How did we get here?
The Republican nominee for president is "fascist to the core." He should be behind by 80 points.
I try to be positive here. And I am generally optimistic about the results of the November election, provided we continue to do the work to get out every voter we can. But last night, just before bed, it really hit me that millions — tens of millions — of U.S. voters are willing to cast a vote for an actual fascist.
Not just a wannabe fascist, but an actual Nazi-admiring fascist who intends to rule like a dictator.
I turned off the TV, clicked off the light, and slept restlessly.
Tens of millions of U.S. voters are willing to cast a vote for an actual Nazi-admiring fascist.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump. Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”
- General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump
“Certainly the former president is…an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.
- General John F. Kelly, former Secretary of Homeland Security under Trump, and his longest-serving chief of staff
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders”
- Donald Trump
I mean, what party supports a candidate for president in 2024 who praises Hitler?
And why am I hearing the phrase “statistical tie” every damn day?
Now some voters do not know Trump is a fascist; there is an effective right-wing propaganda effort that’s keeping important stories out of the headlines, creating confusion around facts, and manipulating the truth.
Some voters won’t believe he is a fascist; they’ve decided Trump is “just joking” when he tells us who he is and what he plans to do. They’ve decided that reliable narrators who worked closest with Trump, like Generals John Kelly and Mark Milley are part of some non-existent deep-state conspiracy. They think this is a whole lot of noise about nothing.
What disturbs me most though, are the voters who know Trump is a fascist, they know he admires Hitler, they know that Nazi flag-waving supporters show up at his rallies because they are safe there.
They know Trump wants to rule over America as a dictator, they know he has vowed to turn the military against American citizens, imprison his opposition, punish journalists, and destroy lives — but they don’t care.
These voters want to own the libs.
They want to stick it to immigrants.
They want their millionaire tax breaks.
They want to end abortion.
They think they’ll “shake up the system.”
They think he’ll lower the cost of eggs.
They think he’ll protect his guns.
They think men are better leaders.
They think if college-educated “elites” hate him, he must be doing something right.
Whatever the purported reason for their support, does it matter?
Tens of millions of Americans have decided that they can justify a vote for a “fascist to the core” president who praises Hitler and vows to do all the violent, cruel, vengeful, anti-American, anti-democratic things that fascists do.
As Heather Cox Richardson and Rachel Bitecoffer reminded us this week, Hitler was sworn in on January 30. By March, the Dachau concentration camp was open.
It can happen here, and it can happen fast.
I really grappled with sharing this. Maybe it’s just one of those posts I bang out and then leave in drafts forever.
Instead, I’m closing my eyes, taking a breath, and clicking publish. Because I need to do everything in my power to make sure Kamala Harris is the next President of the United States of America.
Even if there are only a few thousand of us here, we’ve all got friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues we can talk to.
We must.
Not just about why Trump is wrong, but why Harris is right.
So yes, last night I went to sleep shaken that I am sharing a country with millions of people who hear someone praise Hitler and think, “That’s our guy!” But I will not wallow in despondency, because I believe in us.
I believe in America. I really do.
Let’s get out there and win this for all of us.
Maybe I’m more proud of you for this post than anything you’ve ever written (and there have been so many glorious reads). Or maybe this one brought up the vile in my stomach, clenched fists, and a lump in my throat. I took heart with Carvelle’s Op Ed in the Times today, but I’m still clutching my pears and wetting the bed.
I feel the same way. You have really hit the core of the feelings so many of us have right now. James Carville hit me in a very similar way. Thank you from my heart!