Trump Is Clearly Moving in an Authoritarian and Potentially Fascist Direction

The Donald Trump administrative strategy is to remake the structure and nature of the U.S. federal government. His frenzied pace of administrative orders—what I call edicts—is an obvious effort to deregulate industry; shrink the civil service; banish language references to diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate change; assume authority for domestic military purposes; and pursue conspiratorial "replacement theory." And, of course, his own personal emoluments and profits are accompanying corollary benefits.

He promises to move aggressively against the media, positioning himself to achieve this goal with the invaluable assistance of the Big Tech CEOs who control social media, the powerful and growing online communication space. Forbes reported that the combined wealth of those CEOs (Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, and Shou Zi Chew) who sat behind Trump at his inauguration is $1.5 trillion. Four of the five wealthiest people in the world were among them. The oligarchic control that these CEOs have over much of the network of media companies not only facilitates Trump's ideal of limited loyal opposition but also entrenches the tech industry's power in the emerging political establishment.

Trump is moving at high speed to consolidate his authority over Congress, to diminish its oversight, law- and policymaking, and its approval of executive appointments. It doesn't take much imagination to see the authoritarian and potentially fascist direction he is taking the nation. If he can tame his media critics, emasculate Congress, and expand control of the justice system, from local prosecutors to Supreme Court justices, he will have retooled the government. And that government will progressively integrate corporate and private interests into it.

There is little doubt that virtually every American, including here in Maine, will know a neighbor or have heard of someone who was ripped from his or her home, taken to detention centers, and deported.

Under the new Trump regime, there will be greater privatization of government services. Elon Musk has already eclipsed NASA in private space exploration and satellite communication. Private healthcare insurers are contracting with Medicare to provide its statuatory services. Social Security will definitely be diminished in important ways ( e.g. raising the retirement age, cutting benefits), eventually leading to all retirement and pension funds being exclusively 501(k) investment plans.

The current political direction has a history that is important for Americans to understand. With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the rise of political conservatism dealt a death blow to the programs of the welfare state introduced in the long tenure of FDR's presidency in the 1930s. Over the succeeding decades the Republican Party promoted deregualtion of industry and concentration of wealth. Predictably, corporate investors and CEOs have received the proponderance of wealth generated in the decades following 1980. This distorted evolution has led to a Project 2025-style assault on broad democratic participation across society.

The populist affectations of the Trump campaign and election were mere theater. The populist appeals were without actual programs except for immigration and extending tax breaks. But, in an age of digital wizardry, appeals to people are more convincing than actual programs. The daily deluge of commercial advertising—itself a result of lax regulation—cultivates consumer and materialist behavior over citizenship and civic responsibility. Thus people are vulnerable to specious persuasion such as corporate advertising and political demogoguery.

The Democratic Party also holds part of the responsibility for the present politics. With the election of Reagan, it too, moved in a more conservative direction. Instead of pursuing a populism that would revive the support of working class, rural, and poor Americans, it engaged in identity politics as an electoral strategy. As it distanced itself from the majority of Americans, it became clear that Republicans were often outmaneuvering the Democrats in Washington even if they lost the presidential elections. One represenatation of this manipulation of the Democrats was Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) holding up then-President Barack Obama's nominees to Supreme Court. The Democrats, thereafter, were bowled over by the three consevative justices Trump appointed to the Supreme Court.

Authoritarianism and fascism are not-so-distant cousins. They are both hyper-nationalist and feel that the historically dominant ethnic or genetic group should make sure its "blood" is not diluted or corrupted by those from other groups. One of the tactics both authoritarians and fascists employ is supporting extra-legal and extra-judicial methods of civic and social control. Trump's pardons and commutations of the January 6 insurrectionists give encouragement to vigilante forces and militia.

These groups can assault the halls of government and, even then, they will be considered heroic Americans. Private militia and other armed groups of vigilantes are very useful to a repressive government. They can instill fear through threats, militant marches, and other displays of armed resistance and offense. They may even be used to enforce policy or law at local levels. Meanwhile, former Trump administration officials who criticize him, and have been targets of Iran's death threats, are denied secret service protection. Authoritarians and fascists alike see all criticism as real or potential disloyalty to the state, i.e. to the president in this case.

"Great Replacement" thinking drives some of the most violently aggressive rhetoric into the public sphere, even though it is a debunked white nationalist far-right conspriritorial theory. It is used to justify everything from the forcible removal and breakup of families to militarizing the border. There is little doubt that virtually every American, including here in Maine, will know a neighbor or have heard of someone who was ripped from his or her home, taken to detention centers, and deported. It is important to remember that fascist regimes have historically singled out groups to silence them and threaten them with violence. As one Germany priest noted during the 1930s:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

The Trump adminstration must be challenged in the media and in the streets. Without resistance this regime will ensure that Americans are more vulnerable to climate change and to political chaos, moral decay, and social disintegration. We have a great responsibility.