Hamburg, NY (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – There are so many reasons to be pessimistic about actions taken by the Trump administration. The way in which he has quickly concentrated power since January clearly demonstrates that he and his sycophants are implementing a fascist ideology. Specific policies unfold with the clear intention to either undermine or destroy any possible alternative viewpoints. We see this in the relentless assault on the legal system and measures to reshape higher education.
In addition, various police state practices appear with the demonization of immigrants in order to justify an effort to unleash unrestrained domestic militarism. In conjunction with this measure comes the establishment of preventive detention in concentration camps. There is to be no questioning of these actions as Trump and his administration target “internal enemies” with sham prosecutions. Evidence of this obsessive need to cause harm not just at home but also overseas can be seen in the targeted extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians that began off the shores of Venezuela.
There may also be reasons, however, for cautious optimism. A case can be made that Trumpian fascism contains the “seeds of its own destruction” if viewed in relation to the previous fascist regimes of Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Consider the causes behind the collapse of these regimes. In all four there is one striking similarity: the functioning of each one was cemented by a single head of state: Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Salazar. In varying degrees, the decline and eventual collapse of each fascist regime coincided with an inability to rule and/or the death of the fascist ruler.
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Hitler’s health and his loss of mental capabilities in association with his malignant narcissism contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany. In Mussolini’s case, a loss of popularity, in part because of military setbacks as well as corruption led to his being overthrown and eventually executed. In Franco’s case, it was a combination of declining health, an increase in segments opposed to his rule and an economic downturn, that led to his removal from power, a major factor in the collapse of Spanish fascism. In Portugal, the Carnation Revolution was the culmination of the military’s rejection of Salazar’s dictatorship, but even more important was the fact that Salazar became incapacitated due to declining health. His successor, Marcello Caetano, lacked the ability to overcome the various internal divisions in the government.
In these fascist regimes, once the leader no longer represented and personified the regime, fascism as a ruling ideology fell apart. In Germany and Italy, additional contributing factors were military setbacks that contributed to the defeat of these regimes.
Consider what expert psychologists and psychiatrists see as Trump’s cognitive decline despite the administration’s denials and the meager media coverage of it. In association with what experts call his malignant narcissism, this cognitive decline will further impair his ability to rule as he continues to cause harm to many segments of society. His obsessive targeting of his ever-growing list of enemies has exposed his paranoia and mental instability.
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“Toppling,” Digital, ChatGPT, 2025.
Over time, in Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal, social movements grew and called into question the policies of the regime in power. The growing unpopularity of so many of Trump’s actions, including tax cuts for the super-wealthy and tariffs (a tax on ordinary consumers), the rise of mass demonstrations such as the No Kings movement, rulings from state and certain federal courts, the backfiring prosecutions and his negative polling all add up to a growing resistance to Trump’s fascist agenda.
This resistance is emerging even as his advisors rally their base with the fantasy of a third term, which even on the basis of Trump’s cognitive decline alone, stretches credulity. Therefore, it is not overly optimistic to argue that given these facts, Trumpian fascism is hardly permanent and that not only will it eventually be halted but it will also largely be reversed.
See also Andrew Kolin, “Trump’s Dangerous ‘State of Exception’: SCOTUS must not Allow Presidential Immunity.”
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