The f-word in US politics

Fascism has run rampant across the Internet over the last decade, or, some definition of it has. The newest ‘f-word’ in politics has become interwoven with the actions of President Donald Trump and his cult-like following in the ‘MAGA’ movement. While his actions remain morally reprehensible, whether that makes him a fascist is an entirely irrelevant question.

There are very few checks and balances holding him back from any action he may want to carry out

Fascism is based linguistically in the Italian words ‘fascisti’ and ‘fascio’. Numerous definitions place a focus upon Fascism being a government centred around autocracy, suppressed speech and ‘severe economic and social regimentation’. Original definitions are inherently linked with Mussolini’s regime in Italy, with its first uses with the meaning we recognise today, cited between 1919 and 1920, and later used to describe the Nazi Party in Germany. While Donald Trump is not yet technically a dictator – he is still nominally limited by the functions of the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court – he has incredible power and influence above all elements of the legislature and the biggest of the judiciary (the Supreme Court). There are very few checks and balances holding him back from any action he may want to carry out. This has been evidenced during his second term by the brutal actions of ICE agents. They have targeted not just illegal immigrants, but, seemingly, anyone they can reach – anyone willing to stand in the way of his brutal process of deportation. Trump famously accused migrants of “poisoning the blood of our country”, demonstrating his hatred of immigrants and further linking his actions to fascism.

…is it even relevant to call Trump a fascist in 2026?

Additionally, further fascist traits are reflected in some of his more outlandish actions, including his ongoing attempts to move Greenland into American hands and his previous failed venture to make Canada the 51st State of the United States. His spread of lies and conspiracy theories has its own Wikipedia page due to its notoriety. This is not limited to his role in spreading conspiracy theories of Barack Obama being born outside of the USA and Hilary Clinton’s alleged role in orchestrating the death of notorious paedophile and sexual abuser, Jeffrey Epstein. Continually, his unwillingness to rely on science regarding climate change, Covid-19, and the use of paracetamol during pregnancy (linking it to possible autism diagnoses) leans further into the fascist narrative surrounding the Trump presidencies. These abuses of power, alongside Trump’s flagrant violation of democratic principles, bears “unmistakably fascist traits”, according to the Financial Times. Examples include the deportation to detention camps without trial of both legal and illegal immigrants, alongside some American citizens.

In addition, his opposition to the results of democratic elections only begins to demonstrate his fascist tendencies against democratic principles. This was illustrated as recently as February 2026, with orders to seize votes from the 2020 Election in Fulton County, Georgia, due to supposed discrepancies in their election records. Many may read the above and think I am proving precisely that Trump is a fascist. However, other definitions of fascism concentrate on the time period in which these definitions came to fruition. Therefore, whether or not Trump is a fascist may be limited by his actions taking place in the 21st Century, given fascism’s historic nature as a descriptor for Italy and Germany during the Second World War. Furthermore, is it even relevant to call Trump a fascist in 2026? As previously mentioned, ‘fascist’ has become an increasingly prevalent word on all types of social media, especially since President Trump’s re-election in 2024. There was a certain shock factor buzzing around online spheres initially, but these days it seems far more common to see open use of this historically-based word. As early as 1944, George Orwell was arguing that the overuse of the word ‘fascism’ would in time become nearly meaningless as an argument.

It is more likely that Donald Trump is a political enigma, focusing on the gain of very few at the suffering of millions

Contrastingly, some argue that Trump is not a fascist at all, but instead refer to him as a hypercapitalist. While fascists, in theory, should be focused on the good of the nation, Trump’s MAGA movement appears to be solely focused on growing the strength of the 1%. His fluctuating, aggressive tariffs across the globe created unprecedented and unexpected scenarios for working class Americans, awaiting economic disaster with one wrong move. Even in his first presidency, despite having run on a ticket of helping the working classes, Trump made tax cuts for billionaires. He has only become closer to such individuals in his second presidency, with Elon Musk momentarily acting as a senior advisor to the President.

While President Trump acts like a fascist and speaks like a fascist, it is unrealistic to completely determine him to be, empirically, a fascist. It is more likely that Donald Trump is a political enigma, focusing on the gain of very few at the suffering of millions. People seem determined to give his deplorable actions a label, when in fact, it should not matter whether he is a fascist or not. The use of the term is outdated and flung around so commonly that it no longer holds any great weight or merit. The term itself is so loosely defined and often limited to the interwar period, that describing the Trump administration as fascist is too similar to likening it to the past. The threat of Trump’s actions is incredibly real right now, and should therefore not be confined to a purely historical term.