About Trump & Fascism

(from Keene State College website) 

Fascism Slideshow Pdf

PDF – 11.3 MB 83 downloads

This 8 year old downloadable slideshow about the danger of fascism coming to America was created by this author in 2018. Some parts of it are dated, but other parts appear very prescient. A good and relatively quick primer about the current brand of American fascism. 

Updated Fascism Scorecard

Updated September 29, 2026

This update contains new content added since July 21, 2026. 

September 28th subversion of the rule of law: The Orange Menace continues to subvert the department of Justice and make it a tool of revenge and politics. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-blanche-is-shattering-dojs-standard-of-political-independence 

September 21 controlled mass media: An update on the story of Trump's van of three media outlets from the White House. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/press-pool-declines-to-cover-trump-in-protest-of-his-ban-on-news-outlets 

September 18: controlled mass media: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-says-hes-banning-3-outlets-from-white-house-in-his-latest-attack-on-press-freedom 

September 13: Cronyism & Corruption: A Russian oligarch tied to Putin paid for Trump Jr’s wedding celebrations. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/putin-tied-russian-oligarch-paid-for-trump-jr-s-wedding-celebrations

August 24th: controlled Mass media: A story carried by PBS about the Trump regime's direct intervention in the military publication Stars and stripes. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/military-newspaper-editor-says-he-was-fired-for-raising-concerns-about-pentagon-censorship 

August 21;  Reports in the Mainstream media:  The New York Times is keeping their own authoritarianism scorecard on the state of American democracy. The outlook is bleak. –https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/20/opinion/trump-election-interference-democracy.html 

Controlled mass media: The Trump regime is going after the Center for American Progress over an unflattering report about his use of the National Guard. – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/us/politics/trump-lawsuit-liberal-think-tank.html 

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: The latest foreign gifts for the Trump regime: Gazebos from Uzbekistan. – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/us/politics/uzbekistan-gazebos-trump.html 

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: The latest story in the NYT regarding the Trump regime’s persecution of Harvard. – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/us/harvard-trump-costs.html 

August 18th: controlled Mass media: ABC and Disney are fighting back against the Trump regime's attempts to control their programming using the FCC. -+ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/abc-says-fcc-waging-a-retaliatory-campaign-violating-free-speech-rights 

August 16: Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: This article, by Masha Gessen, in the NYT speaks for itself. LGBTQ are on the American fascists’ scapegoat list – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/opinion/kansas-anti-trans-laws-drivers-license.html 

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: A Green Light for Crooks The Treasury has made the American economy a safe space for corruption. – https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/corrupt-administration-shell-company-business-transparency/688274 

America Has Never Seen Corruption Like This – https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/07/trump-corruption-foreign-regimes/683487 

August 13th: rampant cronyism and corruption: Donors to the new White House ballroom project are up to their eyeballs in corruption and conflict of interest. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-construction-projects-are-changing-washington-and-costing-taxpayers 

Disdain for intellectuals, science and the arts: The Trump regime is cutting off funding for climate change research in the Arctic. - 

August 12th: subversion of the rule of law: A PBS NewsHour story about judges being threatened and the threatening rhetoric coming out of DHS and other agencies in the federal government threatening federal judges. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/federal-judges-describe-violent-threats-amid-dehumanizing-attacks-from-political-leaders   These acts of threatening judges meet the definition of terrorism. The people making these threats should be classified as terrorists and dealt with accordingly. 

August 6: rampant sexism and racism:  Under Pete Hegseth, Women’s Share of Top Military Promotions Plunged This Year – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/upshot/military-promotions-women-hegseth.html 

August 4th: rampant cronyism and corruption: The Orange Obscenity is seeking to enrich himself by selling expensive subscriptions to Truth Social, his personal media outlet, – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/paid-early-access-to-trumps-posts-raises-insider-trading-questions

July 29: Subversion of the Rule of Law:  The Trump regime has blatantly politicized its grants of scientific and research funding, and admitted it in a recent government hearing. The Constitution mandates that the law must apply equally to all of its citizens. Reflecting backwards, this policy of politicizing federal grant money is delegitimizing the moral and legal authority of the US government, thus weakening the coherency of the union of the states.  https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/07/trump-administration-tells-truth-court-filing/688093/ 

July 17th: fraudulent elections: A report on Trump's speech yesterday and his efforts to control the upcoming midterm elections. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-tries-to-undermine-trust-in-elections-but-documents-dont-support-his-claims 

July 21: Military Ambition: The Orange Fascist regime continues to pursue their war with Iran. – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/us/iran-war-funding.html 

July 21: Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats: The Democratic states are again targeted for persecution.  – https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07/21/us/trump-news 

Another story in the New York Times, March 14, 2026. 

This story is another illustration of the fascist nature of the Trump regime. 

#9: "Control of mass media and undermining "truth".  Apparently the fascist Trump regime fears reporting on the Iran war that is not favorable to how Trump wants the public to perceive his conduct of the war. 

Updated Fascism Scorecard

Posted 7-17-26

 Fascism Scorecard

This is a dynamic list mostly of selected articles from the mainstream media which illustrate and track the fascist nature of the Trump regime. I decline to use the term "Trump administration" because this implies a legitimate Presidential administration which follows the Constitution and the rule of law.

Reports in the mainstream media

A recent article in the Atlantic, actually labelling the Trump regime as fascist. – 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/america-fascism-trump-maga-ice/685751/

  1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, and songs.
  2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Human rights are viewed as unnecessary, and rights are restricted to maintain security.
    1. A story about Liam Ramos and the hell he went through after being seized by ICE. – https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/03/ice-detention-center-dilley-children/686302/ 
  3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The populace is rallied against a common threat (racial, ethnic, religious, or political).
    1. Update on Kristi Noem’s effort to warehouse immigrants seized in ICE raids. – https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/03/ice-dhs-noem-warehouse-jails/686401/ 
  4. Supremacy of the Military: Even if there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding.
  5. Rampant Sexism: Governments are almost exclusively male-dominated, with traditional gender roles made mandatory.
  6. Controlled Mass Media: Media is directly controlled by the government or indirectly controlled through regulation and sympathetic media spokespeople.
    1. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/us/immigration-ice-nashville-reporter-detained-tn-estefany-rodriguez-florez.html 
  7. Obsession with National Security and Paramilitary Forces: Fear is used as a tool to control the populace. Paramilitary organizations. 
    1. This story also includes details about how Trump's paramilitary organization, i c e, is being used to terrorize the population. – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-save-act-would-reshape-voting-and-why-critics-are-concerned 
  8. Religion and Government are Intertwined: Leaders use religion to manipulate public opinion, even if they are not religious themselves.
  9. Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy often put leaders into power to create a mutually beneficial relationship.
  10. Labor Power is Suppressed: Labor unions are eliminated or severely suppressed, as they are seen as a threat to the power structure.
  11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: Academic freedom is suppressed, and intellectuals are considered subversive.
    1. https://education.cfr.org/learn/reading/what-fascism#:~:text=Many%20experts%20agree%20that%20fascism,competitive%20elections%2C%20and%20political%20dissent. 

    2. Trump’s Assault on Higher Education Has Hit a Snag – https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/trump-universities-lawsuits/686319/ 

    3. The Trump regime is moving forward with breaking up the famed NOAA research lab in Boulder Colorado. – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/climate/ncar-breakup-plan-nasa-noaa.html 
    4. The Trump regime is cutting funding for a Harvard research lab – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/his-harvard-lab-was-thriving-then-came-the-cuts.html 
  12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Police are given nearly limitless power, leading to police brutality and a focus on law and order.
    1. Use of the death penalty in America has risen sharply – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/opinion/death-penalty-comeback.html 
  13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Government officials use their positions to enrich themselves and their friends.
    1. The Trump regime is offering Wall Street bankers special access to the Defense (War) Department – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/wall-street-access-pentagon.html 
    2. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law seeks to use his government connections in the Middle East to add to his personal family fortune – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/jared-kushner-affinity-mideast-funds.html 
  14. Fraudulent Elections: Elections are manipulated, or the opposition is smeared and harassed.
    1. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/11/us/trump-news#thune-trump-voter-bill-senate 
    2. Trump wants a sweeping bill to monitor us elections – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-save-act-would-reshape-voting-and-why-critics-are-concerned 
  15. Subversion of the Rule of Law: Judicial systems are manipulated to support the regime's goals.
  16. Territorial Ambition: A focus on expanding national influence, often through conflict. 
    1. Venezuela
    2. Greenland
    3. Iran
      1. It appears that the joint Israeli-American forces are beginning the deliberate destruction of Iranian infrastructure and the killing of civilians – https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-bombing-tehran.html 
    4. New “Don-roe” doctrine 
    5. Cuba