September 30, 2025
Some of those on the left are recklessly and incorrectly calling Donald Trump, everyone who works for him, and those who support him fascists and Nazis, and labeling the federal agents following his orders as the Gestapo.
Their goal, of course, is to fire up their followers and produce the most negative picture of Trump and his administration.
And they are using language that is largely knowingly inaccurate and deliberately threatening. Why? Because more accurate, less radical language does not get the desired response from the chosen audience.
But these radical words may lead to violence and threats, and quite possibly already have.
One example of this is that Delegate Kim Taylor, a Virginia Republican, recently received what she described as a politically motivated death threat. Taylor references a comment made by Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger that she feels is one of the things that raised political tensions, and that may have encouraged the threat she received.
Spanberger used a rallying cry in a campaign speech earlier this year for her supporters to “let your rage fuel you!” Appealing to rage is not a sensible approach.
On the question of whether Trump is a fascist, that subject was addressed in an article in The Hill last December by opinion contributor Jeremy Etelson.
He addresses things Trump has done that are clearly not fascist: “During an existential emergency like a global pandemic, a fascist would not delegate decision-making authority to the decentralized state governments. A fascist would not attempt to limit the scope of public-private censorship. A fascist would not appoint judges and justices who interpret the Constitution in an originalist way that minimizes the authority of the federal government and its executive branch,” he explained.
“A fascist would not end nebulous wars and avoid starting new ones. A fascist would not embrace and empower a diverse coalition of dissenting members of the opposing party who retain their divergent ideological viewpoints. And a fascist certainly would not sit down for hours-long interviews with counterculture, nonconformist stand-up comedians like Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Andrew Schulz. In classic non-fascist fashion, Trump did each of these things.”
The things Trump is trying to accomplish may not be popular with some, but they are generally legal, constitutional and sensible.
For example, finding and removing from our land those “migrants” who have entered the country illegally. Many of them are wanted for crimes in their native country, and/or have committed crimes here. This is something every American should support.
Yet thousands of Americans protest I.C.E. agents doing their job when they attempt to arrest illegals, and even physically interfere with them, and damage cars and other equipment.
If there are people working in the federal government who have disregarded their oaths and duties, then they should resign, and if not, they should be fired. If they have committed crimes, they deserve to be prosecuted.
Yet, there is great wailing and gnashing of teeth about those persons being removed from the federal payroll.
Republicans/conservatives essentially want a country that adheres to the original concepts that our Founders established, and are working toward re-establishing them. Many Democrats/liberals/socialists, on the other hand, want to change some of those original ideals.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees each of us the right to free speech, meaning that we can say pretty much what we want, short of inciting violence or other dangerous things. So, those who do not support the ideals that the Republicans/conservatives support certainly are constitutionally permitted to think and speak about their ideals. But they should do that without using language that not only encourages anger and potential violence, but is demonstrably false, or excessively exaggerated.
Perhaps one reason so many people so readily accept the charge that Trump is a fascist, Nazi, or whatever, is that they were not presented with a true course of history, or the truth about the ideals of the formation and development of the United States of America. And that miseducation, like much of the current flood of false radical language, is a result of leftist political action.
While students are not responsible for an education system that failed them, as Americans, they have the responsibility to conduct themselves in an acceptable manner. This applies to those of all political philosophies.
Even if Trump actually is a fascist or a Nazi, and if his policies are actually tenets of fascism or Nazism, the way to get rid of him and his policies is at the ballot box, not through inciting anger, or violence, or misusing the legal system.
Violent speech or actions are tools of weakness, used by those who are unable to achieve their goals through proper and acceptable methods.
Violence is not an acceptable way for Americans to act, and is not even acceptable behavior for any human being to use to correct things he or she dislikes.
Further, continued violent actions will eventually encourage more violence, perhaps in the form of responses from the side that has been the victim of the original violence.
The political rhetoric and behavior must be toned down. We must force ourselves to behave honorably, and work peacefully toward our political aims.
