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Folks, it’s not looking good. Donald Trump has only been back in office for a few weeks and he’s already wilfully disobeying Supreme Court orders, cracking down on freedom of expression, disappearing innocent people into foreign prisons, hinting at remaining in power beyond a second term, and threatening to deport American citizens without due process.
Under Trump, the Constitution is looking extremely shaky and you may now be unable to rely on its protections. All of which means the word “fascism” is being bandied around a lot. But is this accurate?
In 2003, political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt published his “14 Characteristics of Fascism“, based on a careful study of known fascist regimes: “Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile)”. Britt concluded each had 14 characteristics in common, so does America now fit the bill?
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
“Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.”
I think we can safely say Trump’s administration passes this test with flying colors. Trump uses the stars and stripes as often as possible and, y’know, there’s the MAGA hats.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
“Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.”
The ongoing case of the innocent men dispatched to El Salvador’s nightmare prison, with Trump’s refusal to lift a finger, means this is also easily met by the Trump administration.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
“The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.”
Again, this is easily fulfilled by Trump almost to the letter. Despite communism having practically zero political power in the modern world, it’s held up as a bogeyman for people to hate. Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants are also routinely scapegoated by Trump.
4. Supremacy of the Military
“Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.”
Trump recently confirmed a massive increase in the national defense budget to $1 trillion, promising to boost its “lethality and readiness” so it’s a yes.
5. Rampant Sexism
“The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.”
Met by Trump a thousand times over, moving on.
“Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.”
This is debatable. The Trump administration isn’t directly controlling what is being reported in the media and individual journalists and citizens still have freedom of expression. Many Trump-supporting media figures push his narrative, but that’s the same for any administration. So, as of writing, this test is not met.
7. Obsession with National Security
“Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.”
Trump spent pretty much the entire election campaign spinning stories of legions of rapist murderers entering the United States, as well as demonizing China, so easily met.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Partially met. Trump is fervently supported by evangelical Christian nationalists, has claimed his political career is a “divine mission from God“, and promised to “create a new federal task force on fighting anti-Christian bias”. Though clearly not a true-believer Christian himself, Trump is happy to use the religion for his own ends.
9. Corporate Power is Protected
“The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.”
Oh, hi Elon. Passed with flying colors.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
“Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.”
On March 25, Trump signed an executive order ending collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions and has praised Elon Musk for firing striking employees. So, passed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
“Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.”
Trump is currently waging war against higher education by threatening to remove funding for universities that don’t bow to his ideological demands. Passed.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
“Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.”
While campaigning Trump painted a picture of a lawless country, saying “the communist left have unleashed a brutal plague of bloodshed, crime, chaos, misery, and death upon our land.” Trump has promised a vast increase in police powers, promised the death penalty for drug traffickers, and wants the ability to summon the National Guard to crack down on crime. So, yes, pass.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
“Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.”
Oh, hi again Elon! Passed.
14. Fraudulent Elections
“Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.”
At least so far, this is largely not the case for the Trump presidency. Aided by an incompetent Democratic Party collapse, Trump’s 2024 election victory was legitimate. Questions remain over gerrymandering district boundaries, voter ID laws, and outright disenfranchisement, but none of that is specific to the Trump administration.
Conclusion
As of writing, the Trump administration has passed 12 of the 14 requirements to be officially dubbed fascist. So, while we can absolutely paint Trump as a dangerous authoritarian testing the boundaries of the American political system and that he seems very much on the route to fascism, we’re not quite there yet.
But hey, we still have four more years of this to come, giving him more than enough time to crack down on the media and rig elections! So let’s revisit this test in 2026.