In a previous post I suggested that Donald Trump is not a Republican but is instead a Fascist.

I don’t mean this as a judgement statement. Virtually all Republicans agree on the role of government. It should do fewer things and do them better. It should not spend (or collect) more money than it needs. It should trust that the free market knows what it’s doing and not interfere unless absolutely necessary. In other words they are optimistic about our future.

Fascists, on the other hand, care little for the Republican agenda. They are decidedly not optimistic about our future. They believe that we (and those we love) are in grave and immediate danger from people who are different from us. Even those who look like us (and most don’t) want what we have and will do anything to take it away from us.

Simply put, fascism is based on fear. And it’s based on a fear that they will steal what we have earned by hard work and give it to those people who have earned nothing.

Fascist leaders depend on their ability to continue to fan the flames of fear. Their leadership survives only if they continue to convince their supporters that I alone can fix it.

So here’s the problem: if you’re a fascist leader you need to continue to fan these fires. You can’t rest on your laurels because your only support depends on your followers’ belief that only you can protect them from immediate danger. Good news for your people means bad news for you.

In other words the fear of immediate danger matters more than anything else. It doesn’t matter if the leader ran on a platform to build a wall on our Southern border or provide affordable health care or lower taxes. For the fascist leader, only loyalty matters.

Additionally, a fascist leader needs to convince his followers to ignore evidence that does not advance his message. It doesn’t matter how he does it. He can claim that “they” conspire to lie to “us.” Or he can claim the banner of “fake news.” Or he can claim that only he can be believed. It’s a little like the guy whose wife catches him in the arms of his lover; he responds by telling her: “Who are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?”

By now you have to know that I’m describing President Trump. Believe your eyes.