People use the term fascist because it describes a lot of what the administration says and plans to do.

For one example, compare Steven Miller’s speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial with this speech given by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda.

Trump consistently “jokes” about being a dictator, or running for a third term, or similar things.

He threatens to invade our allies.

He sends people to camps with no due process, and doesn’t even keep records of who was sent where.

He’s working on consolidating power in the executive branch.

Umberto Eco, a prominent scholar on fascism, summarized fascism in 14 points: (Source: https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html)

• The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
• The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
• The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
• Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
• Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
• Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
• The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
• The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
• Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
• Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
• Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
• Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
• Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
• Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

The MAGA movement is rooted in making things like the old days, and rejecting modernism.

“Thinking is a form of emasculation” - Trump and the MAGA movement have spent years attacking higher education, public education as a whole,

Disagreement is treason - Every time a judge rules against his administration, Trump attacks the judge. He’s been trying to strip anyone who isn’t a loyalist from the executive branch.

Fear of difference - “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders.” - Very present here. They constantly use dehumanizing language to talk about outgroups.

Appeal to Social Frustration - He appeals to the economic hardship of his base, but doesn’t give any meaningful solutions, and turns their anger towards outgroups.

The obsession with a plot - A huge part of Trump’s campaign was about fighting against the ‘deep state’, a shadowy group consisting of Trump’s enemies.

The enemy is both strong and weak - trans people are weak and emasculated, but also savage monsters. Immigrants are lazy rapists, but also will take your jobs away.

Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy - (I don’t have an example for this one)

Contempt for the weak - See Elon calling disabled people a “parasite class”. See Trump calling prisoners of war “losers and suckers”.

Everybody is educated to become a hero - (I’m not sure if this one fits. I guess this one could be the idolization of the military and police?)

Machismo and weaponry - both of these are very present in MAGA

Selective Populism - Trump claims that he has an overwhelming mandate, that most people agree with him, when this isn’t really true. He

Ur-fascism speaks newspeak - This one doesn’t really fit

It’s tough to keep track of.

People complained we didn’t take care of US citizens.

US citizens begin getting taken care of

Now people complain we aren’t doing enough for non-citizens.