It is true that Trump is not a fascist in power, yet. The US still has key elements of bourgeois democracy, although they are being undermined. While Trump has been attacking democracy for years, he cannot fully undermine it until he establishes an open dictatorship.

We have a fascist president who has been destroying elements of bourgeois democracy one by one. He systematically attacks all norms of bourgeois democracy, and democratic rights. For example he fills the supreme courts with reactionary “pro-life”  justices to overthrow abortion rights and Obama care which is critical in times of pandemic.

In the style of Mussolini

Like a good fascist in the style of Mussolini, Trump declared that he will not give up power regardless of the elections’ results. When he climbed to the White House’s balcony saluting like Mussolini, he knew exactly what he was doing. It was a declaration: “I am a Mussolini and I intend to act like a Mussolini”.

Let’s not forget that Mussolini did not construct a fascist dictatorship overnight. He slowly eroded elements of democracy until he grabbed enough power to declare Italy to be a fascist country that later aligned with Hitler. Trump is also eroding elements of democracy, with the intention to destroy all of them as he is becoming the saviour, in reality, a dictator, who supposedly “saves”  America from anarchism and socialism.

Even more importantly, Trump supports White Supremacy and fascist movements that are becoming mass movements. He tells them to stand by and wait for his instructions. When Trump gives them the green light, there is no doubt that this could be signal for a mass uprising by fascist groups, armed to the teeth. As the fascists are growing right now at an exponential rate, even the FBI warns that they are a serious danger for democracy.

But as long as the US has clear elements of bourgeois democracy (and this is being undermined by Trump), even Trump cannot get away with declaring openly that he is a fascist. And he does not need such a declaration. What is important is how he behaves and what he does in support of the fascist militias.

Trump never hid his admiration for fascist dictators and Bonapartism in countries such as Hungry and Russia. Trump made a number of references about his admiration for those with “good blood”, that is, the “pure”  blood of fascists, White Supremacists and supposedly the blood of white people in general, which fascists believe is better than Jewish and non-white people’s blood.

Henry Ford was a fascist

Henry Ford’s descendants, like the current chairman of Ford, Bill Ford, who had introduced the president in one of Trump’s rallies, has “good blood”, according to Trump. Henry Ford was a fascist, and Trump praise of Ford’s “good blood”  is a declaration that fascists have “good pure white people blood”.

 This is a declaration of an outright fascist and nothing else. Let not forget that Henry Ford was a Nazi who praised Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Trump said that Ford should be in heaven! By saying that reactionary white capitalists like Ford have a “good”  blood, Trump implied that Black people don’t have a good blood. In fact, he never seriously tried hide his racism.

But the most important thing, the key for deciding whether Trump is a fascist, can be seen in his encouragement for a growth of a mass fascist movement in the US, which he only praises. He repeatedly refused to criticize the growing White Supremacist/fascist movement. He unleashed unmarked special forces against progressives, anarchists, and leftist protesters.

And to top all of the above, Trump once told an interviewer that “I’m proud to have that German blood”. These are the words of a Nazi sympathizer.

Even more importantly, Trump praised the growing fascist militias in the US. He told the Proud Boys to “stand down and stand by”; he has thousands of fascists in militias at his disposal, waiting for his instruction to start a fascist uprising. The Proud Boys were excited when Trump told them to stand by. They see Trump as their leader who encourages them to attack leftists, anarchists, and protesters.

I think it is very dangerous for a socialist to underestimate the danger of fascism in the US, where the fascists grow at an astonishing rate. American society is deeply polarized. But unfortunately, the polarization is not clearly based on classes (which are ultimately always behind any polarization). It is conservatives versus liberals and “moderates”. The “conservatives”, that it, the Republican Party is moving in the direction of fascism. It is splitting, as Republican politicians who don’t want to be associated with fascism and Trump are crossing the line and joining the Democratic Party.

Those who refuse to acknowledge that Trump supports fascism, are repeating the terrible mistakes from the 1930s. The Stalinists minimized the danger of Nazism, as they attacked the Social Democrats as “social fascists”.

A united front of CP workers

Only a united front of CP workers with the Social Democrats workers could have had a chance to defeat the fascists in Germany. As a result of the Stalinist refusal to form a united front with the Social Democrats against the fascists, the unity of the working class against fascism was undermined, and the fascists took power without much resistance from the working class, which Trotsky characterized as catastrophic.

Those who minimize the danger of Trump and his white supremacist/fascist supporters do a disservice to the working class and the fight for socialism. This kind of talk lulls the working class and keeps it asleep. It is essential to mobilize the working class, and particularly its oppressed Black and Latinos sections, against the growing threat of Trump and his fascist thugs.

If Trump’s talk about a civil war comes true, the workers, the Left, and the progressive people who want to fight for democracy and socialism, will have no choice but to defend themselves against the fascists, with weapons if necessary.

 The fascist militias in the US are fully armed. And as revealed recently, many fascists have joined the police forces, with the intention to attack black people and their supporters. But ultimately only if the workers rise up against fascism with their own class interests and militias, can they defeat fascism. ▲