If Not Fascism, Why Fascism Shaped?

In 122 days, the current President Donald Trump has literally followed the handbook for Project 2025. This infamous 900-page handbook that conservatives, and Trump himself, claimed was nothing but a fragment of fear-mongering lore meant to turn the tide of the 2024 Presidential election. The irony now comes in the active use of the text as a blueprint for the dawn of a fascist, authoritarian regime in America. 

A nation once proud of its pristine universities and doctoral programs that eventually engineered the cure for cancer is now marred by incidents of fascist displays of misallocated power. This is now a nation that detains students like Kseniia Petrova, who had been working tirelessly on a microscope to detect early signs of cancer. This is now a nation where an entire plane of nonviolent, law-abiding immigrants was flown to one of the harshest prisons in the world based on false accusations of their membership in a Venezuelan gang. This is now a nation where a man was deported based on the faulty results of AI recognition  of “gang tattoos.” 

All of this is thanks to a president who is no longer teetering on the line of fascism and dictatorship government; he has fully enveloped himself in it.

What is Fascism?

Fascism describes a government system in which a dictator has complete and utter control of power. They can easily suppress any forms of opposition and criticism while also demonstrating aggression with an emphasis on nationalism and racism. Sound familiar?

According to Keene College, there are 16 characteristics of fascism. Some of these characteristics include but are not limited to: control of mass media, seeking territory through armed conflict, an obsession with national security, and a disdain for the arts or intellectuals who are not aligned with fascist narratives.

Fascist dictators range from the likes of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, extending to more contemporary political figures such as  Trump’s close ally, Vladimir Putin. Each of these fascists exhibited some combination of these characteristics during their reign;  currently, the President of the United States is following a multitude of these characteristics.

Pressing Problems

Throughout his second tenure in office, Trump has been hellbent on making history by any means necessary. For instance, Trump and his Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both taken an aggressive, destructive approach to addressing the media in the White House newsroom. 

The whole point of giving nationally syndicated publications access to the White House Press Pool is deeply rooted in the government’s inability to restrict freedom of the press. Through the power of the First Amendment, news and media outlets are allowed this right to have direct access to question and critique the president and his actions. This measure of exercising checks and balances is especially relevant when the Executive branch and its agencies make decisions that will have drastic and immediate effects on American citizens. However, the current administration is barking back against the freedom of the press. 

The White House Press Pool has now been shifted under the guise of allowing new people to be in the press pool, however, it has instead filled the pool with people who think exactly like the current administration. An example would be when a pro-MAGA influencer told Karoline Leavitt that she was happy to finally have an “English Uber.” Further implications of nationalism continue to harm immigrants, whether it be through ICE or racist comments from people of status.

Related: Importance of Truth Telling in Journalism in a Political Atmosphere of Censorship

Is America Really Great Again?

The first week of the presidency, safe haven states for immigrants were overrun with ICE trucks. Masked members of ICE  snatched up students, family members, and essential workers  in broad daylight, not even trying to ensure the actual citizenship status of their targets.

However, Trump has been very clear since 2016 that one of his primary goals as president was to rid America of all immigrants.  Trump’s nationalistic rhetoric and overtly excessive obsession with national security motivated him to procure his nationalist, fascist American dream. 

Fascism is not what makes America great. America’s greatness exudes from its rich diversity of citizens from all kinds of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. America’s greatness is forged in a mixed bag of different languages, cultures, and aspirations, all summarized in an honest person simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families. 

What some conservative republicans fail to realize is that Black and Brown people do not make this country unsafe. The inaccurate and damaging stereotypes held by white, conservative Americans who may unsuspectingly lurk behind hoods and swastikas make America unsafe. Moreover, their bias and prejudice make this unsafe version of America prone to adopting a fascist regime rooted in hatred and misinformation.

This hatred fuels the actions of those responsible for opening fire in a predominantly Black church during an innocent congregation’s prayer. This hatred fuels the actions of those responsible for opening fire in elementary schools, where students are forced to reckon with the consequences of a school shooter meandering into their cafeteria before reckoning with the consequences of forgetting to do their homework the night before school that day. 

Fascism In, Democracy Out

Thus far, the 122 days of the Trump Presidency have proven to be nothing short of hellish and destructive actions that will only further harm the American people. 

Presently, families are being ripped apart, and it has a polarizing effect as the present time is mirroring that of the past. Specifically, this is all very reminiscent of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The same that Black families were ripped apart due to economic efficiency for the South, is in the same context of Brown families being ripped apart under the guise of efficiencies. The administration is relying on the foundational belief that deportation is to help with overall American efficiency, all while repeating history, which will ultimately destroy the American economy more than anything else.

Tax-paying, hardworking Americans seeking an education are afraid their institution will lack the resources necessary to educate them since federal funding is being slashed. Students are being detained due to their activism in ongoing political wars. Government workers are finding their jobs being frozen, or even offers being rescinded. Tariffs are so high that families can no longer afford many grocery store essentials.

Increasing resistance from stubborn perspectives of right-leaning republicans worsens this pressure.

They are letting the President continue with his fascist reign, standing by idly as the American people and the Constitution are regularly violated. Instead of engineering a bipartisan effort to save the American people, they are giving their citizens futile town halls in an attempt to explain that the slashing of Medicaid and Medicare is for the greater good.

A Future Worth Fighting For

America as a democracy may not survive to see another election. Project 2025 has elaborate policies that will render ineffective any votes from marginalized communities, including women and people of color. The Project 2025 framework allows for loopholes that ensure the majority of “democratic” votes are in favor of the conservative, fascist-leaning right. 

The most viable solution to arrest America’s impending fascist dawn comes in resistance. Suppose constituents can produce a bipartisan effort to condemn the work of the second Trump administration. In that case, the Supreme Court will be forced to exercise its checks and balances on the executive branch. This democratic process is America’s last hope to disallow any man representing the American people from working actively against the Constitution. Through democracy, the American people can still hold the press and the executive branch accountable.