Trump is something worse than a fascist [View all]

[marmar]

Trump is something worse than a fascist
We've been using the wrong word to describe the president and his approach to ruling

By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published January 15, 2026 6:30AM (EST)


(Salon) Two weeks into the new year, the Trump administration has already deposed a foreign leader, bombed several countries, threatened to invade several more, unleashed a secret police force on the city of Minneapolis — killing one protester, shooting an immigrant in the leg and brutalizing many others — and started a criminal investigation, based on bogus evidence, on the chair of the Federal Reserve. It’s a lot. So perhaps it’s not entirely surprising that Donald Trump giving a two-hour interview to the New York Times has been somewhat ignored.

That’s too bad. Considering all those events and more, the conversation is an interesting insight into his thinking. As much as we think we know about how his mind works, the president’s interview with four Times reporters showed that he has evolved into something much more dangerous than he was in his first term.

....(snip)....

The better definition for Trumpism is an ancient word that should nonetheless be familiar to anyone who recalls the founding ideals of this country: tyranny. Plato saw it as an inevitable consequence of democracy, when a quest for freedom leads to excess and the populace demands a strongman. He defined it, more or less, as rule for himself rather than the common good, maintained under a system of fear and violence, and characterized by repression of the citizenry — particularly those who are educated and ethical — while relying on lackeys to carry out the tyrant’s wishes and whims.

....(snip)....

You can see this in Trump’s character every day. He is not interested in ideology or philosophy. The president believes in himself and himself alone, and he has been so successful at evading all accountability for everything he’s done in his life that he sees himself as invulnerable. That has freed him to rule completely by whim. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/01/15/trump-is-something-much-worse-than-a-fascist/