Violence as an aspect of fascism - a comparison between Trump's and DeSantis' brands of fascism
Violence is a characteristic of fascism. Some have claimed that DeSantis doesn't fulfill this tenet. Here's why they're wrong.
A couple of years ago, you were shouted down if you called “Trumpism” fascism. Recently, even some of the fiercest critics of using the term “fascism” have come around, like Robert Paxton, who changed his mind after January 6th. But still, it is seen as controversial (at least in most legacy media outlets) to call what we see in the US “fascism”. There’s many reasons for that - which I won’t go into here - but at least amongst many historians, sociologists, political scientists, calling Trumpism fascism isn’t seen as an outrageous “hot take” anymore - but rather just an accurate description of what we are witnessing. Only calling it fascism if it comes out of 1920/30s Italy or Germany, otherwise it’s “just” right-wing populism with glitter on top, is not helpful in any way - as well as analytically flawed.
Recently, an article has been shared a lot on historian twitter. The piece makes some good points why Trumpism is fascism. It also runs what is happening in Florida under Governor DeSantis against the “fascism checklist”:
One of these is the attack on the autonomy of local governments. (“In push to the right, Florida cities and counties become focus for DeSantis and lawmakers,” Tallahassee Democrat, Feb. 17, 2023.)
Another is the effort to muzzle the press. (“DeSantis, GOP lawmakers pursue bill to gut press freedom,” Miami Herald, Feb. 25, 2023.)
A third is the effort to constrict and restrict the vote. (“DeSantis signs additional voting restrictions into law before cheering crowd,” Florida Phoenix, April 25, 2022.)
A fourth is the assault on freedom of thought in schools and universities. (“FL Governor DeSantis’ proposals on higher education pose a grave threat to academic freedom and free speech at public colleges and universities,” PEN America, Feb. 2, 2023.)
A fifth is the attempt by the governor to create his own military force answerable only to himself. (“DeSantis seeks $98 million to fund Florida’s own military,” Click Orlando, March 9, 2023.)
In the legislature, state Sen. Blaize Ingoglia (R-11-Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties) is attempting to outlaw the Democratic Party in Florida through “The Ultimate Cancel Act” (SB 1248). This is clearly an effort to create a one-party state of the kind that Mussolini and Hitler established in Italy and Germany.
All of this is accurate. However, the piece does also argue that DeSantis’ version of Trumpism does not advocate for violence - and therefore doesn’t quite match the definition of fascism. I disagree with that - here’s why.
First, some context: As the article rightly states, fascism needs violence, because fascist tend to not start out in the majority. In a democracy, they need violence to intimidate, hurt and kill their political opponents, if they wish to gain true political power, which they can’t without violently suppressing the vote, amongst other things.
But fascist violence can take different forms. Trump’s brutal, violent fantasies, the glee with which he describes the gory details of crimes, be they made-up or real, at his rallies, his calls for beating up protesters and political enemies are one form. It is a variant of fascist calls for violence that reminds us maybe more closely of the Brownshirts (helped, for sure, by Trump’s order to the “Proud Boys” to “stand back and stand down”) , of jackbooted fascists marching in the streets, beating up counter-protesters.
But there are other forms of fascist violence, that can be enacted through the state, which might seem less apparent - at least, if you don’t belong to the marginalized groups that are being targeted. Then, it’s easy to not see it.
The anti-LGBTQ, but especially anti-trans laws, that are being passed - not only in Florida, but in Red states all over the US, single out and smear a vulnerable population. They breed the ground for violence, hiding behind the cloak of “protect the children” - from the existence of LGBTQ people, thereby implicitly framing them as an inherent threat to kids. Anti-LGBTQ laws are stochastic terrorism: they fuel and legitimize hatred against LGBTQ people. It is no coincidence that anti-LGBTQ attacks have gone up, as have attacks and threats made against medical professionals who provide life-saving gender affirming care for trans people.
In the case of trans people, the GOP-dominated legislature in Florida and DeSantis, are actively denying an already vulnerable and targeted group of people necessary and potentially life-saving medical care. Florida also recently legalized not treating them if it goes against a doctor's "personal beliefs", meaning bigotry.
Let me make this very clear: This is abuse. It is state-sanctioned violence, enacted through withholding medical care. One of the hallmarks of an abusive relationship is the abuser withholding medical care from the victim. This is what the state of Florida is doing to trans people - and more and more Red states are following suit.
DeSantis might not openly call his supporters to beat up "the left", but he sure as hell signed a law that makes those who hit protesters with their car get off scot-free - it's framed as an "anti-riot-law" - one of many passed by the GOP in other states. They belong to the toolbox of White Christian nationalism.
The sociologist Sam Perry und Phil Gorski have described the core of White Christian nationalism, “the holy trinity”, as they call it, as “freedom, order, and violence.” Gorski writes in his testimony to the senate select committee:
“Like some classic movies, this deep story has gone through many remakes, too many to recount in any detail. Over the centuries, the leading men have included scouts, cowboys and commandos. They have done battle with Natives and Blacks, Catholics and Jews, and Muslims and liberals. In books, comics and movies, and also in reality. But while the cast has changed, the plot has not: threats to (white) freedom and violations of (racial) order have to be put down with righteous violence. As on January 6, and so many times before.”
Back to the “anti-riot-laws” passed in GOP legislatures, which let those who run over protesters go free: "run them over" is a popular slogan in anti-BLM/racist/White Nationalist circles. It is abundantly clear who this "anti-riot-law" is aimed at, and who it is supposed to intimidate. It's part of a widespread effort by Republicans to legalize right-wing "vigilante" violence.
The GOP has valorized killers like Rittenhouse, the two Perrys, and other right-wingers who have exercised murderous violence against perceived political enemies. Right-wing media figures like Tucker Carlson and his guests have called for vigilante violence.
There are many different definitions of fascism. But Trumpism fulfills most of the common aspects which appear in nearly all definitions. Trump's & DeSantis' brand are different, they present differently. They justify violence differently. But the ideological core is the same.
Fascism is not a monolith, and never has been. But there are core tenets that remain the same. I wrote about this for Religion Dispatches - the different brands of fascism presented by Masters and J.D. Vance in the midterms 2022. Some excerpts that hopefully will illuminate the point I’m making about different forms of fascism (and why Vance’s was successful, while Master’s failed - at least, for now):
“Masters has publicly echoed Yarvin’s desire to destroy the administrative state by directly referencing an acronym the White Nationalist blogger coined for it—“RAGE—Retire all government employees,” referring to Yarvin as a “friend.” He has also cited the views of Ted Kaczyinski, the Unabomber as influential on himself (though he disavows the bombing).
Vance and Masters both dehumanize their political opponents, painting them as fundamentally un-American and inherently evil figures intent on destroying America. In a 2021 interview with the right-wing IM-1776, Masters said:
“The things we were raised to respect—the rule of law, stable families, our faith, having a functional, self-respecting country—the modern left sees as intrinsically evil. They want to destroy everything that’s good.”
Vance echoed the sentiments of his fellow Thiel-protégée and even upped the ante, declaring:
“The white working class loved Donald Trump. As punishment, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will kill as many of their children as they can.”
New York magazine once called Masters “Nazi-adjacent”—which is putting it quite mildly—and indeed, his focus not simply on guns, but on German guns; his use of a quote by Nazi leaders; the aesthetics of his ads; and his endorsement of White Supremacist author Sam Francis who wrote that the US must “oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind” (and this isn’t even the full list); have a distinct whiff of Nazism. And that was likely the problem. Author John Ganz has proposed a theory on two different types of fascism—not in philosophy, but aesthetics:
“I have been doing a lot of research and want to briefly share one observation: Nazism has weird loser creep vibes, but Italian Fascism has douchey jock vibes, fascism was at its heart a nerd-bully alliance. The ideal type fascist is the dorkus bully, a really insufferable douche who also has like historical delusions of grandeur and is obsessed with “strategy”.”
This makes a lot of sense when one applies it to compare Vance and Masters. Ganz writes:
“Applying my theory of jocks-nerds fascism to Blake masters: Americans seems to like Italian-style jocky-douchey fascism a la Trump way more than than German creepy-nerdy Nazism.”
While the historic versions of Italian fascism and Nazism differed quite a bit in policy and structure, the echoes of their aesthetics are distinct in Vance and Masters. Vance might have been funded by Thiel, but he doesn’t present as the “intellectual” fascist, like Peter Thiel does—even if Vance does play in the same social circles. Masters, on the other hand, fully leaned into a very niche market: the far-right fringe who like to play with German guns, think silencers are a normal thing to have lying around, and fashion themselves the intellectual tip of the spear of American fascism. Which is very, very niche, and unlikely to sway an independent voter.
While Vance had already established a brand—the boy from Ohio who lived the American dream but is still rough around the edges—Masters didn’t have that advantage. And the image that he chose to draw for himself was not to the liking of a majority of Arizona voters. Turns out, the American public is much more susceptible to what Ganz calls “Italian-style jocky-douchey fascism a la Trump,” who Vance has echoed in every step of his campaign. That’s not reassuring in the slightest (just like the fact that Masters still managed to get 46.5% percent of the vote), but it could explain why Masters’ campaign failed, while Vance managed to win Peter Thiel a senate seat.”
DeSantis’ brand of fascism might not be as nationally successful as Trump, or as blunt. His politics are still fascist - even if he does not manage to incite the same cult of personality as Trump does.