Has the Eagle landed? Part 1

Is the US government displaying fascist tendencies ?

Although Elon Musk received the most attention, the giving of Naziesque salutes by supporters of the Trump administration is not uncommon. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was photographed making a raised palm salute before members of the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAQ, in the first Trump presidency!

Rank and file supporters of the 47th US president have openly and proudly displayed the so-called Nazi salute at events in Boston, Tennessee and Chicago.

Are these bizarre gestures a genuine sign that the US is being cleverly manipulated into normalising fascist behaviours ? Have the majority of Americans actually adopted the extreme beliefs that the country’s constitution was written to prevent from ever becoming prevalent ?

It is unthinkable to imagine the citizens of America turning their backs on their traditional values of individualism, equality, democracy and freedom! Yet, as I will show, many of the characteristics of fascist regimes may have already made their way into the mainstream narrative and already, critics of the Trump administration are being subjected to personal insults, demonstrably false allegations and even the threat of legal action from The President himself !

That is not a sign of a healthy democracy so it is certainly fair to ask;

-is the United States of America becoming, or is it at least in danger of becoming, the new seat of global Fascism?.

Before we attempt to answer the question, let's determine what Facism is, examine its fundamental ideology and look at the visible signs and characteristics of a fascist regime.

Facism can be defined as a far-right, authoritarian and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to Marxism, democracy, anarchism, pluralism, free markets, egalitarianism, communism, liberalism, and socialism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum.

In his 2004 book The Anatomy of Fascism, Robert Paxton refines his five-stage model and puts forward the following definition for fascism:

“Fascism may be defined as a form of political behaviour marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood 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”.

In post WW1 Europe, in most cases, fascists discouraged or banned foreign trade, supporting protectionism. Fascists believed that too much international trade would make the national economy dependent on international capital and therefore vulnerable to international economic sanctions. Economic self-sufficiency, known as autarky, was a major goal of most fascist governments.  Furthermore, fascism was highly militaristic and as such fascists often significantly increased military spending. Recruitment into the military was one of the main policies used by fascist governments to reduce unemployment.

Fascist governments have traditionally been fond of heraldry, symbolism, military uniforms, flags and banners. Adolf Hitler chose the ancient Vedic Swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) to represent the pureness of the Aryan bloodline and it became the symbol of the Nazi party in 1920. 

Perhaps the desecration of such an ancient symbol of good fortune, sacred in Hinduism, Jainism and other religions was deliberate? Regardless, as a result of its infamy as a Nazi symbol, the Swastika is now banned in many countries!

It is important to understand that not all fascist regimes are Nazis, from the German for National Socialist,  although they are based on fascist principles.  Naziism focuses on the superiority of the Ayran race as well as being overtly anti semitic. 

I know what you’re thinking, sounds familiar? Reminds you of current global events?

Let’s look closely at the words, actions and behaviour of the current US administration, compared to the previously established key facets of fascist regimes.

Let’s remind ourselves of the definition of a fascist regime being defined as a far-right, authoritarian and ultranationalist political ideology and movement and examine what happens when we compare that definition to the Trump administration.

There is zero doubt that President Donald Trump will be remembered as having been on the far right even of Republican politics! Political analysts across the globe are highlighting Trump’s role in the rise of the far right in their countries. In both Germany and the UK, The President has made vocal endorsements of the UKs right wing Reform party and Germany's far right AfD party. In spite of it now being listed by German intelligence as extremist !

Continually linked to the extreme Project 2025, Trump’s own brand of right wing policy making has been identified as Trumpism, incorporating ideologies such as right-wing populism, right-wing anti globalism, national conservatism, neo-nationalism, and features significant illiberal, authoritarian and at times autocratic beliefs.

It remains to be seen whether this proves to be a thought-through philosophy, a carefully mapped world view that historians will look back on and call Trumpism? Or are we dealing with instincts and impulses guided by a populist desire to please his base that delivered his astonishing victory? Is, as Ron Christie, a Republican analyst who worked in the White House of George W Bush told the BBC in 2018, Trumpism, "what the president believes on any particular moment on any particular day about any particular subject" ? 

It is the very dependence of a word’s meaning upon, “what the president believes on any particular moment on any particular day about any particular subject”’ that hints at the authoritarian nature of the current President.

Writing in The Guardian newspaper, Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political science professor who co-authored the book ‘How Democracies Die’, notes that as Donald Trump dismantles federal agencies, his administration is also creating a chill among non-governmental groups, cowing non-profits, intimidating universities and extracting commitments from law firms to support his aims. 

In part 2 of the series I will analyse the work of Shelley Inglis, executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Centre, University of Dayton, who identified the top ten characteristics of Authoritarian regimes.