Jeff Sharlet has spent two decades covering the intersection of extreme Christian nationalism and the far-right. In his new book, Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, he gives snapshots of a country rapidly devolving into a Christian fascism state. He captures the rage, the despair, the dislocation, the alienation, the aesthetic of violence, and the magical thinking that are the foundations of all fascist movements—forces that are now coalescing around the Trump-led Republican Party. The bizarre conspiracy theories and buffoonish quality of many who lead and embrace this movement, such as Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, make the use American fascists easy to ridicule and dismiss. But Sharlet implores us to take them seriously as an existential threat to what is left of our anemic democracy. Jeff Sharlet joins The Chris Hedges Report to discuss his new book and the rising tide of Christofascism threatening our democracy.
By Chris Hedges & Jeff Sharlet
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16 responses to “The Trump movement is turning America fascist”
Fascism results from failed liberal policies.
Fascist? Are you kidding me? Blame the people for that? After a stolen election, two wars that bleed out the economy to support two FASCIST states, a wide-open border that allows drugs and criminals into the nation, a woke administration bent on censor censor censor, “Blue city” DA’s that let criminals go free- if the USA population DIDN’T react to this in some way, you might not even consider them human beings, let alone FASCIST. Take that “Fascist” label and shove it up your ass! Reaction to being violated is not fascism, but JUSTIFIED REVULSION to it!
Personally I think Hedges is looking to get a job on MSNBC with his non-stop anti-Trump rhetoric, , or perhaps he’s looking for an invite from Hilary where they can take long walks talking about those half basket of deplorables which is a significant part of their repertoire. They certainly deserve each other.
The level of ignorance of this troglodyte mob of fanatic MAGA supporters is beyond belief.
The point being that in their euphoric patriotism, are following a man that like Biden, surrendered US sovereignty to a foreign nation, Israel. Just imagine the level of brainwashing that is present in this group of people.
Cluelessness is for those that STILL support the Democrats after all they have done bad to this nation! You’re barking up the wrong tree here!
You guys are in the same boat that we here in loyal US partner in crime Canada. As bad as Justin Trudeau is and he is plenty, the alternative is even worst, the Conservative Party. The source of everything that is bad in Canada and all over the world. Equally true, wait until Master Trump takes over power in 2024 and then you’ll have your day made by him and his host of savage deplorables. Fascists galore.
I really HOPE that Trump is not as bad as what is being made out here. Because the President Trump of 2025 is a near certainty. We we wont have to wait too long to find out. If he appoints the equivalent of Bolton and Pompeo , (or Blinken and Newland) then we already know what has been elected. Ramaswami seems to have called a spade a spade. I dont know him, but would prefer him as a running mate.
I wonder if you are aware of recent comments by Master Trump repeating and doubling down his actions from his previous administration. Anti Russia, anti China, virulently anti Left, anti Palestinian and of course anti Hamas today’s evil incarnate. You must remember that his base is composed of the worst that America has to offer, which is a lot (bad). This core of supporters are already rising and celebrating his victory at fever pitch. Get ready for the worst, which believe it or not is the best thing that it could befall to America. Open Fascism and then the road to real liberation will be open. Insurrection, the blessed event that will truly save America. To believe otherwise is akin as believing in Santa Claus.
Blinken and Nuland with Biden as their public face have fucked everything up. I’m not saying Trump cant do it, but it would take GENIUS in order to be worse than this bunch. They have brought the USA and the collective west down at breakneck speed on everything you can think of:-
* Abroad, military belligerence, sanctions and large scale theft has created BRICS and divided the world into the collective west vs the rest, with the west in an economic nosedive and the rest in the ascendance.
* The EU section of the collective west has obediently followed Blinken and Biden, trashing its economy, and banning free speech left, right and center.
* The direction of all funds to the military has left us at home with homelessness, drug addictions, unaffordable medical bills and unaffordable rent, with five eyes nations following the USA’s lead.
If we come out of this without nuclear war, then we can count ourselves lucky.
As for the democracy, its all run by special interests, with each industry getting things for their owner’s benefits with a big F You to the rest of us.:-
* We have privacy for the elite vs mass electronic surveillance for the rest of us.
* The MIC has pushed us into masive military spending.
* The pharmaceutical and medical industries have pushed us into unaffordable medical bills.
* BlackRock and co have pushed us into unaffordable rents.
* The prison industrial complex have succeeded in filling the prisons.
* AIPAC … (Ill leave it there.)
Fascism, according to Musolini, is the merger of corporations with the military and politics.
It seems to me this happened long ago.
Why is trump still alive? And who would replace him f hecwasn’t?
Wrong. The U.S. has been a Fascist barbaric regime since 1945. The needless and barbaric aggression against Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Iraq show that Fascism is deeply-entrenched in U.S. Trump is a populist which a low form of Ugly Fascism or Nationalism.
This anti-Trump rhetoric filled four years, and not only by people like Hedges, but so many, and many I know. A cousin posted Biden will be our Savior, and those who supported Trump were an ignorant, uneducated lot. I haven’t a clue as to why a man who pushed every Middle Eastern war and even encouraged his fellow democrats to do the same would be considered as anyone’s savior. Now it’s Israel, and the old man can’t find the heart to show some compassion for the Palestinians, while he supports a war in Ukraine that has no other purpose then to ens Putin’s rein, and he’s willing to use hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives to do it. Hedges has repeatedly shown his bias when it comes to Trump supporters and it strikes me more as prejudicial then anything else. He never gets tired of it.
And they end with, “You keep going, whether you’re winning or not…” and “The good fight is the one you lose.” Of course, all sides say the same thing. Hence, escalating warfare.
the left trained by chomsky justified putin’s invasion of ukraine. they helped to get netanyahu’s invasion of gaza. the supersophisticated left that can only see evil in the US, chris hedges among them, have inadvertently made progress for fascism. between the trumpers and the chomskyites disaster is being invited
Fascism is marked by totalitarian “excess,” silencing of dissent through censorship and persecution, banning political action, rule by decree and war mongering. The current regime added to that by forcing millions of Americans to take a poisonous injection at the risk of losing their jobs.
Yet Trump is just as guilty as his successor in all of these crimes, minus the search for new wars. Trump created Operation Warp Speed, and the deadly injections. Biden followed up by making them mandatory, and weaponizing the FBI to squash dissent.
Calling one of these monsters “fascism” and not the other is ignorant and partisan in the dumbest ways. Fascism is a creation of class warfare, not two party clashes. The parties are the same, the agenda is the same, and Chris Hedges is an ignorant liar.