The words “fascist” and “fascism” get thrown around a lot lately, on both sides of the political divide. It’s to the point that most people just ignore their use, and assume it’s all just politics.
And sometimes, it IS just politics. But it can also be a very real threat – one that must be pointed out whenever it surfaces.
The problem is, many people don’t have a clear picture of what fascism is: its characteristics, and how to spot it “in the wild.” I’ve read numerous articles and books on it, and even so, it’s hard for me to sum it up in a set of bullet points.
So, while messing around on YouTube the other night, I decided to search for “what is fascism” just to see what turned up. And lo and behold, a short animated explainer laid it out pretty much perfectly.
It’s from a channel called “Illustrate to Educate,” and in about four minutes the author, Dan Zimmerman, lays out the bullet points I was looking for. So, let’s take a look, and then see how Donald Trump and Trumpism compare.
The characteristics of fascism
Here is the list in Zimmerman’s video:
- Far-right
- Authoritarian
- Ultra-nationalist
- Dictatorial leader
- Centralized autocracy
- Militarism
- Forcible suppression of opposition
- Belief in a natural social hierarchy
- Subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race
- Strong regimentation of the society and economy
- The Leader rejects assertions that violence is inherently bad
- The Leader views imperialism, political violence, and war as means to national rejuvenation
- The Leader advocates for a totalitarian, one-party state
- Their extreme authoritarianism and nationalism often manifest as belief in racial purity or a master race
- Usually blended with racism or bigotry against a demonized Other
- The Leader claims to speak for the entire nation
- The Leader is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others
- The Leader is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have
Obviously, you can check the Hitler and the Nazis against that list, and get a 100% match. Pretty much the same for Mussolini in Italy.
But as Zimmerman points out, other leaders and nations have adopted some or all of these fascist markers: Francisco Franco in Spain, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and of course Vladimir Putin in Russia.
So how fascist is Donald Trump and Trumpism?
Now that we’ve seen the list from the video, let’s compare Donald Trump and his movement to it.
| Characteristic | Trump and Trumpism | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Far-right | Absolutely | 5 |
| 2. Authoritarian, dictatorial leader | “Dictator on day one” | 4 |
| 3. Ultra-nationalist | “Make America Great Again”; uses American flag as prop | 5 |
| 4. Centralized autocracy | Not yet, but if he’s elected, centralized control is all through Project 2025 | 3 |
| 5. Militarism | Was held back in first term by generals; won’t be in second | 3 |
| 6. Forcible suppression of opposition | Isolated instances in first term; would probably be worse in second | 2 |
| 7. Belief in a natural social hierarchy | Probably believes in white supremacy, but certainly not as spelled out as Hitler’s | 2 |
| 8. Subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race | Not so much – yet | 1 |
| 9. Strong regimentation of the society and economy | Didn’t have the power to do so in first term, and may not be disciplined enough to pull it off in the second | 1 |
| 10. Rejects assertions that violence is inherently bad | Absolutely – all through his rallies, and in things he wanted to do while in office | 5 |
| 11. Views imperialism, political violence, and war as means to national rejuvenation | Again, not as spelled out as Hitler, but certainly supports an “America first” foreign policy | 4 |
| 12. Advocates for a totalitarian, one-party state | Not so much (at least, not yet) | 2 |
| 13. Their extreme authoritarianism and nationalism often manifest as belief in racial purity or a master race | Trump is definitely racist, but I think that’s just who he is – it’s not based on any well-formed belief system | 3 |
| 14. Usually blended with racism or bigotry against a demonized Other | On the other hand, Trump definitely uses his racism as part of his “schtick.” And Trumpism is definitely into Othering people, such as LGBTQ, poor people, anyone who’s not MAGA, and so on | 4 |
| 15. Leader claims to speak for the entire nation | Not so much (at least not that I have seen or recognized) | 1 |
| 16. The leader is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others | Oh absolutely | 5 |
| 17. The leader is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have | And again, absolutely. The thing holding Trump back is that he doesn’t currently have his own Brownshirts. If he were able (and organized enough) to build such a paramilitary force, he would certainly want to use it. | 5 |
Some notes on the above
I’m sure some of you reading see a low score on a particular item and are muttering to yourselves, “Not yet. Just wait.” And that’s absolutely true.
Hitler in 1928 or even 1930 was not the Hitler of 1932 and 1933. He didn’t have the power yet, so he (obviously) couldn’t implement his ideas and plans. Once he became Chancellor, though, everything started changing, and pretty quickly.
The other thing to note is that I have intentionally not taken into account the people he may surround himself with, or the other forces such as Christian Nationalism that may come into play.
It’s possible that our institutions will restrain him some even if he is elected. But it’s also possible that once in power, with his own generals, his own cabinet of toadies, and a supine Supreme Court, the guardrails will be gone, and he and his administration will quickly get to the task of reworking our democracy into an Orban-like “democracy” – with Donald Trump doing his best to emulate Orban and Putin.
We always hear “this is most important election in our lifetime.” This year, the correct statement is “this is the most important election in our nation’s lifetime.” If you don’t want to see the above table come to life, do all you can to defeat Trump and Trumpism.
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