If you read the last article I wrote for The Gaudie, you’ll have surmised that I’m no great fan of Donald Trump. There, I presented the counter-arguments for a number of points highlighting the positives of Trump’s second term, something I feel I did pretty successfully. Here, I’m going to expound further on just how much issue I take with Trump’s re–election. I think he is an arse, plus all associated synonyms. I say ‘arse’ because that’s the most aggressive expletive I’m allowed to use when writing here. It is not, however, the strongest word I can use. That would be ‘fascist’.
The big issue one encounters in trying to use the above term when discussing politics is the knee-jerk connection made to Indiana Jones villains (or Captain America, or the X-Men – you know, the sharp dressers with the awful foreign policy). This was wonderfully demonstrated by my flatmates who, when asked to say the first word that comes to mind when you hear ‘fascism’, immediately responded with ‘Hitler’. Fascism is deeply intertwined with Hitler, Mussolini and the horrors of 20th-century Europe. The result is immense difficulty when considered as an actual form of political governance. In this article, I will outline both the meaning of fascism in modern politics, and illustrate how neatly this definition applies to the new President.
Firstly, defining fascism. Roger Griffin’s phrase ‘palingenetic ultranationalism’ is perfect, assuming you already know what each term means. ‘Palingenetic’ has some seriously religious overtones; in Christianity, Palingenesis refers to the great ‘rebirth’ following Jesus Christ’s return to save his followers during the rapture. This rebirth notion is incredibly important. For fascism, it’s about regaining something that has long been lost, ‘something’ generally taken as the unbridled and dominant rule of whomever the present regime deems worthy. This is central – the ultimate aim of fascism is to create a two-tiered societal pyramid with a well-defined ‘us’ at the top, and everybody else at the bottom. Such pyramids are replicable (ish) in other systems. In monarchies, it is the Monarch, who is there by God-given right. In a capitalist system, the top of the pyramid is reserved for those who succeed in the market, and the lower echelons are divided by relative wealth. In both cases, there is a specified and justified (perspective dependent) reason for pyramid placement. In fascism, the ‘us’ at the top are there… cause destiny, maybe?
Ultranationalism is a bit easier to conceptualise. Start with nationalism, identifying and supporting your country, be it Scotland, Ireland, or, in this instance, the US. Ultranationalism comes the further you turn up the dial. Ultra-nationalism is not supporting your state, but supporting your state at the exclusion of others, by reason of superiority or however else you would like to rationalise it. It is a bit silly, but so is fascism.
Importantly, fascists do anything necessary to claim power. This becomes apparent when remembering that, while Mussolini did it by military coup, Hitler was elected – politically, it’s ends, not means. Important also is that fascism is not inherently authoritarian by nature. Granted, it’s a near-inevitable byproduct – convincing the population of their position as second-class citizens without any pushback is notoriously tricky.
For Trump, ‘whatever it takes to gain power’ is eerily reminiscent of Hitler, albeit with a few extra steps. He attempted an overthrow of the government (Jan. 6th versus the Munich Putsch) and, upon failing, managed to get himself elected, although not before getting himself a felony conviction (yes, Hitler’s was for the coup attempt, and Trump’s was for paying hush money to a pornstar, but it is a fun coincidence). His continued (false) rhetoric about Mexicans, his wild (also false) claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, and his grand (aaand false) promises to reduce consumer prices from day one demonstrate this ‘by any means necessary’ policy.
His ultranationalist tendencies are evident to even the most ardent MAGA-philes. The waxed lyricism about Canada, Greenland, and Gaza being subsumed into the US is, in a word, mental. It represents the biggest threat to territorial integrity in the West since the end of the Empire, and the biggest worldwide since, well, admittedly, the invasion of Ukraine which, because of course he has, Trump has opted to back Putin on. In terms of isolationism and exclusion, his deteriorating relationship with the EU bloc (and also the rest of the American continent, Middle East, China, and, by complicated political proxy, Africa) shows exactly how the rest of the world is viewed by the current administration. As illustrated in my previous article, Trump’s tariff policies will not benefit the American people. Rather, they will – again, by any means necessary – remove any shred of international reliance from the US, and allow them instead to pursue continually expansionist efforts without resistance. Ultranationalist to the core.
Finally, Palingenesis. Who, in Trump’s view, is that aforementioned ‘us’, destined to return to power? Process of elimination can help us figure it out. Well, considering the debates, probably not Haitians. Neither is it Mexicans, Arabs, or Africans (Trump, of course, referring to Haiti and African nations as ‘shithole countries’). It is not the staff of the International Criminal Court, when considering last month’s sanctions. The overturning of Roe v Wade, and implementation of other Project 2025 policies (which Trump definitely isn’t/wasn’t/won’t enact, apart from what he already has enacted) suggests it definitely is not women, members of the LGBT community, or non-Christians. The removal of all DEI initiatives would, in fact, imply it is not any sort of national minority. And that leaves, to rapturous applause from the KKK (yes, the KKK – do not forget, Charlottesville had ‘very fine people on both sides’), straight, white, cisgender men having a stiff-arm dance party with Elon Musk and Steve Bannon. Remember, kids – if it quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Same applies to salutes.
Clearly, Trump fits the criteria of a modern fascist, but there is one thing I am still tripping over. Trump’s doing fascism, unquestionably. I just can’t tell if he is a fascist; as in, believes the whole ‘we are destined to return, blah, blah, blah’ schtick. That, in my opinion, raises a scarier possibility – if not, then what is the goal? More money than the money he already does not need? Power, for power’s sake? Notoriety, maybe; to be remembered in the same breath as his contemporaries? In any case, I am disappointed I can’t finish with a positive angle, but I do not see one. Considering what this administration has managed in just six weeks of power, the next four years have the potential to be exceptionally long. I hope we make it that far.
