No. of Recommendations: 1
This is fascism in its elemental form.
No, it's not.
It's populism in its elemental form. It's rejecting the norms, standards, and mores of the Elite (and the "elite" will vary based on what flavor of populism you're talking about) in favor of the norms, standards, and mores of the Common Folk. Donald Trump speaks coarsely about other people's bodies, insults and disrespects people he dislikes no matter what their stature, and voices widely-held opinions that are frowned upon in polite society. He does things that Are Simply Not Done.
It's certainly true that a bunch of specific instances of him doing this line up with fascist ideas. Idly speculating on the benefits of letting the police loose from the shackles of, you know, due process and basic decency for an hour to beat up all the criminals is a fascistic idea. One more widely ascribed to and with greater appeal than we might like, of course. That is a fascistic thought.
But his willingness to say whatever carp comes into his brain without thought or filter? That's not fascistic - whether something is fascism depends on the substance of the idea, not whether the person is willing to say improper things out loud. When Trump muses on Arnold Palmer's genitals or makes insulting nicknames or makes off-putting comments about the attractiveness of people he encounters in a professional setting....that's not 'fascism.' It's lack of inhibition.
The truth is, that's not only entertaining, but endearing in a way. We love the boorish character who punctures the self-importance of the oppressive snobs and scolds, the heedless chaos agent who upstages the Brahmins and Elites, the charming rogue of low morals but vast appetites and lust. I've mentioned Rodney Dangerfield's character in Caddyshack from time to time, but that archetype is almost always a popular one - whether it's Dangerfield or Bugs Bunny or Falstaff or whomever.
So when Democrats forefront things like Trump's penis comment, they're not really hurting him. That's very much who he is, everyone knows it, and it's part of his appeal to the folks he's trying to appeal to (particularly young men who hold widely popular but "wrong" ideas about sex or gender or immigrants or a host of other things).
