Reich: Trump and Republicans have embraced these 'five elements of fascism'

Reich: Trump and Republicans have embraced these 'five elements of fascism'
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich testifies before the Joint Economic Committee January 16, 2014 in Washington, DC. Reich joined a panel testifying on the topic of "Income Inequality in the United States.Ó (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images).
Brandon Gage
June 17, 2023Bank

Former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich on Saturday identified five factors that underscore how far down the right-wing rabbit hole twice-indicted ex-President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have dragged American politics.

"'Authoritarianism' isn't adequate" to "describe what Trump wants for America," Reich wrote in a Guardian opinion column. "It is fascism. Fascism stands for a coherent set of ideas different from – and more dangerous than – authoritarianism."

Reich noted what he believes differentiates fascism from mere authoritarianism.

READ MORE: What's the endgame for the party of violence?

According to Reich, Trump and the GOP have embraced the following:

Rejection of democracy in favor of a strongman depends on galvanizing popular rage.

Popular rage draws on a nationalism based on a supposed superior race or ethnicity.

That superior race or ethnicity is justified by social Darwinist strength and violence, as exemplified by heroic warriors.

Strength, violence and the heroic warrior are centered on male power.

Those tenets, Reich concluded, "are not the elements of authoritarianism. They are the essential elements of fascism."

READ MORE: Robert Reich: 'Corporate price-gouging' can be a strong issue for Democrats in 2024

Reich's full editorial continues here.

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