Fascism on the March
…is America sleeping through it, and inviting a nightmare?
Just like it took the “mainstream media” a long time to call Trump’s untruths lies, it has taken a long time for the same cautious folks to identify his desired ruling style what it is:
FASCISM.
I think we’re past that reticence now. At least I hope so. We’re seeing some reporting about it — finally. Trump keeps saying the quiet part out loud, telling us exactly who he is. Exhibit 1, his Veterans’ Day speech in Claremont, NH, which echoes the language of Mussolini and Hitler during their ascensions to power.
He said:
“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections. They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream…the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within.”
Showing that his words were calculated, not an off-the-cuff slip, he also posted a similar sentiment on his truth social feed:
“In honor of our great Veterans on Veteran’s Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Liz Cheney called his speech what it is: Nazi propaganda.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at New York University, said in an email to The Washington Post that “calling people 'vermin’ was used effectively by Hitler and Mussolini to dehumanize people and encourage their followers to engage in violence.”
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” historian Jon Meacham said,
“To call your opponent ‘vermin,’ to dehumanize them, is to not only open the door but to walk through the door toward the most ghastly kinds of crimes.”…On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” historian Jon Meacham said, “To call your opponent ‘vermin,’ to dehumanize them, is to not only open the door but to walk through the door toward the most ghastly kinds of crimes.”
Jen Psaki, Biden’s former press secretary, said on her MSNBC show:
“If elected to a second term, Donald Trump would prosecute anyone he deems an enemy, unleash troops on protesters and essentially unravel the rule of law as we know it. And this time, he plans to line his administration with people who will actually help him do it. Look, there’s a lot to be concerned about right now when it comes to a second Trump term. The speeches are getting much more disturbing and much more unhinged, and we should all hear it that way. It’s also important to talk about all of this and important to call it out. But there is nothing more important than digging into his actual plans…Trump is warning us in his own voice…telling us exactly what he plans to do. We all just need to listen.”
But Ronna (Romney) McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee, couldn’t seem to find fault with Trump’s words. Asked by NBC “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker if McDaniel is comfortable with the language being used by the former president, she said,
“I am not going to comment on candidates and their campaign messaging. I will say this, I know President Trump supports the veterans, our whole party supports our veterans. And I do think we’re at a very serious moment in our country.”
SERIOUS MOMENT FOR THE COUNTRY? YA THINK? Washington Post satirist wrote in her piece in the Washington Post entitled I’m starting to think Donald Trump is sounding like Hitler on purpose
“Just because Trump is using openly fascist language now, and his team is threatening to crush people who point this out, doesn’t mean that he’s going to do fascist things when elected. And just because he has promised to round up undocumented immigrants and put them into camps, and to fire huge swaths of federal employees and surround himself with loyalists, and to get revenge on his political enemies, those things also don’t mean that he’s going to do fascist things when elected.”
…Striking an uncharacteristically serious pose, she concludes with:
“Well, sure. Maybe language is meaningless! But what a convenient time to suddenly start operating on the assumption that language is meaningless! Sure, he might forget! Or he might magically become an entirely different person! But those things seem unlikely! And, personally, I would rather not take that chance. If someone is announcing specific plans for rooting out internal enemies, I want to hear better reassurances than “Maybe he will forget” or “Maybe when he said that he would do that, he suddenly decided that the words meant something different.”
He is still the GOP front-runner! I am not encouraged by the fact that millions of people continue to support him; when you do that, that means that you heard somebody referring to his opponents as “vermin” and thought, “That’s fine. That doesn’t mean us. That means you,” and that’s not a great place to be as a country!
So, sorry to bother you, but this is happening! I sure wish it weren’t!”
Folks, we need to do more than wish. We need to educate our neighbors, friends, and peers about this threat they may not be paying attention to. We need to shake them out of their apathy. As Tom Nichols, professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and writer for The Atlantic, admonishes us:
“If American democracy falls in 2024, the chief culpability will rest with Trump, his aides, and the elected Republicans who enabled him (either out of fear or venality or both). But if Trump manages…to squeeze 271 electoral votes out of a distracted and sullen American electorate…the blame will also rest with voters who couldn’t be bothered to put aside their petty beefs and particularistic interests long enough to link arms at the ballot box and defend the American system of government.”
Come 2024, we’ll have to vote like our way of life depended on it. Because, quite literally, it does.