Trump will go full-blown 'fascist' as his legal problems worsen: journalist

28 July 2023

Former President Donald Trump's legal problems went from bad to worse on Thursday, July 27 when special counsel Jack Smith expanded his prosecution in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Trump was already facing a 37-count federal criminal indictment, but Smith added more charges. And another co-defendant, Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira, was indicted.

Attorney Ty Cobb, who represented Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, told CNN's Erin Burnett that Smith had made the case against Trump even more "overwhelming."

Moreover, many legal experts believe that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results are likely to result in two more indictments: a federal indictment by Smith, and an indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for the State of Georgia.

In a sobering article published on July 28, The New Republic's Michael Tomasky has a warning: the worse Trump's legal problems become, the more Trump and his devoted followers will go full-blown "fascist."

"Fascism developed its modern meaning in Italy in the 1920s, under Benito Mussolini," Tomasky explains. "He coined the term in 1919. He ascribed to it certain attributes — absolute state power over private enterprise, racial superiority of the majority group — but it really revolved around the power of the dictator, the dictator's emotional connection to his followers, and their complete obeisance to him…. I once saw a clip of Adolf Hitler giving a speech. After he was introduced and the applause quieted, he stood silent at the podium for almost a minute before he started speaking, quietly."

Tomasky continues, "That minute was fascism. That is what Donald Trump wants. He already has it, in the sense that his rallies are fascist rallies. His backers surrender themselves to him in a way that small-d democratic admirers of Barack Obama and George W. Bush did not."

Trump, Tomasky stresses, has a "mystical bond" with his followers," and that bond will only "grow deeper" if the "next two indictments" become a reality.

"Trump's lies will intensify," Tomasky warns. "His movement will become more openly fascistic. The law is the surest way to stop all this, but even convictions won't end it. They'll keep him out of the White House, most likely, but the Republican Party has probably been permanently transformed."

Read The New Republic's full article at this link (subscription required).

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