ABSTRACT
This chapter examines why Donald Trump’s enemies routinely refer to him as a “fascist” or even “Nazi.” It distinguishes mere partisan attacks (in which Democratic and Republican media call each other names) from those charges made by intellectually more serious critics who seem convinced that Trump is what they say he is. It is argued that what leads these critics to their ominous conclusion is their view of Trump as someone who through his election and presidency ended a process of cultural and social change that his opponents support. Although Trump has done little to undo what his leftist predecessor did in terms of dealing with illegal immigration, his failure to move in a more open borders direction is now seen as a grave failing. It represents something similar to the Thermidorean reaction to the most radical phase of the French Revolution or the fascist reaction in the interwar period to the progress of the European Left. That may be the reason that noting the overlaps between policies pursued by the Obama and Trump administrations is for Trump’s enemies unconvincing. From their perspective, Trump halted a multicultural revolution that was seen as in progress before his election.
