The Word Has Been Weaponized
What Fascism Actually Is, and What It Is Not
White Rose
February 2026
“Communists.”
“Marxists.”
“Radical left fascists.”
“Extremists.”
“Vermin.”
These are not paraphrases. These are the actual words Donald Trump has used repeatedly to describe his political opponents. The labels are applied broadly, often simultaneously, sometimes even contradicting one another. Fascists and communists, historically mortal enemies, are merged into a single interchangeable threat category.
This is not ideological precision.
It is rhetorical construction.
Because once a word becomes elastic enough, it can be stretched to cover anyone. And once it covers anyone, it loses its meaning entirely.
That is the first victory of real fascism. Not the uniform. Not the salute. The definition.
When the word fascist becomes nothing more than an insult, it ceases to function as a warning.
So it becomes necessary to restore the word to its actual meaning.
Fascism is not disagreement.
It is not dissent.
It is not opposition.
Fascism is a structure.
In 2003, political scientist Laurence W. Britt studied seven fascist regimes including Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany, Franco’s Spain, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. His findings were published in Free Inquiry magazine under the title “Fascism Anyone?” He identified thirteen characteristics that appeared consistently across all of them.
He was not writing about modern America.
He was describing a pattern.
And patterns, once understood, become unmistakable.
Here are those thirteen characteristics, restored to their proper meaning.
1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
Fascist systems rely on emotional national identity centered around restoration. Trump’s political identity remains anchored in the promise to restore a lost national greatness, presenting himself as the singular figure capable of that restoration.
2. Disdain for human rights
Human beings become categorized as threats rather than individuals. Trump has repeatedly advocated mass deportations involving millions of people and the construction of large scale detention infrastructure to carry them out.
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
Fascism requires internal enemies to unify followers. Trump consistently labels journalists, prosecutors, political opponents, and civil servants as corrupt, traitorous, or illegitimate.
4. Supremacy of security force as an instrument of internal authority
Military and federal force become tools of internal control. Trump has openly discussed using federal forces and military capacity to enforce domestic political and immigration objectives.
5. Rampant sexism
Authority becomes associated with dominance and masculinity. Trump has repeatedly framed leadership in terms of strength and dominance while using personal and gender based attacks against female opponents.
6. Obsession with controlling narrative legitimacy
Independent truth becomes subordinate to leader defined truth. Trump consistently labels unfavorable reporting as fake, encouraging followers to distrust independent information sources.
7. Obsession with national security framing
Threat becomes permanent. Immigration, dissent, and protest are framed as existential dangers requiring extraordinary authority.
8. Religion intertwined with political legitimacy
Political authority becomes linked with religious identity. Trump has positioned himself as a defender of Christianity, reinforcing alignment between political loyalty and religious identity.
9. Protection of corporate and elite economic power
Economic hierarchy becomes normalized. Trump’s economic policies have consistently favored deregulation and tax structures benefiting corporations and wealthy individuals.
10. Suppression or delegitimization of labor power
Independent worker power is weakened. Economic messaging emphasizes hierarchy and individual accumulation rather than collective bargaining power.
11. Disdain for intellectuals and expertise
Expertise becomes suspect when it contradicts authority. Scientific institutions, intelligence agencies, and academic experts have been dismissed when their conclusions conflict with political messaging.
12. Obsession with crime, punishment, and social control
Authority becomes the primary solution to disorder. Trump’s rhetoric consistently emphasizes harsh punitive responses to perceived threats and instability.
13. Cronyism and loyalty based authority structure
Personal loyalty becomes the primary qualification for power. Authority centers on the individual rather than on independent institutional function.
Fascism does not arrive with announcement.
It reveals itself through patterns.
Its clearest signal is the elevation of one individual above the system itself.
When loyalty to a person becomes more important than loyalty to law, institution, or shared reality, the transformation is already underway.
History does not need to repeat exactly.
It only needs to follow the same structure.
Reference:
Laurence W. Britt, “Fascism Anyone?” Free Inquiry Magazine, Volume 22, Number 2, Spring 2003.
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