Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” series that serves to remind us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA movement still pose – and to keep those moments clear in our memory as we fight to defeat Republican extremists during the upcoming elections.
This week’s Trumptastrophe highlights former President Trump’s fascist tendencies that are now on full display.
At a political rally on Oct. 26, 2018, Trump read scripted remarks calling for national unity, criticizing the politics of personal destruction, and decrying violence—and then quickly descended into his typically toxic mix of demeaning insults against his political opponents, media-bashing, and fearmongering on immigration.
That rally came shortly after a Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist sent pipe bombs to Democratic leaders including former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder. Trump denied that his hyper-divisive rhetoric could have anything to do with inflaming such violence. He even mocked the idea that he should be “nice,” suggesting that instead he should be even more strident. “I think I’ve been toned down,” he said. “I could really tone it up.”
Today we know what Trump means by “really tone it up” as his campaign goes full fascist, making it clear that our freedoms and future are on the line in the election that is already under way in some states. Trump has threatened to:
- turn the U.S. military against Americans who disagree with him—people he calls “the enemy within”;
- imprison election officials and Democratic officials;
- shut down media outlets whose coverage he doesn’t like;
- seize the endowments of universities that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion;
- urge police officers to engage in “a really violent day” against nonviolent criminals like shoplifters;
- mobilize a massive violent police state action against immigrants—who are already suffering from violent harassment caused by his dishonest and inflammatory rhetoric.
And that’s all in addition to Project 2025’s plan for a dictatorial presidency—and the MAGA Supreme Court justices creating a doctrine of presidential immunity that would make it virtually impossible to hold Trump accountable for abuses of power he carries out as president.
Trump’s admiration for dictatorial leaders and his contempt for democratic norms are understood by people who have worked closely with him. Retired Gen. Mark Milley, who served as Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called Trump “fascist to the core” and the “most dangerous person ever.”
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian and author of the 2020 book “Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present,” recently noted, “Trump has intentionally drawn on the enduring appeal of Fascism,” including his elevating neo-Nazis and platforming antisemites and Holocaust deniers.
Ben-Ghiat noted that at a recent rally where Trump stood on stage listening to music and basking in the adoration of the crowd for half an hour, he was in front of a banner reading “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING,” which echoes Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s slogan, “Mussolini Is Always Right.”
The Trump campaign’s decision to close out the campaign by ramping up his cruelty, lies about immigrants, and appeal to some of his supporters’ desire for a dictatorial leader who will crush their perceived enemies is deeply troubling.
So is the fact that MAGA Republicans have not only backed Trump’s most brazen lies, they have also adopted his tactics of cruelty, intimidation, and discrimination, targeting some of the most vulnerable people in America. The Trump campaign and MAGA Republicans have poured tens of millions of dollars into campaign ads targeting transgender people.
“Trump is what a Fascist demagogue looks like in 2024 America, and Trumpism aims to defeat our democracy and establish a form of governance that would have strong similarities with Fascism as well as other experiences of authoritarianism,” writes Ben-Ghiat in her Substack newsletter. “Those are the stakes of this election.”
These are just some of the reasons we need YOU in this fight. So, find your favorite way to unwind after reading through this week’s recap, and then make a plan for how you will fight back this week, this month, this election cycle.
