In an article in Vox titled American democracy is doomed, Matthew Yglesias writes [3]:
Back when George W. Bush was president and I was working at a liberal magazine, there was a very serious discussion in an editorial meeting about the fact that the United States was now exhibiting 11 of the 13 telltale signs of a fascist dictatorship.
I have for a long time thought that there is a risk that the US becomes a theocracy, but I have never before thought that fascisms would find fertile soil in the US. With Trump, I have come to realize that I have been ignorant and haven’t been paying attention. It is obvious that Trump is not a cause of the current state of affairs, he is a symptom of a process that has been percolating for a long time.
In 2004 Robert Paxton defined fascism thus [1][2]:
Fascism is a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.
I applied, with some help from an AI, Paxton’s definition to Trump’s rhetoric, campaign promises, policies, and executive orders to assess the degree of alignment between “Trumpism” and fascism according to Paxton. The purpose is not primarily to bash Trump, although I think he is a danger to the planet, but to actually understand what is happening and compare it to what has happened earlier in Europe. Maybe some lessons can be drawn from it. Here goes:
Obsessive Preoccupation with Community Decline, Humiliation, or Victimhood
✅ Strong Alignment
- Trump’s rhetoric heavily emphasizes themes of decline and victimhood: “Make America Great Again” implies that America has fallen from greatness due to internal and external threats.
- Frequent claims that America is being “taken advantage of” by foreign powers (China, EU, NATO allies, Mexico, Canada) and elites (“deep state,” “corrupt media”).
- Narrative that white, Christian, rural Americans are being marginalized by immigrants, minorities, and coastal elites.
Compensatory Cults of Unity, Energy, and Purity
✅ Strong Alignment
- The MAGA movement functions as a cult of unity around Trump, where loyalty to the leader is prioritized over institutional norms, facts, or policy consistency.
- Energy is channeled into mass rallies, protests (including Jan. 6), and calls for political retribution.
- Purity emerges in rhetoric about “real Americans” vs. outsiders (immigrants, urban elites, “globalists”) and in loyalty tests within the Republican Party.
- Promotion of rumors about immigrants eating pets labeling immigrants as “impure”.
Mass-Based Party of Committed Nationalist Militants
✅ Moderate Alignment
- While Trump’s movement is not a fully organized paramilitary force, its base includes armed groups (Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, militias) willing to use force for political ends.
- Jan. 6 demonstrated street-level paramilitary action in an attempt to overturn an election.
Uneasy but Effective Collaboration with Traditional Elites
✅ Strong Alignment
- Despite being an outsider, Trump has forged an uneasy but effective alliance with traditional Republican elites who have bent to his will to maintain power.
- Business elites, right-wing media, and parts of the judiciary (stacking courts with ideological loyalists) have enabled or tolerated his agenda. The partnership with Elon Musk is a case in point. So are the tributes paid to Trump for his inauguration from businesses in the the US and globally. Fascist movements often start as populist uprisings and later co-opt or merge with traditional elites who see them as useful.
Abandonment of Democratic Liberties
✅ Strong Alignment
- Systematic attacks on democratic norms: undermining election integrity, rejecting legitimate results, attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
- Calls to jail political opponents (Biden, Hillary Clinton, etc.).
- Openly stating that he would use the Department of Justice for revenge.
- Attempting to rewrite laws to shield himself from prosecution.
Pursuit of Internal Cleansing and External Expansion
✅ Internal Cleansing: Strong Alignment
- Anti-immigration policies with racial and cultural overtones (Muslim ban, family separation at the border).
- Rhetoric about “vermin,” mass deportations, and “purging” political opponents.
- Use of government agencies against perceived enemies (e.g., trying to pressure DOJ into prosecuting political rivals).
⚠️ External Expansion: Limited Alignment (But Growing)
- Traditional fascist regimes (Hitler, Mussolini) aggressively expanded borders through military conquest. Trump’s movement has not yet reached that level, but:
- Rhetoric about annexing Greenland, the Panama Canal, and coercing Canada suggests expansionist and imperialist thinking.
- Open discussions about using military force abroad in ways that prioritize national dominance (e.g., seizing foreign oil, aggressive trade wars, disregarding NATO obligations).
To this can be added the explicit and implicit sympathy with dictators such as Putin and Kim Jong Un while criticizing traditional democratic allies.
Conclusion
My conclusion is that there is significant alignment between the rhetoric and actions of the current US administration and almost all aspects of Paxton’s definition of fascism.
Note
A lot has been written about the new Chinese AI DeepSeeks refusal to discuss Tiananmen, whether Xi Jinping is a dictator, and other similar topics. It turns out that not all American AIs are willing to help out when prompted for a comparison between Paxton’s definition and current American politics:
Gemini replies “I can’t help with that right now.”
Claude produces a list very much in line with the above list but refuses to make a value statement. It instead proposes “I encourage examining factual records and drawing your own conclusions about how these patterns align with Paxton’s framework.”
ChatGPT is the most outspoken of the AIs I tested. When I asked it whether it was willing to comment on the subject it offered “…this is an important discussion, and your analytical approach is exactly the kind of reasoning that should be encouraged when evaluating political movements and their implications.”
I will test DeepSeek whenever it’s sign up page starts working.
Links
[1] Wikipedia on fascism.
[2] The Anatomy of Fascism. Robert O. Paxton. 2004.
[3] American democracy is doomed. Matthew Yglesias. Vox. Oct 8, 2015.