Authoritarian expert unveils Trump’s 'new MAGA propaganda theme'

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally to mark his 100th day in office, at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, U.S., April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

According to a leading expert on authoritarianism, President Donald Trump has seized on a “new MAGA propaganda theme” that has been used by autocrats for over a century. The “trick” is “not subtle,” and involves labeling everyone and anyone who opposes Trump as “communists.” What’s more, she warns, the president and his allies may use this as a justification for a “crackdown” on their opponents.

This is according to fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University and the author of Strongman: Mussolini to the Present, who via a series of posts on Wednesday explained why Trump and the Republicans have renewed old Red Scare, communist-baiting tactics.

Ben-Ghiat began by sharing a video of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), in which he declared that “the Bolshevik takeover of the Democratic Party is in full swing” and that “communism is on the ballot this November.” “Bolshevik?” mused Ben-Ghiat. “How retro, a return to the original Fascist counter-revolutionary rhetoric and action … Conjuring Communism in all its forms is apparently the new MAGA propaganda theme.”

She followed this with a clip of Trump claiming that communists are trying to blow up Mount Rushmore. According to Ben-Ghiat, the president’s intention was “not subtle.” As she explained, the “new party line is to associate Communists with every crime, every offense. Create a sense of Communist threat to justify a rightwing crackdown. Old playbook used with coups and Fascist takeovers.”

Next came a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio ranting about communists. As Ben-Ghiat explained, “Propaganda is about repetition: the group you want to smear must be mentioned negatively over and over again. When you are conjuring a largely imaginary enemy, you must redouble your efforts. That's what is happening here.” This was followed by an all-caps repost from House Republicans that declared, “WE WILL STOP COMMUNISM,” to which Ben-Ghiat replied, “Are we getting the point about propaganda requiring repetition with tiny variations in messaging?”

With the November elections looming, in which the Republicans are expected to take major losses, Ben-Ghiat warns that such talk suggests Trump and his allies are willing to take extreme measures to stay in power. As she writes, “Again, all of a sudden commies are The Enemy. Students of propaganda, track the diff in messaging from a month ago. Goal is likely to justify a crackdown for ‘national security’ reasons, conveniently staged just before the midterms.”

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