Conservative Thoughts on Whether Donald Trump is Fascist or Fascistic

There has been a renewed reasonable debate about whether Donald Trump is a fascist, after more than one of the senior Generals who served under him has labelled him as such. There is certainly a reasonable basis for the label and for a concern about the threat to liberty and representative government Trump and Trumpism poses. The main aspect of fascism Trump shares is his authoritarianism. He not only lacks any understanding or respect for constitutional principles and the rule of law, but admires foreign dictators and tyrants across the political spectrum. Other fascist aspects manifested by Trump are his ostensible hyper-patriotism, militarism (although he is isolationist and in favor of appeasing aggression, such as Russian aggression against Ukraine), and bigotry against various non-Whites. Another trait that is characteristic of fascist leaders is his populism —to the point of scapegoating and demagoguery. But the word I think may be more fitting for Trump than fascist is fascistic. The reason is not to minimize his dangerous proclivities, but because otherwise it would give him too much intellectual credit. As his conservative former National Security Advisor observes, Trump lacks the education and intellect to read about or understand fascism fully, let alone to accept it and to be able to articulate any coherent ideology. In a similar way, I would not say for certain that Trump is racist, despite his bigotry and belief in racial and ethnic stereotypes, because he lacks the understanding of the pseudoscientific theory of racism. Moreover, his narcissism prevails, as he effusively praises anyone who praises him and harshly criticizes anyone who criticizes him, no matter their racial or ethnic background. This narcissism is a trait that makes him vulnerable to manipulation through flattery and encourages him to seek only sycophants in subordinates, instead of honest advisors. What is more important to recognize about whether Trump is literally a fascist or not, is the clear threat he poses to liberty and representative government because of his lack of education and intellect, his bigotry, his authoritarianism and admiration for foreign authoritarians, and his general lack of principles.