While Democratic strategists debate whether or not their attack ads labeling Donald Trump a fascist have been effective, experts and academics told the Guardian his campaign and the Republican party he now heads have clear autocratic sympathies and political qualities that are firmly in line with fascism movements historically.

Put together, that makes any Trump victory this week and his return to the White House for a second presidential term a clear threat to US democracy, they added.

“There couldn’t be a more obvious example of a fascist social and political movement about to take power,” said Jason Stanley, a Yale philosophy professor whose new book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, looks at the global playbook of fascists through the lens of America and beyond.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      And this is not just a NYC thing, it was certainly well known in upstate NY and parts of New England. Given the stature of ridiculousness (gold plated toilets, bankrupting casinos, claiming to be good with deals while somehow getting away with outright fraud, one of the largest tax frauds ever) I always assumed this was nationally known, perhaps even globally.

      This is why I never took 2016 seriously. Now we have the proof, we have so many of his own words,attempted overthrowing an election, four years of such destructive attempts at running the country, how can anyone be blind?

      • FinishingDutch@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Dutch guy here. I definitely knew he was a terrible clown when it came to business, well before he ever ran for office.

        I mean… he’s so bad at running a business, he had several casinos go bankrupt. And those are pretty much a license to print money if you run them halfway decent. He also failed at stuff like running his own airline and a host of other ventures. I also knew he was at one time involved with the WWE, I knew about The Apprentie, Home Alone…

        Basically, if you were alive in the 90’s, you had plenty of opportunity to know about this clown of a ‘businessman’. When he ran, I figured it was a joke - a publicity stunt. Imagine my surprise when Americans actually voted for him!

      • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        how can anyone be blind?

        Conservatives aren’t blind. They’re fascist. They see these traits as positives, which is why they’ve chosen him as their most accurate representative for the last 10 years.