Ever since Donald Trump became the Presidential Nominee for the Republican Party in 2016, President of the United States in 2017, and without a doubt won the 2024 Presidential Race, the Republican Party has been shifting more and more to the right on the political spectrum. Under his MAGA movement, the Republican views and issues have changed drastically from 2016 to now (Sentner). Because of his “populist” rhetoric, Trump now has a grip on the Republican Party and much of the American population and can bend them to his will and agenda. Because of this power his party and followers have given him over the past eight years, and will continue to give him for the foreseeable future, whether it is he who controls the government, as in if he successfully overturns the 22nd Amendment, or if one of his lackeys is elected, Trump has become unbelievably and undeniably powerful. In this essay, I will prove without the shadow of a doubt that Donald Trump, his MAGA movement, and its policies are unapologetically fascist.

Before evidence can be given as to why everything about Trump and his presidential policies are fascist, a definition for “fascism” must be laid out. Fascism has evolved over the years, but many of its core tenants have remained the same. It’s a far-right movement that most notably gained popularity during World War II, with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and, depending on who you ask, Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum). There are many definitions for fascism, that range from Stanley G. Payne’s Three Concepts to Umberto Eco’s Fourteen Properties (Wikipedia: Definitions of Fascism). Because there are so many different versions, the Wikipedia article lists around thirty different ones, it would be hard to address every single point of every single definition, as some contradict each other. This essay will focus on seven of the most common factors that make someone or a party be considered fascist (Wikipedia). These seven factors are ultranationalism, above what could be considered the “normal amount”; the identification of an enemy as the reason for most issues, including financial issues; widespread sexism, especially towards women; the obsession with national security, or the need to constantly improve the borders; rampant corporatism, or favoring corporations over citizens; widespread government corruption, including cronyism or “lackyism”; and, finally, the suppression of human rights. As previously stated, there are many more definitions, but these are the major factors that have persisted in most of the definitions given (Wikipedia).

The first aspect of fascism is ultranationalism. Many political parties try to inspire nationalism or national pride in their followers. It is not uncommon to go to different countries around the world and see the national flag hanging in different places (Testi). The difference between nationalism and ultranationalism is that the fascist leader needs to appeal to this sense of ‘national identity’ in order to unify vast swathes of people. This would often include portraying people of other nationalities as savages. Trump has done this when he claimed that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the people’s pets in the lead up to the 2024 Presidential Election (Thomas). In its current form, the MAGA movement is an excellent example of Trump’s appeal to nationalism and the American “Patriots”. Even though it started with Reagan in 1980 and was used by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1992, the MAGA movement has been a symbol of American nationalism for its entire time in usage (Wikipedia: Make America Great Again). Literally standing for “Make America Great Again,” Trump has gathered a massive following using this slogan. According to a study from the National Institute of Health, 33.6% of all Republicans are MAGA supporters, accounting for approximately 38.8 million people (Wintemute). To get more into the nationalistic appeals, Trump and his campaign often sell shirts, flags, hats, and other paraphernalia with “MAGA” labeled all over it. This gives his followers a chance to show their affiliations with the movement and to feel more like a patriot. There has even been a fashion show dedicated to the MAGA movement and other conservative movements (Sidell). It is hard to claim that Trump’s MAGA movement is not at least nationalistic if not ultra-nationalistic, seeing as though the name of the country is in the title, and suggesting that it needs to be “improved”. Many MAGA supporters do tend to buy the merchandise sold by the Trump campaign, and often proudly don their MAGA flags, shirts, hats, and other clothing.

The second fascist characteristic is the identification of a common enemy or scape-goat to blame for hardships faced by either the country politically, economically, or the citizens personally. These enemies are often vague, in order to help the fascist leaders apply the blame to many people or to let the citizens fill in the blank themselves (PolitiFact: Enemy Within). The most recent example of something like this is Trump giving his supporters an enemy that is quite literally what he calls, “the enemy from within” (Politifact). As previously mentioned, the “enemies within” named by Trump are vague, either intentionally or not. One of the specific “enemies from within” Trump gives us are the Democrats (Lerer). He calls them “evil” and says that “… they’ve weaponized our elections. …” (Lerer). As mentioned previously, one could claim that Trump also views the Haitian immigrants in Ohio as enemies too. Trump also calls Adam Schiff, a Democratic Representative for California an “enemy within” too (RollCall). He calls Schiff an “enemy” because he made “a phony deal with the Russians” (RollCall). Trump names these figures and groups as the “enemy” because they are destroying the country with “radical open-border policies” and increasing inflation (PolitiFact: Enemy Within). This type of rhetoric is dangerous because it gives Trump’s followers an “us versus them” mentality, according to Allison Prasch, an associate professor of rhetoric, politics and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PolitiFact). There are many other people who Trump targets with his intentionally vague rhetoric, including Kamala Harris and others who he calls fascists, who are the Marxists and communists of America (PolitiFact). Again, similar to the ultranationalist characteristic, it is hard to say that Trump is not naming an enemy that is to blame for issues in America, seeing as though everyone and every group mentioned above are called “the enemy from within” by Trump.

The third characteristic of fascism that shows Trump’s movement is fascist is the wave of sexism spread around by his followers. If you look online in the most recent days after the 2024 election, women on social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter/X, and Instagram, are now getting misogynistic messages from MAGA followers and Trump supporters that say, “Your body, my choice” (Spencer-Elliott). This phrase is meant to be a play on words of the original feminist phrase, “My body, my choice,” which was created back in the sixties to defend women’s reproductive rights (Spencer-Elliott). There are several other versions of this misogynistic phrase going around, including, “Your body, my choice. Forever.”, “Your body. Our choice.”, and “We own your body now” (Spencer-Elliott). Seeing as though fascism is a far-right and often conservative movement, it is not a surprise that men are the ones on top. The men of the fascist regime want to control the women, whether by forcing them to stay in the home, removing their rights to vote or reproductive healthcare, or by forcing them to work with unfair conditions and wages. One of the core ideologies of fascism is that women are lesser to men, while holding them up for being wives and mothers (Foster). The fascist movements tend to paint women as weak and that they need the protection of strong men, who are typically white, depending on the society (Foster). Reproductive rights are also suppressed by fascist regimes (Foster). The Heritage Foundation and their “Mandate for Leadership” plan for a conservative government starting in 2025, more popularly known as “Project 2025” is going to be a foundational text in Trump’s new policies, both directly and indirectly (Pengelly). Within the document, the terms “abortion,” “reproductive rights,” and “reproductive health” are mentioned over two-hundred times in total, with “abortion” being the most mentioned. Project 2025 would set up a “Gender Policy Council” that would, “… eliminate central promotion of abortion … “ (Dans). This means that they will prevent the Federal Government from allowing abortions, but instead letting the states decide. Ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by a Trump-packed Supreme Court, there have been many instances of women being denied abortions for children conceived through rape, incest, or because the pregnancy poses a risk to their health (Jarrett). Trump and his supporters support these notions because they are afraid of losing power to women and other groups. Not to mention how Trump said, “They let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy.” when talking about women (Nelson).

The fourth tenant of fascist regimes is the obsession with national security. This was painfully apparent in the wake of Trump’s win in 2016, when he said that he was going to build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it (Valverde). After his win in the 2024 Presidential Election, Trump has shifted his rhetoric from securing the border with a wall, to securing the border with mass deportations (Strickler). According to a Trump campaign official, “A majority of Americans want mass deportations for illegal immigrants. … On Day One back in the White House, President Trump will begin the largest criminal deportation operation of illegal immigrants and restore the rule of law” (Strickler). This means that the rhetoric that Trump uses to dehumanize the immigrants in this country is working. These deportations will most likely be at random, and target immigrants who may not support Trump’s policies. A member of the Heritage Foundation said that the next Trump administration should cut funding for cities that offer sanctuary, in order to reduce the number of immigrants coming into the United States, whether legally or illegally (Strickler). Some people say that these efforts are cruel and very costly, as there would be millions of deportations (Strickler). A major factor in their decision to call for the mass deportation of immigrants is that some of them might be criminals, as well as other racist talking points. Even if this plan does not pan out, like Trump’s border wall, it still shows that he is willing to do anything to remove immigrants from this country, most likely not caring if they are legal or not, for the sake of “national security.” Think back to the “enemy within” rhetoric and how it can be used to attack anyone, immigrant, legal citizen, Trump opposer, etc.

The fifth element of Trump’s upcoming policies that makes him fascist is the fact that he favors corporations and billionaires over the American citizens. One of the promises Trump has made in regard to his taxation policies is that he will give massive tax cuts to the bourgeoisie and their corporations (Owens). Back in 2017, Trump’s tax policies were skewed towards the rich, eroded the United States’ revenue base, and failed to deliver economic benefits (Marr). Many suggest that Trump will have similar policies in his 2025 Administration. Some say that Trump will “slash corporate tax rates and extend trillions of dollars of other cuts even as the national debt soars” (Bogage). This corporatism will only be exacerbated now that Trump will have a Republican-majority Congress to back him (Owens). Trump has made it clear that, in exchange for their support, he will be giving bigger handouts to his corporate backers, whether it be tax cuts to the individuals or their corporations (Owens). The Trump administration may also be motivated to give out these tax cuts because many of his donors are oil barons or other ultra-rich bourgeois types like Elon Musk (Owens). Trump has promised his corporate donors that he will cut the tax rate from the current 21% to just 15% (Picchi). These policies from the first Trump administration lined the pockets of shareholders and CEOs while adding 1.9 trillion dollars to the national deficit (Owens). Although Trump has promised to help citizens with higher wages and economic growth both back in 2017 and now again in 2024, both sets of policies will be detrimental to the average American citizen while engorging the pockets of the bourgeoisie who support Trump and continue to back him (Owens). This point may not seem to show fascism, but when you look at how many of these tax breaks are done to appease businesses with corporate interests that affect everyone, it is hard to say that some corporate oversight is being used in the Trump governments.

The sixth factor that shows how Trump is a fascist is how he will fill his cabinet’s positions. Many cabinet members from Trump’s first administration, who also are affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, the authors of “Project 2025,” are seen as contenders to return to the White House (Pengelly). Many of these people will most likely be either incompetent or purposefully ignorant at their jobs when they are appointed to Trump’s new cabinet. They will also most likely be friends or family that Trump has agreed to let into the White House. One contender who can be seen as a “friend” to Trump is Elon Musk, who could be given the cabinet position of “Secretary of Cost-Cutting” (McHardy). Trump will also “award” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a position relating to health, all because he endorsed Trump for president (McHardy). There are several other contenders for the cabinet. Trump will also, without a doubt, pack his lackeys into other positions of power, especially the Department of Justice, to prevent him or his buddies from being prosecuted, or at least do his bidding (Gerstein). With lackeys in every part of the government, including both Chambers of Congress, Trump will be virtually unstoppable. His government would be able to charge anyone with any crime and potentially create new laws in the blink of an eye that would immediately put the accused in prison.

The seventh and final characteristic of fascist regimes and leaders is their disdain for human rights. In Trump’s first term, he violated many human rights by creating policies that tried to expel asylum seekers and separate families during the immigration process, create more racist tropes against African-American and BIPOC communities, punished low-income families, and even tried to create a coup to overthrow the 2020 election results (Human Rights Watch). The pledges he has made in his 2024 campaign are also a cause for alarm, even saying that he “would not be a dictator except for day one” (Human Rights Watch). According to the Human Rights Watch, Trump has praised dictators and other fascists around the globe like Viktor Orban of Hungary, Putin of Russia, and Kim Jon Un of North Korea (Human Rights Watch). Again, “Project 2025” and its often discriminatory policies may be adopted by the new Trump administration (Human Rights Watch). Abortion rights, the mass deportations of immigrants, and the harmful rumors about certain migrant groups are also cause for alarm, as they can be used as doorways into even more harmful rhetoric that can lead to even more human rights violations (Human Rights Watch). Trump has suggested that he will use the U.S. military to dispose of people who might protest against him (Human Rights Watch). Other issues like Trump showing opposition to humanitarian aid and civilian protection efforts in major conflicts are also good indicators that Trump does not like human rights (Human Rights Watch). Public health measures and global human rights systems are also possible targets for Trump’s new regime (Physicians for Human Rights). Police brutality has also been used by Trump in the past, especially in the wake of the George Floyd Protests (Physicians for Human Rights). Trump has also been known to oppose vaccinations and other proven health measures and to spread misinformation about certain healthcare measures (Physicians for Human Rights). Trump and the Republican Party are also challenging BIPOC people’s rights to vote (Wang). Some other racially discriminatory and unethical policies enacted by Trump in the past to degrade people’s human rights include a ban on Muslim refugees, an attempt to remove the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood, preventing the collection of data of LGBTQ+ individuals, eroding the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, allow for discrimination in schools, and so many more (CivilRights.org).

Some skeptics and Trump supporters may look at this essay and claim that it only cherry picks the characteristics listed that make up the definition of fascism used to compare Trump’s policies. While it is true that the characteristics were picked, it was not because Trump’s policies did not fit the other ones or that they were the easiest to defend. They were picked because most of the definitions for fascism provided were either too broad or too narrow, so a happy medium was needed. The seven characteristics used in this essay are the most common ones used in all of the other definitions of fascism. The very fact that an abundance of information showing that Trump’s policies are fascist was able to be found should make MAGA-followers and Trump supporters really think if he’s the one they want to put their faith into, seeing as though there is nothing stopping him now from attacking every human being in America.

It is this truth that Trump has slowly turned the Republican Party and his followers into fascists that should make the American populous scared of what they have created: a figurehead for an ultra-nationalist and fascist movement that will most likely be in charge of the United States for the foreseeable future. Trump is not a populist. He does not care about the people of America. He only cares about enriching himself and his bourgeois friends and creating an ethno-state where he is the supreme leader, similar to what Hitler and the fascist Nazi party did in Germany during World War II. He does not care. Trump is without a doubt unapologetically and obviously a fascist.

Bibliography 

Bogage, Jacob. “For Trump and Republicans in Congress, ‘everything is in play’ on tax cuts.”

The Washington Post, November 7, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/11/07/trump-taxes-republican-congress.Dans, Paul, Steven Groves, Kevin Roberts, et al. Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative

Promise. Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation, 2023. Accessed November 10,

2024. https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf. 

Foster, Thomas. “Fascism’s face changes, but its sexism remains.” Socialist Worker, September

23, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://socialistworker.co.uk/comment/women-and-fascism-fascisms-face-changes-but-se

xism-remains. 

Gerstein, Josh. “Meet the sleeper conservatives who could help fulfill Trump’s promise to be a

dictator on Day 1.” Politico, July 10, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024. 

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/31/trump-day-1-department-of-justice-0018662.

Human Rights Watch. “US: Second Trump Term a Threat to Rights in US, World.” Last

modified November 6, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024. 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/06/us-second-trump-term-threat-rights-us-world-0. Jarrett, Laura, and Elysee Barakett. “Women who sued Texas after being denied abortions say

reproductive rights are their top election issue.” NBC News, June 24, 2024. Accessed

November 10, 2024.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/texas-zurawski-women-denied-abortion

s-election-reproductive-rights-rcna158571. 

Lerer, Lisa, and Michael Gold. “Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the

‘Enemy’.” The New York Times, October 15, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/us/politics/trump-opponents-enemy-within.html. 

Marr, Chuck, Samantha Jacoby, George Fenton. “The 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the

Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises.” Center on Budget and Policy

Priorities, June 13, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-2017-trump-tax-law-was-skewed-to-the-

rich-expensive-and-failed-to-deliver. 

McHardy, Martha. “Who Will Be in Donald Trump’s Cabinet? Seven Contenders.” Newsweek,

November 9, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-

trump-cabinet-2024-election-1983183. 

Nelson, Libby. “‘Grab ’em by the pussy’: how Trump talked about women in private is

horrifying.” Vox, October 7, 2016. Accessed December 9, 2024.

https://www.vox.com/2016/10/7/13205842/trump-secret-recording-women.

Owens, Lindsay. “The First Order of Trump 2.0? Massive Tax Cuts for His Billionaire Friends.”

The Rolling Stone, November 9, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-tax-cuts-billionaires-

second-term-musk-1235158894. 

Pengelly, Martin. “Trump allies say Project 2025 is on as Heritage affiliates vie for cabinet

posts.” November 8, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.theguardian.com/us news/2024/nov/08/trump-administration-project-2025. 

Physicians for Human Rights. “Trump’s Threats to Human Rights and Health in the United

States Will Be Met by PHR and Civil Society.” Last modified November 6, 2024.

Accessed November 11, 2024.

https://phr.org/news/trumps-threats-to-human-rights-and-health-in-the-united-states-will-

be-met-by-phr-and-civil-society. 

Picchi, Aimee. “Harris and Trump both want major tax changes. Here’s what they’re proposing

— and the impact on you.” CBS News, November 5, 2024, Accessed November 10,

2024.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-trump-tax-cuts-election-2024-what-to-

know. 

PolitiFact. “Trump is talking more about ‘the enemy from within’ near Election Day. Who is he

talking about?” Last modified October 30, 2024.

https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/oct/30/trump-is-talking-more-about-the-enemy-

from-within. 

Roll Call. “Interview: Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business Interviews Donald Trump – October 13,

2024.” Last modified October 13, 2024. 

https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-interview-maria-bartiromo-

fox-business-october-13-2024. 

Sentner, Irie. “How has Trump transformed the Republican Party? Look at the platforms.”

Politico, July 17, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.politico.com/interactives/2024/republican-platform-trump-changes.

Sidell, Misty White. “In the Front Row at a MAGA Fashion Show.” The New York Times,

September 18, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/style/maga-fashion-show.html. 

Spencer-Elliott, Lydia. “‘Your body, my choice’: Women report rise in online misogyny

following Donald Trump’s victory.” The Independent, November 8, 2024. Accessed

November 10, 2024.

https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/trump-misogyny-tiktok-reproductive-

rights-us-election-b2643207.html. 

Strickler, Laura, Didi Martinez, Chloe Atkins, Julia Ainsley. “How would mass deportation of

migrants under Trump actually work?” NBC News, July 16, 2024. Accessed November

10, 2024.

https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/mass-deportation-migrants-trump-actually-

work-rcna161637. 

Testi, Arnaldo. “You Americans Aren’t the Only People Obsessed with Your Flag.” Zocalo

Public Square, June 12, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/you-americans-arent-the-only-people-obsessed-with-

your-flag. 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Trump Administration Civil and

Human Rights Rollbacks.” Accessed November 11, 2024.

https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks.

Thomas, Merlyn, and Mike Wendling. “Trump repeats baseless claim about Haitian immigrants

eating pets.” BBC News, September 15, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77l28myezko. 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Fascism.” Last modified May 19, 2019.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/fascism-1. 

Valverde, Miriam. “Donald Trump promised to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it.

That didn’t happen.” Politico, July 15, 2020. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1397/build-wall

-and-make-mexico-pay-it. 

Wang, Hansi Lo. “3 novel legal arguments by Republicans that threaten the Voting Rights Act in 

2024.” NPR, January 6, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/06/1222875311/voting-rights-act-section-2. 

Wikipedia. “Definitions of fascism.” Last modified October 31, 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism. 

Wikipedia. “Make America Great Again.” Last modified November 10, 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again. 

Wintemute, Garren J, Sonia L Robinson, Elizabeth A Tomsich, Daniel J Tancredi. “MAGA

Republicans’ views of American democracy and society and support for political

violence in the United States: Findings from a nationwide population representative

survey.” National Institute of Health, January 3, 2024. Accessed November 10, 2024.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10763974.