk posed together in front of the White House to promote Tesla. (Source: The New York Times) Labor Power is Suppressed
Trump recently signed an executive order to end collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security, and has a record of pushing for anti-union policies.Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
The Trump administration is leading the anti-intellectualism movement, pushing the narrative that all negative press is “fake news” and all academics are “brainwashed.” Education is under attack, with international student visas being revoked, funding being pulled from public education, and pro-Palestinian student activists like Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia being arrested.
The Trump administration froze more than $2bn in federal funds for Harvard University. (Source: BBC) Obsession with Crime and Punishment
ICE now has the authority to suppress peaceful protests and detain people of colour without due process. State violence and abuse is excused and encouraged by the Trump regime.Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Upon taking office, Trump quickly fired government workers and replaced them with his friends. In utter disregard for democracy, he also pardoned the January 6th insurrectionists and even placed one of them in a government leadership position.
Trump pardoned around 1,500 defendants involved in the January 6th, 2021, attack on the Capitol. (Source: Wall Street Journal) Fraudulent Elections
From inciting an attempted overthrow of the government to attacks on citizenship and the right to vote for marginalized communities, Trump is manipulating the political system in his own favour. He has already expressed a desire to run for a third term, which would violate the U.S. Constitution.
I’m not a political scientist, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck... Donald Trump is a fascist, or a wannabe fascist at the very least.
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BAD ASIAN was created and written by eco-feminist activist and journalist Katy Ho.
Katy’s work reaches audiences of over 6.1 million people around the world. She is a staff writer at FEMINIST, the world’s largest digital platform for intersectional feminism, and writes a monthly column for the Environmental Media Association, Hollywood’s loudspeaker for the planet. Her work has been published by some of the world’s leading platforms for Asian media, including NextShark and Cold Tea Collective.