"Generals like Hitler"
Would-be dictator: Trump’s madness under the magnifying glass
Donald Trump and his entourage have made some remarkable statements as the election date approaches. For weeks now, it seems that what was otherwise only said behind closed doors has been blurted out. A classification of the past weeks.
Using the military as a weapon against personal enemies is nothing new. Warlords, dictators and putschists have often made use of this sinister tactic. Presidential candidate Trump wants to do the same and sic the military on "enemies from within". He has emphasized several times in recent days that even elected officials are legitimate targets for him.
He repeated these and other slogans at Trump's big staged campaign finale in New York's Madison Square Garden (see video above) in front of around 19,000 MAGA supporters. Immigrants were vilified across the board as murderers, rapists and gangsters. His previous speakers also threw around lunacy with an oppressive self-image.
"America is for Americans and only Americans," proclaimed Trump's chief demagogue Stephen Miller. "We have to slaughter these other people," demanded New York real estate investor Grant Cardone, a friend of Trump's, with regard to his political rivals.
"Hillary Clinton, what a sick puke," bellowed conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg. He continued: "The whole fucking party. A bunch of degenerates. Jew haters and scum." David Rem, introduced on the program as a childhood friend of Trump's, said of Kamala Harris: "She's the devil, she's the Antichrist." He waved a crucifix at the same time.
Are we experiencing Trump 2.0?
The event was a kind of best-of of the election campaign so far - but louder and harsher. The question now arises: are the fascist fantasies of Trump and his entourage a new evolutionary stage in his political thinking or is this the public expression of a fermenting hatred of democracy that has dominated his nature for a very long time?
The fact that the self-proclaimed business tycoon equates brutality with strength is well documented. Dictators such as Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un and especially Vladimir Putin fascinate Trump. The Republican is known for passionately outlining the "benefits" of dictatorship.
He himself announced during the current election campaign that he wanted to be "dictator for a day" if he were to be re-elected to the White House. Trump then wants to single-handedly close the border with Mexico and ignore environmental standards in favor of the oil industry.
Flirting with fascism
At a meeting with devout Christians in Florida, he also left open the question of whether there would even be a vote after his victory. Trump urged the crowd to "go out and vote, just this time." Once he moves into the Oval Office, voting will no longer be necessary.
During a campaign appearance in the swing state of Pennsylvania, Trump also flirted with a state-ordered attack on the civilian population. As president, he could imagine giving the police a "really violent day" to clear criminals out of the way. His supporters applauded frenetically.
Escalation is followed by relativization
In each of these cases, Trump's campaign team focused on toning down his statements. Sometimes their boss was joking, sometimes he was misquoted by "the media" or became the target of a smear campaign. It is clear that Trump's bloodthirstiness and contempt for democratic processes is not new to this election campaign.
The Chinese generals would know what to do.
Donald Trump über Demonstrationen
Bild: APA/AP
Former companions and associates paint a picture of a deranged narcissist who abhors disobedience and has a soft spot for tyrants like Adolf Hitler. Retired US General Mark Milley told investigative reporter Bob Woodward that the 78-year-old was a "fascist through and through" and "the most dangerous person for this country".
Companions report fantasies of violence
Trump is clearly still under the impression that the US Supreme Leader should rule like an autocrat - without the famous checks and balances. According to a report in The Atlantic, the Republican is said to have reacted with disbelief when it was pointed out to him after his election in 2016 that American military personnel swear an oath to the constitution and not to the president.
The nationwide protests against police brutality following the miserable death of African-American George Floyd in 2020 are seen as the catalyst for his fascist airs and graces. Angry riots would have enraged the president at the time. "The Chinese generals would know what to do", he is said to have complained during an internal crisis meeting, according to people present.
Mark Esper, Trump's Secretary of Defense at the time, was also in the room. The conservative told National Public Radio in 2022: "We got to the point in the conversation where he openly looked at General Milley and said, can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" When defense officials argued against Trump's request, he lost his cool and yelled, "You're all fucking losers!"
The fascination with Adolf Hitler
Trump reportedly became more and more interested in dictatorship as a form of government and absolute control over the military towards the end of his presidency. "I need the kind of generals Hitler had," Trump is reported to have said, among other things, which several companions have since confirmed. "You know, Hitler did some good things too," John Kelly also heard from Trump on several occasions, the former chief of staff now told the New York Times. The Republicans deny Kelly any credibility.
US general's resignation speech resembled a reckoning
However, the former Trump confidant is receiving support from other companions of the ex-president. US General Milley recalled at his resignation ceremony last year: "We do not take an oath to a king or queen or to a tyrant or dictator, and we do not take an oath to a would-be dictator. (...) We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we are willing to die to protect it."
Those protectors of the US constitution Trump wants to get out of the way. After the Capitol storm and the same old lie of a "stolen election", his environment became even more radicalized, as his campaign closing in New York City impressively demonstrated. Conservative forces such as Kelly and Esper were replaced by loyalists and psychotic puffery.
"Project 2025": 2024 is not 2016
In the background, however, work is more professional. In contrast to his chaotic inauguration after his surprise victory in 2016, Trump now benefits from a widely funded infrastructure for shaping his political ideas. The so-called "Project 2025" of the Heritage Foundation, a think tank close to Trump, acts as a kind of navigation system for the realization of his fascist dreams.
Dozens of former employees of the first Trump administration helped to create the fictitious government program. The development is said to have cost more than 22 million US dollars. Trump, however, swears he knows nothing about it and denies any connections. However, the overlaps with his official plans are astounding.
A comparison of the manifestos gives an idea of how Trump's election victory would change the USA. This includes, for example, the reintroduction of a regulation known as "Schedule F". This would allow Trump to dismiss tens of thousands of federal employees and replace them with loyal staff. The Hertiage Foundation has already screened thousands of candidates for this in order to flood US authorities with Trumpists.
Weg mit der Demokratie, her mit dem autoritären Staat: Donald Trump und seine Verbündeten möchten die USA radikal umbauen. Die Blaupause liefert das „Project 2025“-Papier. Dessen 922 Seiten lesen sich wie die Gebrauchsanleitung einer erzkonservativen Revolution. Krone+ weiß, was genau drinnen steht.
Trump gets supporters in the mood for "final battle"
"We will drive the warmongers out of our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will throw out the Communists, Marxists and Fascists. And we will get rid of the sick political class that hates our country," Trump shouted to his supporters at a campaign rally in New Hampshire last year - sounding like one of his political role models.
In recent weeks and months, Trump has revealed what he had otherwise only formulated in conversations with staff. Long-held fantasies such as the abuse of the military or the police are now bursting out of him. Trump had a simple message for his supporters in Madison Square Garden: "Liberation Day is coming in nine days!"
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