In trying to understand what is going on under Donald Trump, people have been throwing around terms like dictator, king, authoritarian, fascist. These terms dangerously underestimate what he is. Trump is not a mere fascist. He is a totalitarian. Steve Bannon summed up the “total” in totalitarian rule as “flooding the zone.”
No rhyme or reason is needed. Eliminate Medicare, deploy masked ICE agents to disappear people, occupy Washington, DC, with the National Guard, attack DEI, take research funds from Harvard, and so forth. The more chaotic, the better to scatter resistance.
Totalitarianism includes an all-powerful dictator, but it is far wider in scope.
Central to the historical totalitarian regimes is the elimination of, or merely ignoring of, party goals and platforms. The historic issues that distinguished the Republican Party for 100 years play no role in Trump’s Republican Party. Totalitarians do not compete, as do other parties, with differences in programs or ideology.
Their organizing modus operandi is to create a movement usually revolving around one leader and a unitary executive. The US “co-equal” branches of government, the Republican majorities in Congress and the Trump-appointed super majority on the Supreme Court, have bent the knee to Trump’s executive branch.
Misunderstanding and underestimating Trump is the major mistake that Democrats, Independents and old-fashioned Republicans are making. They fail to see a total picture and are running around chasing every misdirection that he throws in front of them. As a result, there is no concentrated leadership to oppose the destruction of the US form of democracy and replacement by a totalitarian regime.
It took Hitler 53 days to eliminate the Weimar Republic. Trump has been in office about 300 days this time around and he began to dismantle our democratic institutions on Day One: DOGE, masked Gestapo/ICE agents, et cetera. Will there even be a mid-term election in 2026 or a national election in 2028? Will all the “sanctuary cities” like Boston be occupied by the military? If so, it is an easy step to martial law.
There have been some cracks in Trump’s armor in recent weeks. The first “No Kings Day” rallies attracted about five million people nationally. The second set drew 7.5 million. Let us hope there is a third and even bigger rally soon. And the November elections were swept by Democrats of multiple persuasions.
Last week, a PBS News/NPR/ Marist poll showed that Democrats would lead Republicans by 14 percent “if you voted today.” Trump and Republicans are blamed by a majority of Americans for the federal shutdown and the ensuing chaos, as well as the crushing rises in cost of living. The courts (except the Supreme Court) have consistently been bulwarks for our democracy: Last week, the gerrymandering in Texas was declared illegal by a federal court. And what will Jeffrey Epstein continue to say from the grave?
So, get out into the streets, write opinions, join with opposition groups, contribute to progressive candidates. Otherwise, (to steal a meme): “They came for the transsexuals, and I was not a transsexual. So, I did nothing. They came for the immigrants, and I was not an immigrant. So, I did nothing. They came for the free press, and I am not a member of the media. And so, I did nothing. I am a gay man. When they come for me, will there be anyone left who will save me?”
Ed Cook is a resident of Dorchester and a frequent contributor to The Reporter.
