One Expert Says, Yes, Donald Trump is a Fascist. And It’s Not Just Trump.

Tikkun Magazine ^ | January 5, 2016 | Richard Steigmann-Gall

[2ndDivisionVet]

In ways that immediately brought to mind dangerous parallels with the yellow Star of David patch worn by Jews during the Third Reich, Donald Trump in November suggested that Syrian refugees, posing as allegedly dangerous Fifth Columnists, should wear badges on account of their Muslim faith so that they could not infiltrate American society and carry out plots against the nation. When asked by a reporter whether he thought the comparison with Nazi Germany was a fair one, Trump responded "you tell me." So shocking have been these and similar statements that not just liberal voices and outlets, but even conservative ones, began to speculate whether Trump is, in fact, a capital-F fascist. This proposition had circulated on leftist websites and blogs for months, fed by outrage at Trump's positions (usually stated unabashedly and flippantly) regarding immigration, foreign policy or torture. At the end of November, this proposition started to enter the mainstream, with CNN.com's article openly considering the question, interviewing published scholars of historical fascism to ask for their expert opinions. Dozens of other mainstream outlets then began to run their own "Is Trump a Fascist?" pieces as well.

It is perhaps a reflection of their hesitance to validate the abundant overuse of the "F-word" in American public discourse that published scholars of historical fascism have shied away from concluding that Trump is a fascist. Steve Ross of the University of Southern California, while conceding that Trump's anti-immigrant xenophobia is "very dangerous," would not go so far as to say it is "fascist." Stanley Payne, long given to a meticulous, phenomenological definition of fascism, argued that in no way could Trump be considered one. British scholars like Roger Griffin have weighed in on this question as well, coming to similar conclusions....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Editor's Note: Tikkun magazine is a 501-c-3 non-profit that is precluded by law from endorsing political candidates or opposing them. But we are not precluded from publishing articles by our readers who take strong stands about electoral issues. We have a tiny staff and do not have the capacity to verify empirical claims made by our authors-so it's up to you to make those inquiries on your own. On the other hand, as the magazine that came into existence as "the voice of Jewish liberals and progressives and the alternative to Commentary magazine and the voices of Jewish conservatism and conformism in American society," even though we are now ALSO both a Jewish voice AND an INTERFAITH voice for secular humanists and militant atheists AS WELL as for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and any other religion that cares about human rights, social justice, environmental sanity and peace, we have a special interest in challenging fascism and other anti-democratic or hate-promoting social movements whether they be in the U.S., Israel, or any other society. So we are proud to present below one such inquiry into whether we are now facing the emergence of a fascist movement in the U.S., and welcome responses from our readers and invite other analyses including those that challenge the perspective we are printing here. -- Rabbi Michael Lerner (RabbiLerner.Tikkun@gmail.com) ***

[TigerClaws]

Yawn.

Leftists have used ‘racist’ ‘Nazi’ ‘fascist’ so much they now mean nothing. Just noise. Insults rather than addressing the issue.

100,000 ‘refugees’ here and 1% are killers. 1,000 people.

It costs the feds $600,000 to do 24/7 monitoring of one suspect.

$600,000 x 1,000.

We already have 900+ open terrorist cases right now in the U.S.

How many billions can we spend?

90% of the ME here are on food stamps. None of these ‘refugees’ have education or speak English. We can’t be the dumping ground for the world or live in a constant threat of terrorism.

We aren’t going to bullied into having our daughters raped by savages. Sorry.

[Ken H]

An expert said this? A real honest-to-goodness expert??

That's it, then. It's over for Trump.

[Slyfox]

Tikkun magazine is a new age tripe mag. I remember an article by Michael Lerner which was downright weird talking about a “walk-in” as president of the United States. Essentially a possessed individual. Interesting that they are a huge Hillary supporter as she is considered the Great Mother Goddess and would be a great “walk-in.”

[Telepathic Intruder]

“All the experts agree” confirmed one anonymous expert. “And if they don’t agree, they ain’t experts”.

[nopardons]

You DO know, don't you that this magazine was started and run by a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar lefty IDIOT, who was a HUGE Clintonista, back in the day; don't you ?

Trump is NOT going to set up concentration camps and gas people, he has NOT expressed any desire to have his supporters trash Muslim owned stores/properties a la KRISTALLNACHT, and posted such a blatantly disgusting thread is NOT going to change anyone's mind about supporting Trump.

[kiryandil]

Hi! I'm Richard Steigmann-Gall, and I'm a hyphenated Metrosexual!

I wear my underwear backwards for easier access for other "friendly males"...

[Stentor]

LOLOL.

[datura]

I would expect this tripe from Isara or VinL, but not you.

[nopardons]

Some Cruz supporters have reached below gutter level now; sadly.

[2ndDivisionVet]

You have a lot of competition, but you are hands down the most thin-skinned Trumpet on this site. You actually think I posted this to tear down Don Trump?

[2ndDivisionVet]

You have a lot of competition, but you are hands down the most thin-skinned Trumpet on this site. You actually think I posted this to tear down Don Trump?

[kiryandil]

Steigmann-Gall is a University tax-tick.

[nopardons]

No, I'm not "thin skinned" but YOU sure are.

Posting this bilge is beyond the pale and you should be ashamed!

[2ndDivisionVet]

Guess what? I don’t answer to you.

[Secret Agent Man]

Apparently not knowing the definition of words now qualfies a person to be in journalism.

Obama and Hitlery are fascists. They want private sector scapegoats if the economy tanks.

[dp0622]

who gives a flying @#$@#$ about this article, this person, or anyone who is not voting in the election?

the rest of the world loved Obama because they hate America. That’s so easy to figure out.

I’m voting for Cruz but I like trump. I’ll vote for him in the generals if it comes to it.

they are trading barbs now but Nothing in consider very nasty has been said so far.

and I hope they don’t get personal or nasty. they may be of a kind, after all, and need each other later.

[datura]

Yeah, but I’ve been reading his posts for sooooo long - but this hit piece goes beyond the norm.

This is a Libbylu type article. (If she knew how to post articles...)

[nopardons]

Guess what?

You aren't intelligent enough to do so.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Well, then not many are I suppose. I could join MENSA tomorrow, if I was a joiner.