Many warned that Donald Trump has fascist tendencies. Well, it is no longer a warning or a threat. He continued executing them directly, and indirectly today. We are on the brink of fascism.
Donald Trump trying to bully Boeing, the start of fascism?
Americans are starting to get a taste of what many in Europe experienced, authoritarianism through threats and propaganda via friendly outlets, fascism. The problem is that most are not yet aware of what is going on.
What exactly is fascism? Wikipedia defines it as follows.
A form of radical authoritarian nationalism that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe, influenced by national syndicalism. Fascism originated in Italy during World War I and spread to other European countries. Fascism opposes liberalism, Marxism and anarchism and is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum.
Fascists believe that liberal democracy is obsolete, and they regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties. Such a state is led by a strong leader—such as a dictator and a martial government composed of the members of the governing fascist party—to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society. Fascism rejects assertions that violence is automatically negative in nature, and views political violence, war, and imperialism as means that can achieve national rejuvenation. Fascists advocate a mixed economy, with the principal goal of achieving autarky through protectionist and interventionist economic policies.
The similarity between Trump’s modus operandi is striking giving his rhetoric throughout the election and his transition. Two events happened today that are probative.
This morning Trump sent out the following tweet.
Why would the Donald send that tweet our of the blue? According to DailyKos’ Hunter in an article titled “Trump’s Air Force One tweet appears to be retaliation against Boeing for hurting his fee-fees” the following occurred.
Several things are wrong with this. First, he’s (once again) lying. Costs aren’t $4 billion. The planes aren’t even being built yet. What exists right now are contracts for $169 million to design the replacements, because the current planes reach the end of their expected 30 year lifespan next year. Even going according to schedule, the new planes won’t be ready for five years after that. …
What appears to have happened is that earlier this morning, the Chicago Tribune published a story reporting that a Boeing executive had some skeptical things to say about Donald Trump. We already know that Trump obsessively scans the news for critical mentions of himself. (We also know that he reacts to news he sees with immediate tweeted policy proposals, as when he Twitter-mused about stripping citizenship from Americans who might burn a flag as an apparent response to a Fox & Friends segment on flag burning that had aired just beforehand. The man is a child.)
In any event, a mere twenty minutes or so after the Tribune story about a Boeing executive criticizing him was published, Trump suddenly found a strong opinion over one particular Boeing contract, declared it “out of control,” and demanded it be canceled.
Boeing stock fell over 1% after Trump’s tantrum. It is important everyone understands Trump’s real intent. It is not necessarily about canceling the contract. It was a message to all corporations who do not fall in line with Trump or who criticizes the thin-skinned leader. It was an undemocratic autocratic move.
And then as reported by Alternet in Sarah Lazare’s article titled “Paper Owned by Trump’s Son-In-Law Runs Alarming Op-Ed Calling for FBI Crackdown on Anti-Trump Protests,”
The New York Observer, a newspaper owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, published an opinion piece Friday calling for the FBI to launch a coordinated crackdown on nationwide anti-Trump protests, mobilizations, and recount efforts. Titled “Comey’s FBI Needs to Investigate Violent Democratic Tantrums,” the article was written by Austin Bay, a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, purchased a majority stake in the New York Observer in 2006 for roughly $10 million and currently operates as the outlet’s publisher. Bay’s opinion piece appeals to FBI Director James Comey to “conduct a detailed investigation into the violence and political thuggery that continue to mar the presidential election’s aftermath,” including a “thorough probe of the protests—to include possible ties to organizations demanding vote recounts.”
The piece raises fears of “communists,” smears the Black Lives Matter movement as violent and even raises alarm about the multi-billionaire George Soros. “Sure, there are a lot of fringe theories out there about Soros,” writes Bay. “But Soros has a record for funding leftist political action.”
In other words, one of Trump’s unofficial propaganda rags is advising state-sanctioned coercion and more. Trump and his team already laid many foundations. Lying is modus operandi. One of his surrogates, Scottie Nell Hughes, declared that facts are fungible. The designing and building of fascist America are in full vogue.