“Trump Isn’t a Fascist — But Is he leading America towards one?

In a previous article published elsewhere, I questioned whether President Donald J, Trump was a fascist and concluded the evidence didn’t support such an accusation. However, I’m not so sure this lets him off the hook. So, I started digging deeper and what became clear was there was, at least, a prima facie case of accusing him of being a proto-fascist. 

Now, such an accusation is rare given that, under normal conditions, proto-fascism ordinarily refers to any political movement whose activities make the emergence of fascism more likely. So, I have chosen this definition to explore whether Trump, intentionally or otherwise id now leading a proto-fascist movement that could ultimately lead the US into fascism. Unquestionably, many left-leaning authors and academics have argued this to be the case, but because they say it is so, doesn’t make it fact.

The argument for or against

Proto-fascism has many distinct elements and if any accusation is to stand, it’s imperative an accuser should be able to demonstrate clear examples of behaviour or practice in each element to argue their case. The following are some of the key elements of proto-fascism:

2. Extreme leader-centred politics – under normal circumstances it could be argued personal loyalty to Trump over institutions or even the Republican Party would be sufficient, but given the nature of the American political system and the power enshrined in the role of the presidency, I’d argue this is nowhere near enough. Let’s face it, history shows how many past presidents demonstrated leader-centred politics. 

Take examples like Andrew Jackson, who claimed to be the sole direct representative of the "common man; FDR, who centralized all major administration decisions within his own office while bypassing collective cabinet governance; and, of course, let’s not forget Richard Nixon.

But, I’d argue Trump is something more. He demonstrates a model of authoritarian populism (a model where politicians fearmonger, scapegoat marginalise groups for a host of societal problems, and chip away at democratic norms, like persecuting journalists, where political identity, party loyalty, and national purpose merge into a single personal brand. Rather than relying on traditional party structures or institutional norms, his political movement (MAGA) is anchored entirely on his personal charisma, direct grievance-based communication, and individual authority

2. Ultranationalist rhetoric – The whole MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement kicked off when Trump first announced his presidential campaign in 2016 and trademarked the term between 2012 -2015. Since its inception no-one has ever asked the most obvious question – when was America ever great? Was it during its founding years post-1776, when America created a radical foundational framework of constitutional law? But if so, what about the institutional slavery of the era? Or how about the post-WWll era when the US had an unmatched industrial boom, though it came at the same time as “Jim Crow” laws and rigid limitations on social and professional laws for women. Some might argue it was during the 1960s with the Civil Rights laws and mass technological innovation, though it came at the price of defeat in Vietnam, as well as a number of political assassinations. Yet, even today, Trump continues to push the whole meaningless MAGA campaign as part of his broad ultra-nationalistic rhetoric

Additionally, and though denying endorsement of the historical isolationist roots of the “America First” model and despite being one of the key slogans of the KKK, Trump has pushed a response that argues there has been too much globalisation and too much immigration.

3. Scapegoating of perceived internal enemies – Just like Mussolini did in Italy, so, Donald Trump has argued liberals and socialist are to blame for subverting the nation, inciting civil unrest, and destroying national self-belief portraying the US as infected by radical leftism and arguing only ruthless Trumpist (nationalist) action could purge this threat.

Just as Mussolini’s fascism evolved into scapegoating race, in their case Jews, so Trump attacks Mexican immigrants and Muslims. Recently, he described Muslim Democratic candidates in the midterm elections as “jihadists,” adding to Islamophobic statements recently made by other Republican elected officials. Trump also delivered another tirade against people of Somali descent, saying: “They’re not smart, they have no aptitude, they have nothing going, and they’re telling us how to run our country.”

Throughout his rise in politics, Trump has vilified Muslims and people of Arab descent, stoking anger among his backers and building support for immigration restrictions, including banning Muslims from the United States. But in the past few months, anti-Muslim rhetoric has become increasingly normalized in the ranks of the G.O.P., particularly after the election victories of prominent Muslim politicians, including Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in the recent Michigan Senate primary.

4. Hostility toward liberal-democratic constraints - Certainly we have seen how Trump promised to use the Justice Department to punish his political opponents, including use of “long term prison sentences,” he had already investigated 10 of his political opponents during his first term alone. But it’s not as simple as that, because clearly Trump has repeatedly flouted the law. Take how he pardoned the Proud Boys convicted of storming the Capitol despite it being an obvious attempted coup. Or how he pardoned Charles Kushner, his daughter’s father-in-law and then proposed him as US Ambassador to France. He also pardoned his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in a proclamation that vowed, in his words, to "end a grave national injustice".

Trump has expanded presidential power by aggressively centralizing control over the executive branch, advancing a maximalist version of the unitary executive theory, and securing landmark Supreme Court rulings that dismantle decades-old constraints on the presidency. In particular, he has used the Supreme Court as in the case of Trump v. Slaughter ensuring he has the authority to remove heads of independent federal agencies at will, overturning a 91-year-old legal precedent (Humphrey’s Executor) previously protecting officials from politically motivated firing. Then add how he attempted to unilaterally direct state National Guard units to respond to urban crime and public unrest, overriding objections from local and state officials and triggering challenges in federal courts.

5. Delegitimization of elections – Most people are aware of the almost farcical attempts by Trump to accuse his opponents of electoral tampering and fraud. In all, there were over 60 cases where judges, including judges appointed by Trump and other Republican presidents looked at the evidence and said there is no widespread case of fraud. Nearly all cases were dismissed or dropped for lack of evidence or lack of standing.

6. Political use of grievance and fear to mobilise supporters – During Trump’s terms of office he has mobilised his base by tapping into deep-seated public resentment and existential anxiety, then by framing cultural shifts, economic changes, and institutional norms as deliberate attacks on ordinary citizens, he transforms personal discontent into a powerful, unified political movement.

a)    Trump validates the feeling that traditional status, economic security, and cultural dominance have been unfairly stripped away;

b)    He directs public anger toward institutional power brokers, mainstream media, and political opponents, presenting himself as the sole protector of a betrayed populace;

c)     Instead of focusing on complex structural or global policies, his narrative externalises the cause of personal hardship, pointing to outsiders or corrupt systems as the root of decline

7. Admiration for authoritarian leaders - Trump has a well-documented history of expressing admiration for authoritarian rulers and "strongman" global leaders such as Putin and Kim Jong Un and has frequently and publicly praised their centralized power, tough governance styles, and ability to command absolute authority within their respective nations

8. A willingness to portray political opponents as enemies of the state - three weeks before the 2024 election, Trump pushed to the forefront of his campaign a menacing political threat: that he would use the power of the presidency to crush those who disagree with him and later (and repeatedly) has called Democrats more dangerous than U.S. foreign adversaries. Meanwhile, The U.S. Justice Department remains under increasing pressure from Trump to pursue cases against people he perceives to be political enemies, a move that is raising alarm bells not only with former prosecutors but also inside Trump's own Republican party.

The conclusion made by academics

In a 2026 academic paper by political scientists Nitasha Kaul and Barry Buzan, they explicitly analysed Trump 2.0 and concluded his administration was firmly on a “protofascist trajectory," but distinguished this from saying America is already a fascist regime: and arguing Trump's political project displays characteristics that could easily move toward fascism.

                The Roman bundle of sticks ("fasci") were adopted as a symbol by fascists. 

Others, like Professor Jason Stanley in his book, “How Fascism Works” argued that in 2015, following his presidential candidacy announcement, the Trump campaign used a succession of fascist political tactics, though he fails to mention any of them. Elsewhere, Stanley likened immigrant detention centres to concentration camps. He joins Professor Nikolaus Wachsmann in describing the immigrant detention system release programme as being consistent with the Nazi pre-war concentration camp system because the camps serve their purpose forcing many immigrants out of America.

While Prof Cas Mudde has argued America is currently not a fascist state, he recognises how the radical and alt-right easily hang on to Trump’s populist coat tails while strengthening their own position.

Of course, it must be recognised some academics approach it from a liberal or left-leaning position making their analysis vulnerable to pro-Trump supporters suggestions of bias, but seldom counter any of the accusations against Trump and invariably reduce  the discussion to name-calling.

Some scholars and politicians have gone further, arguing Trump is more than a "proto-fascist" but has descended into actual fascism. For example, Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly and former defence secretary Mark Esper have said that Trump meets their definition of fascism, as does Rosan Smits, in her recent book, “This is Fascism”.

Political Comment

It saddens me to know many staunch Trumpists will refuse to read this article because it opposes their idealised notion of their supreme leader. Those who do refuse are blind to critical comment and instead move forward in ignorance, always towing the “party line” of the omnipotence of their leader and refusing to see there is no such thing as a perfect ruler, no matter what party colours they fly.

Nonetheless, wwe must continue our investigation in the broad hope there remain a significant, but currently silent minority who hold dearly to the notion of an independent political mind.

With this in mind and If the elements making up fascism are put against Trump’s behaviour during both terms of office, then I would argue it would be unreasonable to accuse him of being an actual fascist and those who do are doing so due to their own substantial political differences.

However, I’d also argue the accusation Trump is steering towards proto-fascism are far more substantial. His association, and support of far-right groups like the Proud Boys, America First and the Oathkeepers, as well as historical engagement with the likes of Steve Bannon and others, a well-known defender of far-right ideology leave him vulnerable to such accusations. When this is coupled with the dissection of his political behaviour shown  above, we see how this label fits perfectly.

This is not to say he is a fascist, or that America is creeping down that road. Indeed, the “No Kings” march could never have happened if America had turned fascist. But the Republican party, along with the president are taking the nation dangerously close to it. Given the US has always favoured moderate politics, I’d argue Trump is steering the Republican party towards disaster during the mid-terms and, as a result leaving the door open to radical socialists, hiding as Democrats,who appear aimed at herald a new ultra-left dawn of extremism, the like of which America has never seen.

If this prediction turns out to be correct, the future for America and its relations with other countries is about to change substantially – and not necessarily for the better.