[View here as a Twitter thread]
(Thread) Is Donald Trump a fascist? Yes, of course. Asking the question—and having a national conversation about the answer—could save the nation from fascism. Here’s what I mean. #TrumpIsAFascist
1/ Trump expertly controls the media. He has turned the presidency into Reality TV by creating an endless cycle of crises and spectacle—the exact techniques used by Putin, which is exactly how modern day fascists take control. What do I mean see Timothy Snyder, Road to Unfreedom.
2/ Part of the strategy—also from Putin—is to tell a stream of outrageous lies, which keeps everyone playing “Whack-A-Lie.” Nobody can focus on what matters. Another reason the strategy works: Refuting a lie reinforces the lie and gives the lie airtime.
3/ Consider why “her emails” sank so deeply into the public consciousness that so many people believed HRC committed an imprisonable offense (she didn’t). Even people who didn’t think she committed a crime felt a nagging doubt. How did the hoodwinking happen?
4/ Because the same point was hammered day after day, month after month. After a while, people heard “her emails” and “crime” in the same sentence so often they felt a nagging doubt. Also HRC defenders were forced to keep saying: “Hillary did not commit a crime.”
5/ Notice that the sentence “Hillary did not commit a crime” also contains the sentence “Hillary did commit a crime.” The brain has a way of dropping the word “not.” Simply framing the question: “Did Hillary commit a crime” is damaging.
6/ Think how much more effective the strategy is when the accusation is true and a “yes” answer is justified. Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder, Jason Stanley @jasonintrator, Madeline Albright @madeleine & others offer expert analysis on the question of whether Trump is a fascist.
7/ One of my followers was flummoxed when a RW friend of his gave this list 
. The left column is a list of things that have about as much to do with fascism as hair color. (My follower read up on fascism, then went back to continue the discussion with his RW friend.)
8/ Another follower pointed out that RWers are uploading videos explaining that Trump is not a fascist twitter.com/al3xandrovich3… The video same tactics as the chart: Confuse people with absurd definitions of fascism, mix in some whataboutism and random distortions.
9/ Some people, of course, will believe whatever the RW tells them. But every time RWers say “Trump is not a fascist” they are reinforcing the possibility that Trump IS a fascist. It’s not the conversation they want to be having.
10/ Instead of spending lots of time refuting each lie, what if we state the truth, then say: “There was another lie. You know, lying (propaganda) is a feature of fascism.” And then launch into a discussion about the relationship between fascist uprisings and lies.
11/ When Trump attacks the media, we say, “Attacking the media is a feature of fascism. As professor so-and-so says. . .” When Trump implies that minorities are not fully American, we say, “Victimizing minorities is a feature of fascism.” See where I’m going with this?
12/ Here’s how I read 538’s chart: Trump has been as low as 36% approval in the aggregate, so he can get there again. If he falls to 36%, the GOP will lose big in the midterms. Trump is now at 40%. Both sides are fighting for that (sway-able) 4%
13/ Fact: Fascists are bad. Everyone knows that —which is why the Right Wing is arguing that Trump isn’t one. Let’s force the Trump-GOP to own their fascism. Here’s how a few scholars define fascism: From Paxton: Fascism is a cult of leadership.
