Professor Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of
Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and
several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common
to each.
Let me say once again, as I have
said in other posts: I am not accusing anyone in the Trump circle,
including The Donald himself, of being a Fascist or a Nazi. I am simply saying
that certain characteristics of such a regime are present in the words and
actions of some members of the Trump campaign, and of appointees to
certain posts in his administration, and finally in the tweets, orders,
speeches and actions of the POTUS. Let’s
have a brief look at just the first of those fourteen points, and some of the progress
made toward its accomplishment under the Trump administration. Then I have a point to make that involves
what I think is the real motivation for Trump’s use of such concepts.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism. Trump’s
inaugural address on Jan. 22, 2017 was noted for its nationalistic and somewhat
belligerent tone – ‘America First’ was the constant theme. By the way, that slogan – “America First” was
a favorite slogan of aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, a leading 1930s isolationist
and one-time Nazi sympathizer. Trump revealed more of his view of
“America First” in a Jan. 25 interview with ABC News. He explained, “We should’ve kept the oil when
we got out” of Iraq in 2011. “To the victors go the spoils,” said Trump in
another interview, arrogantly declaring an intention to steal Iraq’s national
resources. A few inaugural quotes
should suffice to recall the tone:
- Trump argued that this nationalism will bring the country together. “At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other,” he said. “A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.”
- The new administration plans a major shift in trade policy, and Trump has already threatened Mexico with a 20% tariff if they don’t pay for the wall on the border, and similar penalty-type threats have been made toward other countries.
- According to Trump, the U.S. role in the world will reflect “a new vision … America First,” to advance U.S. domination and supremacy over world markets by means somewhat different from past administrations. His aggressively nationalistic foreign policy will strive toward free reign for the huge multinational corporate and banking interests to dominate and control the world economy.
- He said: “buy American and hire American.” And, “The American Carnage stops right here and right now! From now on, it’s America First!”
- He also said: “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries.”
- Trump again: "we will unite the civilized world against radical terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth.”
- "When America is united," Trump said, "America is totally unstoppable." He said "we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving."
- And he said, "Do not allow anyone to tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail; our country will thrive and prosper again."
Following
that speech, he began to put some definition to his words in the form of
Executive Orders. Here are a few that
speak to the powerful nationalism that continues even though at one point he
tried toning down his rhetoric in a speech to Congress on Feb. 28, 2017. Orders have been issued to:
- take first
steps to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which will cost up
to $25 billion;
- hire 5000
additional Border Patrol agents and 10,000 additional immigration officers
to intensify harassment; and return of illegal aliens to their homelands
- target
undocumented immigrants for removal who have been convicted or accused of
a law violation;
- end federal aid
to “sanctuary cities”;
- institute a 90-day
ban of nearly all permanent immigration from seven majority Muslim
countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen), with
provision to extend the ban indefinitely; suspend the entry of refugees
into the U.S. for 120 days, and direct officials to determine additional
screening; (after lower court delays, partial implementation has begun
with SCOTUS approval)
- just recently, the SCOTUS issued a ruling that allowed some of the ban to proceed, but also lifted the ban on any refugees whose families or substantial contacts are already in the USA.
- an
executive action to bring sweeping changes to the nation's refugee
policies and put in motion his plans to build up the nation's military.
- Prior to that, and in seeming contradiction, Trump had said: "We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas," he said. "We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people."
Having
just concluded an apparently disastrous meeting with the former G-20 (now
becoming known as the G-19 + 1), Donald Trump so isolated himself and the USA
from the rest of the group as to be seen standing alone on issues of trade,
climate change, and attitudes toward other nations such as North Korea. Of course, the Donald is delighted to have
things turn out this way, since he is promoting America as so great that it can
stand alone and promote itself (and him) in bi-lateral talks and treaties and
actions. He will, of course, use the
support of other nations when necessary just to stage the strength of America in
pulling together meaningless actions like the fly-overs in Korea or the bomb
runs in Syria (where ground troops have had to clean out ISIS fighters from
various strongholds).
So just what did Trump gain by his behavior
and actions at the G-20 conference? In
my opinion, he gained a reputation as an untrustworthy loner, but not
necessarily a leader; certainly, not the “Leader of the Free World.” He gained for himself and America a sense
among other countries that America can neither be trusted to lead on vital
issues, nor to respond to the needs of other countries, unless at a price.
Above all, he gained the disdain of so many of the leaders that it would be no surprise to me to hear someone say that they would trust Putin more than they would trust Donald Trump. A few random quotes from The Guardian may suffice to bolster this assessment:
Above all, he gained the disdain of so many of the leaders that it would be no surprise to me to hear someone say that they would trust Putin more than they would trust Donald Trump. A few random quotes from The Guardian may suffice to bolster this assessment:
“Trump
expects trade deal with UK to be completed 'very, very quickly.' US
president also confirms he will be visiting London as he has meeting with
Theresa May at G20 summit in Hamburg”
“German chancellor
Angela Merkel speaks to the press at the end of the G20 summit in Hamburg on
Saturday and addresses the clear split between the positions of the US and the
remaining 19 nations over climate change in the summit’s joint statement notes. G20 leaders’ statement on
climate change highlights rift with US”
According to Rex
Tillerson, Trump delivered on confronting Putin about interference in America’s
2016 elections. Putin denied it, and, apparently,
Trump accepted that denial, although the WH denies that. One commentator indicated that “What we don’t
know –and may never know – is what Trump said when Putin looked him directly in
the eyes and claimed he didn’t have anything to do with it.” A blogger commented: “The whole thing is theater
for domestic consumption.”
“G20 summit: 'G19' leave
Trump alone in joint statement on climate change. Final G20 communique isolates US opposition
to Paris Agreement as Theresa May meets other world leaders.”
“No wonder Trump is Putin’s favorite: he’s
making America weak again” -- Jonathan Freedland
BUT,
the Donald did not fail his base. From a distorted sense of what makes
America great, he will be seen by his base as having “stood up to Putin and all
those foreigners.” He will be seen as
having made America great again by not giving in to pressure to join others in
a globalist effort to coddle other nations while giving ourselves a bad
deal. His base will see his shenanigans
as putting America -- not Russia, or Putin or Paris Accords, or China or bad
trade deals with Regions – FIRST before anything else. To himself and his base, this G-20 conference
will stand out as an enormous success (for all the wrong reasons!).
What
will his followers conclude about Trump’s acceptance of Putin’s explanation
that Putin (or Russia) had nothing to do with interference in America’s 2016
elections? The base will easily conclude that it is “time to move on” with
Russia since they may well be convinced by their leader that the US and Russia
can both gain through a vibrant trade partnership in certain areas. Is it all about the money and the profit to
be gained?
Of
course it is; why else would Donald Trump even want to be President except to
win for himself and his family-owned multi-national business, favorable
bi-lateral agreements containing measures that will eventually pay-off for both
the family and the business?
Donald Trump will use any method at his disposal to increase his fortune. He has forever made use of the Courts to advance that fortune; he has used government laws and regulations that benefit him (probably to the extent of lowered taxes and maybe NO taxes in certain years). He has no limits (indeed, has very few self-limits). He is no public servant. He will use the Presidency as he has used other aspects of government, to benefit himself and his family. It is who he is, and nothing will escape his manipulation in the quest to become the richest family in the world.
Donald Trump will use any method at his disposal to increase his fortune. He has forever made use of the Courts to advance that fortune; he has used government laws and regulations that benefit him (probably to the extent of lowered taxes and maybe NO taxes in certain years). He has no limits (indeed, has very few self-limits). He is no public servant. He will use the Presidency as he has used other aspects of government, to benefit himself and his family. It is who he is, and nothing will escape his manipulation in the quest to become the richest family in the world.
If
I am right in my assessment, he will also use the fascist concept of
hyper-nationalism in that quest.
Unfortunately, “putting America first”, making America great again” or
making America Number One in all we do is tailor-made for his manipulation of
the international trade scene. He is not
advancing strongman tactics or rhetoric, or hyper-nationalism as visionary political
concepts. He is using those very
concepts to attract and hold a base of support that will never understand they
are being used in one cause only – not the greatness of America, but the
aggrandizement of Donald Trump and his family business. Why else does Ivanka Trum attend these international conferences, sit in the President's chair, and meet privately with the leaders of countries through which Trump
Enterprises might benefit from more favorable trade deals (both public and private)?
Donald Trump is not just a nationalist, certainly not a
globalist, nor a fascist. He is not even
a skilled politician. He is an
authoritarian businessman whose sole purpose is to use every means at his
disposal to realize his capitalist dreams.
To see him as anything less, or as anything more, is to miss the essence
of his motivations, his goals, his orders and pronouncements, his tweets (and
other bizarre actions) and his role as Commander-In-Chief which might more
appropriately be termed: “Manipulator-In-Chief!”
It is almost laughable lately
to hear the lengths to which analysts and commentators will go to try to
explain why Trump is doing or saying or tweeting something outrageous,
contradictory, or just plain stupid. It
is laughable because the Donald does not care much about politics, rhetorical
nuance, political correctness, diplomatic speech and custom, or even about
policy consistency. What he cares about
is how everything he does or says influences the end game – his assets, his
fortune, his ability to control deals.
It seems possible to me that trade deals with the U.K., with Russia,
with Australia, with South Korea, with Japan and others may be just what he is
looking for in the long-term – all of which could contain favorable terms for
his own business enterprises.
A NOTE
to mainstream media: try to analyze
Trump’s words and actions less in terms of short-term political categories
(since often they have no relationship at all), and start analyzing his words
and actions more in terms of his profit motive and longer-term goal of huge
aggrandizement for Trump and Trump Enterprises.
Research and explore in-depth his manipulations and his possible future asset
gains, and you will better understand why he does what he does. He may be crazy to some, but he may also be
“crazy like a fox!" Follow the money and future opportunities for profit-taking
because that is the essence of what drives Mr. Trump.
