Trump was a Fascist (Bingo Edition)

‘Plymouth rock done landed on us’

Malcolm X

‘How was I to know, she was with the Russians too?’

Warren Zevon

1. Fascist: At least we’ve cleared up the whole ‘was Donald Trump a fascist’ thing. The only glaring empty space on my ‘Trump is a fascist’ bingo card (see below) before January 6th 2021 was ‘has his own armed militia’. We have also sorted out the whole ‘extremists moderate once in office’ argument, though that had actually been pretty well resolved already (points frantically at the 20th century).

2. Fascist Comma: He was, as Obama claimed he would be, not even ‘a full stop but a comma’. But what a white supremacist comma he was.

3. I always thought he was a fascist, to be honest (see here and then, with growing certainty, here). I figured it out all on my own. How did I know, you ask? Well, I used my powers of observation, seeing him going around doing and saying fascist things unceasingly FOR MANY YEARS. One of the subtle warning signs of fascism in the 20th century were groups of fascists walking round shouting that they would, if in power, do a series of horrific fascist things. Whether he was always a fascist or had some sort of road-to-somewhere-fascist conversion, I don’t know. My sense was he had fascism running right through him, like a very Far-Right piece of seaside rock.

4. One frequent excuse for his racism was ‘well it’s just Trump being Trump’. Replace ‘Trump’ with ‘Far White Supremacist’ and its shows you what weird dissonance it is to divorce actions from personality. Try the same exercise analysing the 20th century by shrugging and saying ‘it was just [Twentieth century dictator] being [Twentieth century dictator]’ .

5. Race was the alpha and omega of Trump’s presidency. It was always about race, everything else was secondary. It began with his birther racism and ended with Confederate flags in the Capitol building. Race was, in a pleasing twist, Trump’s nemesis. Biden said that it was Trump’s runaway enthusiasm for Nazis in Charlottesville that convinced him to run. The ironies will be picked over for years, as the BLM protests, supposed to be a boon for Trump’s ‘appeal’, inspired a spike in voter registrations, too.

6. We must always remember, we were saved by his stupidity, not some great democratic check. His stupidity, like his prejudice, was endless. If you listen closely to Trump’s infamous conversation with politicians in Georgia , it appears he does not know what a web link is (at one point he exclaims ‘I don’t want your link, I’ve got a better link’). We need to remember the resistance too (in no particular order): Stacey Abrams, the BLM movement, AOC, Colin Kaepernick, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lady Gaga, Greta Thunberg, John Lewis, whoever changed the Wikipedia entry to make him the second confederate president. Put their pictures on a wall, vote for them, celebrate them.

7. I suspect his later influence will be negligible, for several reasons. This is in part because he has no amplification through the media or Twitter. It’s rather like when Sarah realises Jareth has no power over her. But it’s also because a whole army of enablers, fellow travellers and amplifiers won’t be waiting to explain how his being racist/setting up camp networks for minorities/mocking reporters was (i) a ploy to his base (ii) a trick, as he didn’t mean it (iii) a double ploy, as he did mean it but wouldn’t do it. I see he’s building his own social media platform, despite being not knowing what a link is. I see he’s also taken to interrupting wedding speeches. And, watch out now, take care, beware, he has a new (dramatic pause) blog (note this links to my blog not his).

8. His influence may well wane with his bank balance. Keep in mind that his wealth and supposed pay chest might not last. The impression given by news reporting was that he seems to have paid less tax than I’ve spent on the remastered edition of George Harrison’s triple album ‘All Things Must Pass’ (£9.99, and a steal for the best solo work by a Beatle[1]). The IRS are a-snooping and now his battle to conceal his records to investigators is over. ‘TAXMAN’ as George Harrison once sang.

9. Most important of all, Trump’s political comeback depends on his own decision-making abilities, which are, remember, truly terrible. Between 2016 and 2021 he lost the House of Representatives, the Senate, the White House and was impeached twice. I for one welcome his contribution to Republican thinking, if that’s not an oxymoron. His exact contribution may depend on the law. ‘When the buzz gonna come and take you away?’ as George Harrison asked on another occasion.

10. Was he a Russian asset? I suppose we’ll never know for sure. He certainly did do some very, very odd things. My doubt is this: which experienced recruiter would look at Trump and say, ‘he’d make an ideal agent’? I know Guy Burgess used to get drunk and tell everyone he was working for the Russians, but Trump being an agent requires mental gymnastics that run ‘he can’t be an agent because he behaves so much like an agent…which is why he’d make an excellent agent’. I suppose, if 10% of this book is true, Trump knows very well which side his bread is buttered, or his cash machine is filled, without even being an agent. If the book is true, it also means he owes Putin money.

[1] I realise, in a piece replete with comparisons between Trump and fascism, this is likely to be the most controversial assertion. It is, however, true.