We are not special.

fascism can happen here.

In the late 1920s, Germany was a sophisticated Democracy with one of the highest rates of literacy, known for science & technology. due to a lost war, pandemic, & inflation, many were struggling; A ranting Demagogue promised them hope. Conservative politicians hoped to use his popularity as a way to cement conservative rule. they put him in power, and things changed very quickly...

WHAT IS FASCISM?

Fascism (FASH-iz-əm)

is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, contempt for electoral democracy, and the belief in a natural social hierarchy & rule by elites.

Tactics Used by All Authoritarians:

1) Machismo

Portray themself as powerful. Never show weakness, admit wrongdoing, or take responsibility. Keep up a godlike image. Only they can fix things and rescue the country.

"I, alone, can fix it."—Trump

"I am the chosen one."—Trump

Present simple solutions to complex problems.

Trump talking about Chicago: "They have a problem that's very easily fixable."

Trump talking about peace in the Middle East: "It is something that I think is frankly, maybe, not as difficult as people have thought over the years.”

"Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, I will have the disaterous war between Russia & Ukraine settled; & it will take me no longer than 1 day."—Trump

Portray themselves as savior of the nation yet a man of the people.

Trump is a billionaire elite born into great wealth, yet he portrays himself as an everyman. He was "loaned" millions from family members & inherited over $400 million from his father and is far from a self-made man.

2) Victimhood

Always on the attack, yet always playing the victim.

"I am a victim... they are coming after me."-Trump

"No politician in history has been treated worse or more unfairly."-Trump

Pretend that any attempt to come after them is actually an attempt to go after their supporters, & that they are the only ones standing in the way. Followers get on board with their aggressive actions because it is portrayed as self-defense.

On Jaunary 6, Trump said the election had been stolen & told his followers, "We fight like hell; and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

"For those have been wronged & betrayed, I am your retribution"-Trump

3) Adulation

Constantly seeking attention & recognition. Throw rallies to rile up your base and keep them engaged. Create a cult-like worship of their leader.

Unlike other presidents, but like Authoritarians, Trump regularly threw rallies outside of elections.

Trump also regularly focuses on crowd sizes. "Nobody has spoken to crowds bigger than me."

4) Desensitize

Regularly say and do increasingly controversial things to desensitize people & the media. Don't give them time to process and react to one controversy before moving onto another. People grow weary and eventually tune out.

5) Attack the Media

Try to discredit and silence the media. Label it the “enemy of the people.” Anything they don’t like is “fake news.” Eventually, take control of the news.

Trump said the government should take away ABC's license for moderating his 9/10/24 debate with Kamala Harris in a way he didn't like, which would violate the 1st Amendment of the Constitution & be an unprecedented abuse of power.

6) Use Propaganda to create Unreality

"The masses... more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a little one."

"Essential to the Big Lie's effectiveness is a simple appeal to emotions, not intellect,

and endless repetition without concession to contrary evidence."—Hitler, Mein Kampf

Create a disorienting alternate reality by constantly repeating falsehoods & conspiracy theories (propaganda) to blur the lines between fact & opinion. Debate becomes impossible when there is no common reality. Use loaded words, incendiary language, and superlatives when speaking.

Trump frequently tells outlandish, easily disprovable lies:

"I had no inflation... They (Biden & Harris) had the highest inflation in the history of our country."-Trump [FACT CHECK]

Trump repeatedly claims his crowds are the largest. He said his innaugeration crowd was larger than Obamas [FACT CHECK] & his January 6 speech had more people than MLK's "I have a dream" speech [FACT CHECK].

On 9/11/2001, Trump erroniously claimed his building on 40 Wall St is now the tallest building in lower Manhattan. [FACT CHECK].

Trump said Democrats "execute babies" after they're born [FACT CHECK].

"The transgender thing is incredible... your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides."-Trump [FACT CHECK]

Accuse your enemy of what you are doing (projection). Your enemy is both weak & strong. (Goebbels mastered this technique.)

Trump potrayed both Hilary & Biden as heads of crime families in charge of a powerful "deep state," yet he also said they were weak with low IQs.

He also called Kamala “dumb,” “low IQ,” & lacking “mental capacity” and accused her of committing crimes.

Trump, the Trump Organization, & the Trump Foundation (his charity) were all found guilty of committing crimes.

7) Redefine Patriot

Attack critics & anyone who does not support them. Say they are the enemy and not patriots. Patriots are loyal to them, not the country, rule of law, or the Constitution. Divide the country and make everything about "us" versus "them."

According to Trump, only MAGAs are real Republicans and true patriots. All other Republicans are RINOs (Republicans in Name Only).

Trump posted on his social media platform, "FoxNews: STOP PUTTING ON THE ENEMY!"

He called his followers who stormed the Capital and were convicted of crimes, "unbelievable patriots" & "hostages."

8) Scapegoat & Fearmonger

Target minorities & the opposition and blame them for the country’s problems.

Undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country.”—Trump & Hitler

Trump said, Haitians "are eating the pets of the people that live there." [FACT CHECK]

Similarly, Nazis said that Jews were drinking the blood of Christian children.

Trump promises to "Carry out the largest deportation operation in american history," deporting "15 million & maybe as many as 20 million" people. His plan includes using the military & putting people in "vast holding facilities (camps) on open land in Texas near the border.”

The Cato Institute, a right-wing, Libertarian think tank, found that "illegal immigrants had a criminal conviction rate 47% below that of native-born Americans."

Trump "torpedoed" the bipartisan border security deal for political gain according to the Washington Examiner, a right-wing news outlet, & Mitch McConnell who said, "our nominee for president did not seem to want us to do anything at all."

9) Dehumanize

Portray enemies, opposing parties, critics, and minorities as subhuman animals to make it easy to attack them and commit atrocities.

Hitler & Trump called them "Vermin."

"They're not humans, they're animals."—Trump

Trump plans to "end citizenship for children of illegals," despite the 14th Amendment declaring, "all persons born in the US are citizens of the US."

10) Glorify Violence

Use threats, intimidation, and actual violence.

"Knock the crap out of them. Would you seriously just knock the hell? I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees."—Trump

"Getting them out (migrants) will be a bloody story."—Trump

11) Promote Law & Order

Claim to be for law & order but never for themselves. "Rule of law" becomes "rule by the lawless." Any attempt to hold them accountable is a “witch hunt” by the “deep state.”

“A president of the United States must have full immunity. Even events that ‘cross the line’ must fall under total immunity."—Donald Trump

On multiple occasions, Trump falsely asserted that Article II of the Constitution gave him "the right to do whatever I want."

Trump pardoned people who committed crimes in his inner circle and said he would pardon his supporters arrested on January 6th.

Trump said, "We should give a 1 year sentence in jail to anybody that burns the American flag," even though it is protected by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.

Trump knowingly hired undocumented immigrants to work for his organization, even though he's against it for other companies.

12) Inversion

Say Democracy is the real tyranny, and Fascism/Trumpism is the way to free the people. Any aggression they do is because they are the defender of freedom, and the opposition represents the real tyranny. Mass repression is hailed as something positive. Use opposite meanings like "anti-corruption" ("drain the swamp") to corrupt the government & "freedom of speech" campaigns to stifle free speech.

Written on the gates of Auschwitz: “Work makes free.”

13) Glorified Past

Harken a past when everything was perfect, then blame the opposition for destroying it. Disparage their current country and vow to make it “great again.”

"We don't have a great country, we have a country that's a laughing stock all over the world."—Trump

14) Sodom & Gomorrah

Portray cities as places of moral decay; the traditional, rural heartland is pure and the backbone of the county.

“The woke left is waging full scale war on the suburbs, and their Marxist crusade is coming for your neighborhood.”—Trump

15) Sexual Anxiety

We support the family; they are deviants and threaten our way of life. Control women’s bodies and demonize other peoples’ sexual practices.

When asked, "Do you believe in punishment for abortion?" Trump responded, "There has to be some form of punishment for the woman."

16) Anti-intellectualism

Demonize science & experts. Label universities as incubators of Liberalism, Marxism, and Communism.

“I will not give ONE PENNY to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.”—Trump

As a result of this continued demonization, 31% of Republicans now say vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases they prevent.

17) Exploit Religion

Blur the lines between religion & state. Use religion to say they are doing god’s work and to justify atrocities.

When asked about being shot, Trump said, "It's a miracle, & God had something to do with it, & maybe it's uh we want to save the world."

Trump shared a video to his social media platform declaring, "God made Trump!"

Trump warned about Biden, "No religion, no anything, hurt the bible, hurt god, he's against god."—Trump

18) Consolidate Power

Push out opposition in the party until just cronies remain. Threaten, buy off, or promise positions of power to holdouts.

Trump has campaigned against Republicans in Congress not loyal to him, pushing many of them out.

Trump took over the RNC and merged it with his own campaign. His daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is now co-chair. He has control over where & who their funds go to, giving him tremendous power.

19) Rule by Decree

Once in power, rule by decree (executive orders) instead of legislation and the usual channels of Democratic governance.

20) Create a Deep State

Install loyalists & ideologues in the government and courts to replace skilled, career professionals. Hiring is based on loyalty, nepotism, and ideology, not skills, merit, or adhearence to the law or Constitution. Checks & balances are destroyed, and there is no more accountability or reason to keep campaign promises anymore.

Project 2025 details the Heritage Foundation's plans for Trump to create an actual "deep state."

When asked if he would have certified the 2020 election, JD Vance said, "I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors."

21) Protect Power

Use the government, law enforcement, & the military as a personal tool to neutralize any threats to power.

Trump promised to give "immunity to police," which the right-wing Cato Institute warned could lead to abuses by Trump.

22) Indoctrination

Mandate that educational institutions only teach a "patriotic" curriculum portraying the country, its history, and its leadership as flawless. Use the media to echo & protect that image.

"President Trump will fight for patriotic education in America’s schools."—Agenda47

Trump wants to create a new federally operated university called the "American Academy" & a Presidential Administration Academy to "educate" political appointees.

23) Forge Alliances

Praise and cozy up to other Authoritarians and form alliances. (Hitler, Mussolini, & Stalin)

"Hitler did some good things."—Donald Trump

"Erdoğan lifted Turkey to a new level of prominence and respect!”—Donald Trump

Trump hosted Orban at Mar a Lago then said, "“There’s nobody that's better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He’s fantastic. He says, ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ & that’s the end of it. Right? He’s the boss. He's a great leader.”—Donald Trump

"Victor Orban, one of the most respected men, they call him a strongman... said you need Trump back as president."—Donald Trump

“He (Orban) is the head of the country, and I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks & his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same."—Donald Trump

"Venezuela is right now being run by a dictator. The next interview we'll do in Caracas, Venezuela because it's safer than many of our cities."—Donald Trump [FACT CHECK]

24) Revenge

Obsession with revenge. Use the government to enact that revenge.

"Those involved will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our country."—Trump

In his book, Save America, Trump threatens Mark Zuckerberg, “We are watching him closely, & if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison."