At the end of August, huge banners hung from trucks circling Chicago’s downtown streets, carrying a message for President Donald Trump: "Do not come to Chicago" and "FASCISTS ARE NOT WELCOME."
Name-calling in politics is more of a tradition than an anomaly. However, after Donald J. Trump was elected president in 2016, both the right and the left have called leaders of both major parties fascists. Before being elected to his second term, Trump referred to the Biden administration as a “fascist government,” weaponizing federal agencies (DOJ, FBI) against him and conservatives.
Meanwhile, Biden was more hesitant; at an August 2022 DNC fundraiser, President Joe told the audience, “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the – I’m going to say something – it’s like semi-fascism.”
Congressional leaders were also actively involved. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stated in 2021 that “The Biden administration is a fascist government, and they are trying to destroy America.” Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern accused some GOP members of enabling fascism when they approved Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
When reviewing a collection of quotes from both sides, a clear pattern emerges. Republicans call Democrats fascists for enforcing longstanding laws, while Democrats accuse Republicans of taking fascist actions beyond legal boundaries. This trend also appears among conservative and liberal media voices.
Perhaps the loudest, with millions of listeners, is former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In condemning the FBI's actions against January 6 participants attempting to overturn the election results, he said, “They’re not liberals. They’re not even socialists. They’re fascists.”
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, “The modern Republican Party is increasingly indistinguishable from the kind of movements that led to fascism in 20th-century Europe.”
Republicans often resort to simple name-calling, such as equating mask mandates aimed at reducing COVID-19 deaths with fascism or calling for the jailing of those who try to physically prevent a national election’s certification. Democrats, on the other hand, seem to consider actions more carefully, like overturning an election that most Republican officials overseeing their states' ballots deemed fair.
So, who invented fascism, and did it come from socialism?
Fascism, as a political movement, can be solely attributed to Benito Mussolini, who was hailed as Il Duce. He popularized the term Fascist in 1919 through his newspaper 'The People of Italy', Il Popolo d'Italia. He launched it in opposition to the Socialist Party’s newspaper, Avanti, which he had previously edited.
Fascism adopted the Roman fasces, a bundle of birch rods around an ax, as a symbol of strength through unity. Others have also used it, including the U.S., which featured it on the reverse side of the Mercury dime until 1945.
Nevertheless, Mussolini’s Fascism originated from violence, initially targeting established institutions, socialist politicians, the Catholic Church, the stock exchange, and speculative investors. Even before World War I, the violence continued but shifted focus to all media outlets, political parties, labor unions, and any other institutions that resisted Mussolini’s authority.
Although Mussolini was a leader in the Socialist Party, shortly after the start of WWI, he shifted from being a socialist who strongly opposed Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia to a nationalist who, as the dictator of Italy, invaded Ethiopia a second time.
Mussolini went from being a globalist seeking unity among the workers of all nations against capitalist elites to being an ultra-nationalist. Hefty personal and party subsidies came from large corporations to build his fascist political party. In return, Mussolini appointed a free-market advocate as his Minister of Finance, who cut corporate taxes and government spending.
So, fascism did not evolve from socialism; instead, it was created as the counter to it and became its deadly enemy. Fascism established a single-party controlled state, similar to Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. In all of them, socialists, communists, regional ethnic minority leaders, journalists, union leaders, and others seen as threats to the party’s control were arrested, deported, or executed.
Does Fascism have an ideology or a dogma?
Fascism differs from Socialism, which has various philosophical writings advocating a Socialist future; Communists, who base their principles on Karl Marx’s writings; and Nazis, who rallied the masses with Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Mussolini published his first fascist manifesto in a 1919 article in his newspaper. He called for an 80% tax on war profits, the seizure of church property, and the abolition of the stock exchange. He opposed monarchy, Catholicism, and most other established authorities. It was a mishmash of complaints against what seemed like all established institutions.
Mussolini’s final attempt to explain fascism was a 1932 brief philosophical essay, "The Doctrine of Fascism," outlining ideas on the role of the state, the rejection of individualism, and the embrace of nationalism. However, it never gained much influence among his party members or the public, and it remains largely unknown and ignored.
Fascism arose from discontent and promoted public safety and family values during a turbulent time.
Instead of a dogma, fascism was built around the beliefs of a single authoritarian and charismatic leader who was responsible for keeping the country safe from internal and external enemies.
The primary trait of Mussolini’s fascist movement, and similar ones that followed, is that a leader champions the grievances of groups that are out of power. He demands an end to perceived government corruption and its threat to traditional values. Historian Emilio Iodice, in The Startling Rise to Power of Benito Mussolini, wrote, “The Fascists garnered support from those seeking law and order and the preservation of local and national values.”
Trump has built a following by advocating for law and order in big cities and for protecting families from violent immigrants who threaten them. He has repeatedly highlighted victims of violence from unregistered immigrants.
The appeal of the MAGA movement, like Italy’s fascists, is that it advocates for the disillusioned. However, past presidents also have, and our republic continues to function. What makes Trump and his MAGA movement different in our country's history is the degree to which they link these traditional conservative feelings to a tribal nationalist identity.
The MAGA movement is based on tribal citizenship, not on an ethnically diverse citizenship.
Pursuing tribal identity lies at the core of fascism. It undermines the foundation of a democratic republic based on citizenship that guarantees equal rights and freedoms to everyone, not just those within one group.
Since the fascist movement lacked a clear philosophy, beyond believing in a cult-like leader to protect their community, it based citizenship on ethnic nationalism. It’s a trend that has occurred in other countries and Italian fascism served as a role model. For Mussolini, if you were not Italian, then you were an adversary because you were not part of the tribe. He coined the term “ethnic cleansing” and practiced it.
In fascist Italy, non-tribal groups were eventually reduced to second-class status, subject to being expelled from the country or denied certain rights. Slavic residents were denied citizenship and expelled. Two years before WWII began, 10,000 Italian Jews were expelled from the Fascist Party, and all Jews were fired from all civil service jobs, could not teach in schools and universities. If caught violating these rules, and eventually if just being a Jew, they were imprisoned, with 9,000 dying as a result.
Under the Trump administration, if you do not hold legal papers, you are not an American, no matter if you are law-abiding, go to church, have a job, a family, and pay taxes. The heritage of most is not from Europe; consequently, they often have darker skin coloring. This is a primary characteristic used to claim that a person belongs to another race.
Trump has appointed Tom Holman, to be the Boarder Czar and now directs ICE. He is a 30-year career employee of the United States Border Patrol and a recipient of a Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive by President Obama. He was also an employee of the Heritage Foundation between Trump’s two terms. During his stay there, the Foundation proposed mass arrests, detentions, and deportations of illegal immigrants.
Holman, in a debate with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , criticized her for educating immigrants about their constitutional rights, which he claims "impedes" law enforcement. This month, he defended removing individuals from their work depending on their race because that was one of the criteria to assess if they might be illegal immigrants.
His approach reflects the MAGA movement’s fear of all immigrants including those seeking asylum or refugee status. The rise in the immigrant population has fueled belief in the “replacement theory,’ which suggests they will replace the majority white population and eventually make whites a minority. Trump has not spoken out against that belief; his actions can be seen as encouraging it by claiming a wave of criminal immigrants is invading the U.S.
One could detect that Trump’s administrative actions and rationale reflect an element of fascist nationalism that divides the people in a democratic republic into legitimate and non-legitimate tribal members based on ethnicity.
Fascism believes that violence is a necessary means to a better future.
Like the Russian communists of his time, Mussolini believed violence was necessary to foster a better society – but not for all. His platform of grievances was a flop on election day. The Italian Fascist Party received only 4,000 votes in the 1919 general parliamentary election, while the Italian Socialist Party, which had a clear plan and did not support violence, garnered 1.8 million votes.
Less than two years later, Mussolini was leading the government. He didn’t have the support of the majority of voters. Still, he had thousands of armed black-shirted supporters who participated in his March on Rome, threatening violence and succeeding in having Il Duce appointed Prime Minister to save Italy from the communists. In a short time, he, like Adolf Hitler, manipulated the laws to become a dictator, and not just for one day.
Trump claimed he won the 2020 election, but he did not have the votes. Nevertheless, he had tens of thousands of supporters around Congress, with a group of them forcibly breaking through police lines and crawling through windows to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the next president. Trump wanted to lead them but was discouraged by his staff, who warned that it would be too risky for him. He told his staff he had nothing to fear because they were his people.
The insurgents believed it was an election stolen by radical-socialist democrats who allowed millions of illegal immigrants to vote. Trump called the insurgents patriots, regardless of their violent actions, because they were trying to save America from destruction. And most importantly, they were loyal to him. In return, he pardoned all of them regardless of their crimes.
Loyalty is to a single leader not to a democracy, is a fascist trait.
Trump’s presidency and post-presidency have been marked by an odd and unsettling pattern: the constant, almost ritualistic admiration he demands from his cabinet, aides, and associates.
Trump’s emphasis on personal loyalty to do as he pleases stands out more than that of any other president. This was clear when he accepted the GOP nomination for president in 2016, saying, "Only I can fix it." In contrast, FDR’s 1932 presidential nomination acceptance speech highlighted a "New Deal for the American people," emphasizing national cooperation rather than a one-man decision.
Trump hasn’t changed in nine years; he still presents himself as the unrestrained decision-maker for the government. During a televised cabinet meeting, he casually reminded his secretaries and everyone watching television, "I have the right to do anything I want to do. I'm the President.”
There was constant praise from his Cabinet members, with no indication of independent thinking. Critics view these comments as a sign of a tendency for Trump to follow a fascist leader model, where one person makes all the final calls.
His defenders argue that the mainstream media overlooked Trump’s conditioning the expansion of his powers by adding to the above statement, “If I think our country is in danger and it is in danger.”
Nevertheless, Trump uses his executive powers to define what constitutes a danger and how to address it. For instance, his Executive Order 14251 reclassifies dozens of federal agencies as “national security” entities—and so they are not legally subject to collective bargaining. Mussolini’s fascist government, citing concerns for national security, abolished the right to strike, allowing collective bargaining agreements only when sanctioned by the state.
Another example of how personal loyalty to Trump is warping the functions of the FBI and DOJ is that three former senior FBI officials, with over 60 years of professional service, are suing FBI Director Kash Patel and the Trump administration. Their lawsuit details how attacks by MAGA loyalists on social media against them led Patel to fire them due to pressure from Trump’s DOJ.
One of the fired officials, Spencer Evans, who oversaw the FBI’s human resources division during the pandemic era, was told by another still-employed FBI official that “the personnel actions directed at Evans were ‘all DOJ,’ and ‘politically driven.’” Patel and DOJ Director Pam Bondi have publicly declared their loyalty to Trump more often than they follow the congressional and constitutional provisions that govern their offices.
Where could Trump’s historic expansion of executive power lead?
Running for president, Trump successfully established himself as the leader of the Republican Party during his first term. In his second term, he has been more strategic and methodical in his approach.
He now challenges the independence of universities, publicly owned art museums and galleries, national law firms, city mayors, media outlets, and even individuals who have disputed the legality of his actions. In essence, loyalty to him and his agenda is the yardstick for measuring tolerated behavior.
The only limits on Trump’s expansion of executive powers are those set by Congress or the Supreme Court. Since his party controls Congress, they haven't rejected any of his questionable legal executive actions. Additionally, a supermajority of six out of nine justices on the Supreme Court has expanded Trump’s executive powers more than any previous president has exercised during peacetime.
If a single political party has complete control over all three branches of government, it risks turning into an authoritarian regime. It doesn't have to be fascist; it could call itself socialist, like Cuba or Nicaragua, or claim to be a democracy like Russia or Iran.
None of these is a true democracy where a new national leader can be peacefully elected, fairly and openly chosen in an environment that guarantees access to all media. All rig elections to benefit their candidates and have legislative and judicial branches that legitimize their actions.
These countries are where a person's citizenship, from individual rights to being recognized as a citizen, is defined by their leader or a single ruling party. And ultimately, their rule is maintained through violence against dissidents.
That is fascism. Fascists are those who create these states.
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Nick Licata is the author of Becoming A Citizen Activist and Student Power, Democracy and Revolution in the Sixties. He is the founding board chair of Local Progress, a national network of over 1,300 progressive municipal officials.
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