As our November 5 election draws closer and closer, Americans are more and more focused on the issues involved.  My blog is now almost exclusively devoted to discussing these issues.  The charge has now been made repeatedly in the mainstream press that Donald Trump is a fascist.  To respond to this charge we need to have at least a working definition of what fascism is.

Consider a description of fascism provided by Heather Cox Richardson:

• What is fascism?
  Fascism, the U.S. government document explained, “is government by the few and for the few. The objective is seizure and control of the economic, political, social, and cultural life of the state.” “The people run democratic governments, but fascist governments run the people.”“The basic principles of democracy stand in the way of their desires; hence—democracy must go! Anyone who is not a member of their inner gang has to do what he’s told. They permit no civil liberties, no equality before the law.” “Fascism treats women as mere breeders. ‘Children, kitchen, and the church,’ was the Nazi slogan for women,” the pamphlet said.

  Fascists “make their own rules and change them when they choose…. They maintain themselves in power by use of force combined with propaganda based on primitive ideas of ‘blood’ and ‘race,’ by skillful manipulation of fear and hate, and by false promise of security. The propaganda glorifies war and insists it is smart and ‘realistic’ to be pitiless and violent.”

  Fascists understood that “the fundamental principle of democracy—faith in the common sense of the common people—was the direct opposite of the fascist principle of rule by the elite few,” it explained, “[s]o they fought democracy…. They played political, religious, social, and economic groups against each other and seized power while these groups struggled.”

  

• Is Donald Trump a fascist? According to Ms. Richardson above, fascism can only exist if democracy is subverted and overthrown or at least weakened.  Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, but had no success in doing so.  His campaign filed over 60 lawsuits around the country but not a single one had any success.  The mob riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 did not succeed in changing the outcome of the election.  If Trump is reelected this year, he will serve four more years and will be ineligible to run for reelection in 2028.  If Trump is defeated for reelection this year, he will remain a private citizen as he is now.The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787, and has now helm firm for 237 years.  Democracy is thriving in the U.S. today.  It has persevered under previous crises such as the Civil War and the great depression.  It will surely survive the disruptive presidency of Donald Trump, whether he ends up serving two terms or only one.

Conclusion.  Fascism does not now exist in the U.S. nor can it appear unless and until our fundamental democratic institutions are greatly weakened.  Of course, we should never be complacent, but this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

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