Has America elected its first fascist president? Donald Trump’s rhetoric presents all the characteristic features of fascism: authoritarianism, racial and religious nationalism, as well as the demonization of a specific group, in this case migrants.
Published at 7:00 a.m.
Like the fascists of old, Trump uses propaganda extensively and despises the press. He lives very well with the idea of seeing journalists shot and suggests that his opponents should suffer the same fate. He has a list of “internal enemies” against whom he promises reprisals. And he demands unfailing loyalty, not to the nation, but to himself.
Is he a fascist? The answer, therefore, seems obvious. And it raises another question: why did the world’s largest democracy vote for a dictator-in-waiting? The United States is not alone, of course: authoritarianism is fashionable from Italy to Hungary, via Austria and Argentina, with the election of strong figures who demonize the media and elites, and despise constitutions and institutions. Democracy is in decline, but many voters don’t seem to care.
The answer to this question, in my opinion, lies not so much in the success of fascism as in the failure of progressivism. The left has lost contact with its main base: the working class.
In the past, progressive movements advocated above all for workers’ rights. They demanded safe working conditions, reasonable hours, fair pay, breaks and time off. Progressives fought against child labor and big business interests, and for public education and the eradication of poverty. They also fought for freedoms: for women to be recognized as persons in the eyes of the law, so that they could own property and vote. American progressives defended black voting rights, indigenous rights, and equality for same-sex couples. But ultimately, left-wing politicians have always fought for workers – until today.
In 2024, progressive politics no longer focuses on workers’ rights, or even equality. She is seduced by a more radical approach that centers her discourse on equity and identity politics. Many progressives denounce “white privilege” and applaud racial quotas in universities and workplaces. They promote transgender rights at all costs and demonize feminists who exclude trans women. Some even ask children to define their gender from the first year of school. They advocate for ever-tougher sanctions against Israel, sometimes to the point of applauding anti-Semitism – a hatred previously attributed to the far right, not the radical left.
None of these concerns touch on the main worry of the working class: its economic decline. In fact, 52% of Americans believe that they are in a worse economic situation than four years ago; only 39% say things are better.
In a scathing critique of Kamala Harris’ campaign, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said “it should be no surprise that a Democratic Party that has abandoned the working class finds that the working class has abandoned it.” . Sanders continues: “First it was the white working class, and now it’s Latino and black workers too. »
PHOTO BRIAN SNYDER, ARCHIVES REUTERS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was joined on stage by metal workers at a campaign event in Pennsylvania last month.
Mr. Sanders, who is among the most left-leaning U.S. elected officials, was referring to exit polls that showed Trump gaining ground among these minority groups. In 2020, 59% of Latino men voted for Joe Biden, compared to 44% for Trump; in 2024, these numbers reversed, with 36% supporting Harris and 54% supporting Trump. Latina women also shifted their vote, giving 69% to Biden and 30% to Trump in 2020, compared to 61% to Harris and 37% to Trump in 2024.
Among black voters, the proportion who supported Trump increased by 1 percentage point from four years ago, while among women, the vote for Harris increased by 2 percentage points. Among all other nonwhites, 58% of voters chose Biden in 2020, compared to 38% for Trump, while 50% went for Harris in 2024, compared to 45% for Trump.
Why these changes? Partly because Latino voters are not particularly woke. Apparently, many took issue with Democrats’ use of the neutral term “Latinx” to describe both Latinos and Latinas.
Instead, they were concerned with subsistence issues and were dissatisfied with Harris’s proposals. As for women’s votes, abortion was not the mobilizing factor Democrats wanted, perhaps because there were also other women’s rights at stake that Republicans were interested in. Trump’s proposed transgender sports ban has appealed to voters angry at transgender athletes competing against women and girls.
So yes, Trump is a fascist. But “ordinary people,” the “silent majority,” whatever you call them, feel disconnected from a distracted left that no longer defends the fundamental concerns of workers: paying the rent, feeding the children and build a better future for their family.
Working class Americans are tired of being told they are deplorable and trash. They want politicians who promise simple things, and who they believe understand them. Unless progressives finally hear this message, they will not win back the White House.
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