IS THE USA GOING FASCIST?

 

For most the announcement by three internationally known academics on Fascism, including the famed Yale Professor Timothy Snyder, that “We have written on Fascism and are leaving” was met with bored indifference. However it stirred a debate among opinion makers and academics. By Trump’s own admission and policy documents he is definitely creating the most autocratic Presidency in American history. So the question is are these authorities right and if so can the Trump regime succeed? One fact is for certain he is the most powerful leader since WW11 in terms of influence and power akin to FDR, Stalin, Churchill and Hitler. 

For Fascism to morph from a democracy a number of circumstances have to be present. In effect it is a coup.

TRUMP AN ASPIRATIONAL FASCIST?

Ruth Ben - Ghiat ,who has written the definitive volume on dictators, has likened Trump to Mussolini and argues that Project 25, which is the Heritage Foundation’s detailed handbook to turn the Federal Government on its head and concentrate power in the executive is comparable to the Italian dictator’s Laws for the Defense of the State. Trump’s “Agenda 47” is also considered by some as Fascist.

 Retired General McCaffery observed that the 47th President statements were reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s. Retired General Kelly Trump’s former Chief of Staff is one of the many others who maintained that the President fitted the definition of a Fascist. In a poll that preceded the 2024 election 49 percent of the electorate agreed that the Republican candidate was, “a political extremist who seeks to act as a dictator, disregards individual rights and threatens or uses force against their opponents”. 

For those that need reminding Trump still does not accept that he lost the 2020 election where he had a multi faceted approach to staying in office which terminated with his followers storming the Capitol where President Biden's election was being ratified. Trump's Vice President who was guiding the process was threatened with death while Trump watched for hours. In coming into office in 2025 he immediately pardoned 1600 insurrectionists who had stormed the Capitol and called the date, January 6, “a day of love”. Had the January 6 rioters succeeded in preventing Biden being ratified the situation would have been ripe for a coup.

 So let’s go the whole hog and compare Trump’s America with that of Hitler’s Germany and see why Fascism is not likely going to be the outcome. 

HOW A DEMOCRACY MORPHS INTO A FASCIST GOVERNMENT.

Jay H. Ell believes there are a number of components that stack up before a democracy can morph into a Fascist government. These include a once in a generation charismatic gifted leader, a torrid economic and social situation, a victim ethos, a pariah demographic to blame, a belief in an “Ubermensch”, a weak constitutional order with an objective particularly to break the rule of law, weak institutions and territories to conquer. Also the process has to be rapid. 

No one can argue that Trump isn’t a phenom. He has literally taken over an established party in a two party state in the most powerful nation in the world and turned it into a cult. Hitler revolutionized the campaigning of his time. Trump too went from place to place and utilized modern day communication systems like the internet and reality TV while in Germany it was the sound systems, radio and the news reel. Without revolutionary media systems there could not have been a threat to the established constitutional order of the two countries.

With regard to the economic situation Trump inherited the best post Covid financial situation in the world but with his rhetoric mesmerism he persuaded enough of the electorate that he could return the economy to pre Covid levels. Post WW1 Germany was chaotic with grotesque inflation and over 30 percent unemployment. Hitler had no need to create a false reality.

Both leaders wailed that their nations were victims. Germany apparently lost the war as a result of traitors from the inside while America had been played for as suckers by the world who rip off America with their subsidized cheap goods. Both used social Darwinism to define who the real citizens of the country were and are. In Hitler’s Germany it was the white Aryan race and in Trump’s America it is the white Christians. Jews were also central to both polemics - in Germany they were the cause of  the decay of the culture and professions, exploitative capitalism and Godless Communism while in America they were ostensibly the reason, as a result of unchecked campus anti semitism, to takeover and defund the Universities blocking even their medical research.

 The bogeymen in Germany were first and foremost the Jews, the gypsies, the feebleminded and the opposition traitors. In America it is the immigrants those legally and illegally here, the "lunatic scum" left and the "USA hating" Judges . Elimination of the bogeymen became the obsession of both Hitler and Trump. Hitler when the war was lost rather than feeding his troops and supplying ammunition reserved all his coffers for “The Final Solution”. Trump insanely is risking the American economy by the forceful, sadistic and cruel removal of millions who don’t fit his definition of being an American. He favors the white Afrikaners. That coupled with his paranoid introduction of tariffs and the ever growing deficit will put the country into at least recession territory.

America and Germany both wanted to expand their territories.“Lebensraum” as Germany labeled it. Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal are the stated objectives of Trump’s America.

THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GERMANY IN 1930’S v AMERICA IN 2020’S

Where America and Germany differed markedly in the attempt to create a dictatorship was the chaotic political, constitutional and economic situation Germany was in. America on the other hand, about as divided as ever. but with a relatively stable political, constitutional, institutional and economic situation. Also if the American economy goes sour the current perception is that it will be Trump that was responsible.

Germany had 9 political parties and each of these had paramilitary organizations. The Nazis and Communists were fighting in the streets The Chancellor wasn’t elected by the Legislative Reichstag and in any case no party or coalition was ever able to gain a majority. The President, Hindenburg, nominated the Chancellor from the Center Right even though they were never ever the majority party in the 1930’s. The President was also entitled to shut down the Reichstag and call an election.

 In 1930 the Nazis moved from being in the 9th place in the 1928 election, 2.6 percent of the electorate, to 2nd with over 18 percent.

 

In March 1932 there was a Presidential election and Hitler ran only to be defeated by 6,000,000 votes by Hindenburg. The next month, April 1932, saw Hindenburg calling another Reichstag election. Hitler won the most votes with 37 percent and the Communists come second with 14 percent. Hindenburg dissolved the legislature again in November 1932. This time the Nazis won with 34 percent. The President once again didn’t appoint Hitler as Chancellor. 

In January 1933 the economic and political situation worsened and Hindenburg reluctantly anointed the Nazi leader as Chancellor. Hindenburg declared yet another election but before it could take place the Reichstag was set on fire. An emergency was declared the constitution suspended and the rest is history. Trump had to wait 4 years after January 6 before he could have an election because that is what the Constitution said. 

SO WHERE IS TRUMP ON THE SCALE OF TRYING TO CREATE A FASCIST STATE?

It would have made more sense for Trump to take the slow path as did Erdogan, Orban and Modi to competitive authoritarianism to centralize power in America. Even his alter ego Putin bided his time. However he is 78, supposedly on term limits and at this stage of the game cannot prevent the midterm elections in 2026. He signed over a hundred Executive orders on day one and has appointed an ignorant, unlawful cabinet whose only unifying feature is blind loyalty to him and is in a race against time and reality.

So the 47th President is on tear with every Fascist move in the book from grabbing people off the streets and even those checking in with immigration authorities, questioning habeas corpus, intimidating judges, instructing the Justice Department to investigate his enemies, shipping the victims to foreign concentration camps, neutering liberal universities, suing the conventional media, using the Internal Revenue Service to investigate opponents, bye passing the Legislature by firing constitutional appointments and departments, ordering private corporations on how to run their businesses and on the verge of being found in contempt of court. 

Trump has one problem - a 250 year old Constitution that is still intact with regular elections going on all the time. There are 94 District Federal Courts, 12 Appeal and the final arbiter the Supreme Court. Trump has had a torrid time in the courts, which is a co - equal branch of Government, even though the Supreme Court has given him plenty of slack. Lately the center piece of his policy, "wonderful" tariffs has been declared unconstitutional. Bizarrely he is trying to weaken the Courts in the budget bill, to ban them from issuing contempt citations against him!

There is strong citizen involvement in American civic affairs and every day sees protests. The Resistance is gaining strength, see blog: April 26, “Trump - The Resistance Begins”. Trump has no insight as to the chaos his tariffs and budget might wreak.

The polls for a President at this stage are the worst in history. In the most recent bye election for the Mayor of Omaha Nebraska followed a familiar pattern since 2024 and saw a 12 year old Republican incumbent who had safely won her elections thrashed by 10 points by an African American candidate. Matters are only going to become worse as the contents of the Budget Bill become public and the impact of tariffs are felt. In addition 400 Presidents of Colleges are supporting Harvard in their litigation against the Trump regime while law firms have been created to challenge Trump abuses of power.

What is really going to be fascinating will be the events of June 14 where Trump’s Defense Department is organizing a military parade in Washington at a massive cost. It is also the President’s birthday. Indivisible and other protest organizations are calling a “National Day of Defiance - No Kings Day”. The infrastructures of these organizations are massive and growing. That day will truly be a test of the sentiment of the electorate.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Unless there is some unforeseen change in the public sentiment the Republicans will lose the House of Representatives in November which will, hopefully, herald the beginning of the end of this nightmare. 

TRUMP’S DEI PICK - WHITE AFRIKANERS

Amidst all the sturm und drang of Donald J. Trump strutting on the Arab Gulf stage like a colossus - stopping wars, making deals for himself and his billionaire buddies, selling meme coins, auctioning access to the Presidency, solving the tariff crises that he had initiated, dumping Netanyahu, graciously accepting personal 400 million dollar gifts, real estate deals, gutting the rule of law, and expelling legal and undocumented immigrants - 59 White Afrikaners from South Africa were brought to America by a chartered jet as refugees. Meanwhile back home there are protests everyday somewhere while fired scientists and academics are being courted throughout the world. Three internationally known experts on fascism Timothy Snyder, Marci Shore and James Robinson announced “We have written on fascism and are leaving”.

There is much to unpack here as to how on earth this oddity could have occurred. Why South Arica? Who are the Afrikaners?  Why did Trump who is dragging people off the streets ending the legal stay of 500 000 South American and over 100, 000 Afghani refugees and seriously considering ending the parole stay of a quarter million Ukrainians, favor this group for DEI, (diversity, equity and inclusion)? The latter being a concept that Trump and the Republicans ran against in 2024 while Elon Musk was sent to root out in every corner of the government bureaucracy, axing grants, welfare programs and US aid to the world poor. Musk’s official job was head of the Department of Government Efficiency - DOGE.

A good start is to try and explain to the uninitiated what DEI means in the American context.

DEI (DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION)

DEI has evolved into a vast, cultural, educational and economic complex. It is an attempt to document and correct historical inequities and discrimination. The whole exercise being ostensibly at the expense, of the white rural population and the white workers who were relegated from the middle class by the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs. Every minority or oppressed group was included from the LGBT and women, to notably those of color, particularly the African Americans. Politically great exception was taken to the resources afforded to brown immigrants and refugees from “shit hole” countries. 

The proponents of this DEI  undertaking were the “liberal elites” from the East and West coast and their Universities. DEI became an objective of Democratic government and business who attempted to further the cause of minorities generally. The issue became central to the populism of Trumpism which claimed to be the party of the neglected forgotten workers and rural inhabitants. 

What had started off by John F. Kennedy in 1963 under the term “affirmative action” in an attempt to redress past discrimination and increase opportunity for those victimized had grown extensively and now was subject to the most bizarre attacks and distortions such as “why should whites be made to feel guilty or uncomfortable about what happened in the past” and “the slaves were taught skills which they could use when freed”. If an accident occurred in governmental service the immediate argument was that this inefficiency or incompetence was as a result of DEI.

In January 2025 Donald J. Trump put an end to all governmental DEI programs with an Executive Order. They were to be shut down within 2 days. All members employed were to be put on administrative leave and eventually laid off. The 47th President claimed that “DEI efforts were illegal and immoral discriminatory programs and a public waste”. This included those involved in immigration and those immigrants who were already here as a result he believed under DEI philosophy.

So now we get to why in heavens name did he make his own DEI choice, the South African Afrikaners?

WHY THE SOUTH AFRICAN AFRIKANERS?

Allowing white South African Afrikaners special status was floated in the Trump first presidency. This idea followed a blast from Tucker Carlson who was then numero uno in Fox News. Tucker has fallen on tough times since then as he was axed by Rupert Murdoch following Fox’s nearly a billion dollars settlement in litigation by a company that Fox had alleged crooked their voting machines to give Biden the presidency in 2020. He has slipped off the radar and is not much of an influencer at the moment following a gushing interview with Vladimir Putin and a piece where he was shown extolling Russia while shopping in a wondrous Super Market there.

 Trump 2.0 surrounded himself with the white South African billionaires, the “Paypal Mafia”, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Dave Saks. Elon of course is the DOGE king who has wrecked havoc with America’s governmental institutions with his “chainsaw”. The Tesla founder has used the same criticism that Trump has leveled against the South African black government that they are “racist” and were  “genocidal against white farmers”. Incidentally the design of the Tesla Cybertruck is reminiscent of the Caspers used by the apartheid police which were a symbol of oppression. Just in case that makes Musk feel uncomfortable let him add the fact that he backed the far right party in the Germany election. Trump himself has some hairy incidents including the forced withdrawal of his recent nominee to be Attorney General of Columbia who championed a Nazi supporter who was a January 6 rioter, 

Trump signed an Executive Order halting all aid to South Africa echoing Musk’s claims and maintaining that the government was guilty of “massive Human Rights VIOLATION”. He threw the South African Ambassador out and the war of words is ongoing.

So who better to import than these White Afrikaners who in the words of the Deputy Secretary of State “did not pose any threat to national security and that they were easily assimilated into the country”. The 60 odd that arrived in North Virginia had been vetted and it has been reported that about 40 didn’t meet the criteria whatever they were. All in all 8,000 of this category have been said to have made “enquiries”.

But who are these people?

WHO ARE THE WHITE AFRIKANERS?

At the outset it be made crystal clear that labelling all Afrikaners as espousing a certain ideology is about as accurate as claiming everyone from the Southern States vote Republican. But there is a history and this demographic was chosen by Musk et al and invited by Trump for a reason. 

South Africa has a dark history and much like America for the first few hundred years of their existence the discussion was between the white groups - those of predominantly Dutch descent - the Afrikaners and those of British descent - the English. Unlike in America the English were on the British side against the Afrikaner war for independence  - the Boer War. The subsequent peace never negated the majority of Afrikaners to accept the result. As the mid twentieth century loomed the English side had a more but limited openness to black rights. 

The Afrikaner Nationalist Party surprisingly won the post WW11 election and heralded in constitutional apartheid. Apartheid was defined in all its brutality, cruelty, oppression and abrogation of the rule of law from the late 1950’s to about 1980 under the premierships of HF Verwoerd and BJ Vorster who held the reins for two decades. Both had sided with the Nazis in WW11. 

Verwoerd an ideologue who defined what became recognized as apartheid sprung to prominence by organizing a pre war protest march against the immigration of jews from Europe. He subsequently was successfully sued as editor of “Die Vaderland” for Nazi propaganda. From 1948 he was the power behind the scenes and was appointed Prime Minister in 1958. His strongman henchman as Minister of Justice was Vorster who succeeded him after he was assassinated in 1966. The latter was an open supporter of the Nazis and was interned as a result. The white political opposition to the Nationalist party gradually became more and more involved in expanding the rights of all peoples 

THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA

Fast forward to 1990 when an Afrikaner Willem De Klerk brokered a new South Africa partnering the icon Nelson Mandela whom he released from prison. He led a referendum among whites to change the Constitution. Following Mandela and his successor, Jacob Zuma became premier and when challenged as to his open corruption which permeated the governing ANC he stated he never was a member of the party to “become poor”.  His nominee for succession was narrowly beaten by Cyril Ramaphosa who hasn’t helped South Africa’s cause with America by siding with Iran and receiving a massive injection of cash from the latter to charge Israel with genocide at The Hague. He has earned the ire of South African Jews by threatening anyone who immigrated to Israel and was in the military returning to South Africa for any reason to be subject to arrest. Also his relationships with Russia and China have not endeared him to the democracies.

So where does leave the 60 or so white Afrikaner refugees?

THE WHITE AFRIKANER REFUGEES 

At the very least those that qualify for American refugee status have to believe in Trump and Musk’s mantra that the government is racist supporting genocide and land stealing. That these allegations are not supported by the facts is not relevant to them or theIr American benefactors. These people are the hangovers from the apartheid regime and the fact that they are classified as an ideal fit into American society has to be a cause for concern to Americans. 

The Refugee Convention’s updated protocol defining refugee status is someone who has a well founded fear of persecution based on their demographic or opinion. The fact that South Africa has a Constitution, which Ruth Bader Ginsberg maintained was the only one better than the American, a fearlessly independent Constitutional Court, the rule of law and habeas corpus has to make a claim of refugee status at kindest a far stretch - especially compared to the actual refugees who are being deported. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

This saga still has to play out however the fact that Trump elected this group as his DEI is another example as to who he believes is a true American and his blatant hypocrisy.

Instead of paying airlines to transport the Afrikaner refugees maybe he can lend his Qatari Boeing which need not be upgraded for the purpose.

TRUMP - “THE RESISTANCE” BEGINS

 

It is fair comment that Donald J. Trump the USA’s 47th President is attempting to turn America, a liberal democracy, into a dictatorship with neocolonial ambitions. In his zest to achieve his authoritarian goals he is reversing the American constitutional, political, legal, economic, cultural and moral order. His "executive orders" particularly on tariffs, deportation and flagrant violations of the Constitution have wreaked havoc within 90 days of his Inauguration. His solutions to the genocidal Russian attack on Ukraine have turned the 80 year old world order on its head.

The American Constitution was hammered out to prevent such a crisis but by sheer strength of personality, magnetic charisma, naked intimidation, sophistry, vindictiveness, amoral behavior and paranoia that America is the victim of a global conspiracy that includes penguin islands, bankrupt African states as well as China but not Russia, he has maneuvered himself into a position where he could achieve his stated objectives. 

The question is how can Trump, who has the reins of power, be resisted? The answer has to lie in the Constitutional safeguards, the institutions including non governmental that have evolved since the inception of the Republic and the citizens themselves  -  “We The People”. The latter have to be the basis of “THE RESISTANCE”. 

So off to how we got here and where we are now?

IN THE BEGINNING…….”WE THE PEOPLE” - THE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC

The American Republic has been out there for 250 years. It is the one British colony that not only won a war of independence it also created its own system of government ignoring the Westminster model. In so doing it created the aspirational “Jefferson democracy”. The subsequent Constitution began with the words, “We The People”. Ironically, it initially only applied to the white slave owners that wrote it as well as excluding the indigenous natives. 

The Constitution’s central aim was for America never to be ruled by a King. The Founders built in several features that distributed power on the Federal and State levels. Both the States and the Federal Government have three co equal branches - Legislative, Executive and Judicial. Their legislatures are divided into two separate chambers - Senate  and the House of Representatives. It needs to be emphasized that States have vast powers as well. 

There were the Constitutional Amendments, Bill of Rights, which include “Freedom of Speech” which allows for all opinions and protests. Americans are enamored with the law and their Judicial System as so many TV series prove. It is after all the basis of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights that “No person shall be deprived …. of life, liberty or happiness without due process pf law”. Furthermore Jefferson had proclaimed in The Declaration of Independence that “ it is self evident that ALL men, (sic), were endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”.

 

WHERE MATTERS STAND TODAY

Today there are a 100 Senators and 438 House Representatives in the Federal Government. The latter as well as the 50 States all holding House of Representative elections every 2 years and Senate elections every 4 years. The State officers and legislators elections usually coincide with Federal races. Then City Councils have their determinations every two years in non Federal/State years. School boards, half of their members a year before and  the other half after a presidential election. All these literally thousands of elections preceded by “Primaries” where the two parties elect their representatives Then there are the interminable bye elections in all these constituencies. In sum America is in “status electionius”. “We the People” in addition write, call, protest, demand town halls with their elected representatives.

Currently, the Executive headed by The President, although being extremely powerful, is subject to constitutional limitations  afforded to the citizenry and the institutions that evolved. Within the Federal Government there is the control of the purse and tariffs by The House of Representatives; ratification of the cabinet by The Senate; declaration of war by Congress and the electoral process itself- by the individual states. The tenets of the Constitution such as “all men were created equal” and “due process” are also overriding. Crucially the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional is up to the Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court.

So how far has “The Resistance” put a brake on Trump’s transparent bid for a dictatorship who has made it quite clear that there is no need for all these separations of power as “he alone can fix it”?

 HOW IS “THE RESISTANCE” FARING?

The Legislature - The Senate. The Republican Senate chamber failed catastrophically in its most important constitutional responsibility by ratifying the most enabling, lawless, callous, incompetent, inexperienced, wealthiest, cabinet whose only common denominator was an undying, loyalty to Donald J. Trump - “their leader right or wrong”. There are stirrings of remorse with 7 Republicans protesting Trump’s illegal tariffs on Canada and a bipartisan request by the Armed Services Committee for an investigation into Defense Secretary Hegseth’s classified information discussions on public internet channels Also there is open strong support for Ukraine in the Senate.

The good news is that there are Senate elections in 18 months time and the GOP Senate majority is only three.

The Legislature - The House of Representatives. The Republican controlled House is wracked by division and has achieved next to nothing in the first half of the year other than a general agreement that a slightly changed Biden budget continue till September. 2025. There is no way on earth that they can pass a Trump budget without Democratic support. Over 20 Republicans have said that they won’t support drastic cuts to Medicaid while 70 have claimed that that they will not support anything unless it is offset by cuts. 

The good news is that out of a chamber of 438 members the Republicans have majority of only 4 with elections in 18 months. 

The Judiciary - Federal Courts. As Trump hasn’t got working majorities in Congress he has to issue “executive orders” to attempt to implement his coup over the Constitution. His over a hundred orders have been challenged in Court and he has been on the wrong side of the law in all but a few of the cases. Up till now all the courts below the Supreme Court have been scathing at the lawlessness of the Trump administration. There have been judgements including phrases such as "bad faith", "flagrant abuse of power" and "contempt of court". The final arbiter is the Supreme Court - a body that has two thirds of its members nominated by Republican presidents, three of which Trump is personally responsible for.

The Judiciary are supposedly a co - equal branch of government but the Supreme Court is reaping the rewards of the monster they created by giving a President immunity from criminal prosecution for any acts that he does in relation to his office thereby ceding their constitutional responsibility. However it would appear that they, The Executive, ie Trump and his administration, are now on very thin ice. In two Supreme Court rulings where rare majorities of 9 - 0 and 7 - 2 have been recorded in which Trump was enjoined to get the return of a deportee and afford him due process and in the other litigation buses of potential deportees were turned around at 1.00am  on a Saturday morning.

The bad news - this Supreme Court obviously believes in a strong Executive. The good news - on strict interpretation of the actual words of The Constitution they appear they don't want to be messed with. The bad or good news is that the Supreme Court have now a crucial role to play in "The Resistance".

While obviously Trump’s executive orders have to be challenged in Federal Courts they impact individuals in States. This fact gives the Attorney Generals in Democratic controlled States “standing” to be plaintiffs in a litany of Trump’s actions to convert America into an autocracy which they have successfully executed.

HOW ARE “WE THE PEOPLE” AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS IN “THE RESISTANCE” FARING?

Ultimately, as described above, the citizens of America, who are in very close contact with their representatives at every level have to make their voice heard. Those in office are subject to frequent elections, have infrastructures that answer queries and are responsive to calls and complaints. In addition there are several non governmental organizations as well as places of higher learning and the social media where resistance is growing.

As reflected in previous blogs Trump and Musk have evoked spontaneous opposition and the Democrats have arisen from the dead. The latest Pew Poll shows Trump's disapproval rating at 59 percent with 88 percent of those surveyed believing that he should obey a Supreme Court ruling. Even worse for him is that he is deeply under water on the economy. The day to day protests are snowballing throughout America and what is fascinating is that they are not only on financial, tariff and social net issues but include freedom of speech, due process and Ukraine as key priorities. 

What really is interesting from a sociological point of view is that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare have become part of the American scene. They are no longer wedge issues. The change was made clear when the left wing flag bearers of the Democrats, Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Occasio - Cortez, drew hundreds of thousands in red and blue constituencies at recent rallies at least 20 percent of whom weren't Democrats.

 Republican Congresspeople  when they show up to Town Halls, are being hammered. So much so have the traditional Town Halls become fodder for anger that the Republican National Committee has issued a memo instructing that Republican members of Congress not to hold them!

There have been two national days of protest. Interestingly neither has attempted to have millions in Washington but rather concentrated in having them held in cities, towns, hamlets throughout America. The protestors held their own home made placards in streets, Federal buildings, town squares and Musk’sTesla dealerships.

The first national protest was organized by a new movement, “Hands Off”, in at least 1400 venues with an estimated 800,000 to 2,000,000 attending. The second a fortnight later was put together by another new organization, “50501”. This was to signify 50 protests in the capitals of all 50 states with one message. There were at least 700 gatherings through out the country. Jay H. Ell attended both rallies at the same center and the second one had double the participants.

 In the background of all this opposition is the organization “Indivisible”.which has been going since Trump 1. In 2017 it had nearly 4,000 affiliates. It has grown exponentially since, and was founded by Ezra Levin. “Run for Something”, was established at the same time but has really taken off since Trump 2, reporting that they have had 40,000 requests for advice to do just that. David Hogg at 25 years old is a veteran of protest having been a survivor of the 2018 Parkland School massacre. He has led marches of up to a million people. He now is the founder of the influential “Leaders We Deserve” and a Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Both Hogg and Levin were named by Time as two of the 100 most influential people in America.

What really is glaring is that there aren’t demonstrations or at least counter demonstrations in support of the cult leader. Even the freed members of The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are staying at home.

With regard to the media it is really only the social internet that matters. The traditional outlets are largely echo chambers with dwindling audiences. Some of them have already sold out in the erroneous belief that they would be the recipients of largesse. All they received were front row seats to Trump’s inaugural where if they had any shame they would have dropped dead on the spot. So the “Meidas Touch”  team are going gangbusters with literally up to the minute commentaries. They have overtaken Bro Joe Rogan in viewership. Not far behind is Brian Taylor Cohen and several others. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

The Resistance  has only begun and has a long way to go. The Democrats to seal the deal have to create a relatable platform and bring in fresh young blood. The Democrats have to present a manifesto that is in tune with the times. Essentially they need a leader who can weld a coalition together. If the polls are right Americans are generally happy with the America that exists. They believe in fairness, a country that works, a social safety net and a law and order liberal society where there is controlled fair immigration. The majority want better lives which simplistically could be achieved by spread of the wealth they have helped create, affordable health care and an opportunity for an education that won’t cripple them financially for life . 

Regardless the country and the world is in for a chaotic ride for the next few years. America’s international position has been degraded as it can no longer be trusted as the leader of the free world which honors it’s commitments and treaties.The brain drain is reversing. A small University in France advertised 20 posts for scientists and received 400 applications, mainly from the USA. 

The skills and finesse needed to avoid a recession as a result of these scatterbrained, ever-changing, ill thought out policies, DOGE and tariffs are not currently in evidence in Trump and his cabinet.

The public arrest by FBI Director, Kash Patel, of a Wisconsin State Judge for allegedly not handing over in court an undocumented immigrant only has to have had an equal in Nazi Germany. The lack of insight of the defenders of this thuggery, particularly Fox News, who are using the argument that no one is above the law, is stunning.

Perhaps the only criticism that Trump would understand is the words of his billionaire supporter Ken Griffin, "Trump is bad for  America's brand. Can be a lifetime to repair the damage".