A shortened translation of this interview with historian Timothy Snyder
Is Trump a fascist?
Yes. At the very least, he doesn’t know any other way to run a country. It’s new for us to have a fascist politician running a campaign. The complete dismissal of the truth, Trump sees lies as a virtue. Some people call that postmodern, it is not. It’s fascist. Quite traditional really. Fascists do not care about the ordinary lives of people, they do what they can to make us believe that there is a greater vision, a leader who can unite the people and embody the vision. That’s Trump, saying “I am the people and the people are me” Who disagree with Trump are not part of his ‘the people’.
In his inauguration Trump kept on talking about ‘America First’, that is exactly the phrase used in the thirties to try to stop the United States from intervening in Europe. The problem is: Americans don’t know their history. They say: is Trump wearing a swastika and army boots? has he killed 6 million jews? If not, he is not a fascist. But Sinclair Lewis wrote in 1935: when fascism comes to the United States it will be draped in the national flag and wearing a cross. When it arrives it does so in the local and national style.
Are you surprised?
People predicted he wouldn’t be popular. They predicted he wouldn’t win the nomination. They predicted he wouldn’t win the election. They prediction he wouldn’t do much once he became president. None of it proved right.
Is he dangerous?
Trump is very dangerous, he is isolating the United States quickly and people do not have the time to react. He doesn’t have knowledge but his instinct tells him: I need to work with other authoritatian leaders. He admires strong men. Putin and Assad. In his own country he devides people to rule them. He is fast destroying independent journalist and the justice system.
He doesn’t even bother to use the words freedom and democracy in his speeches anymore. When he speaks of politics he speaks of himself as if he embodies the will of the people.
Do you think he wants a dictatorship?
Yes. Let me switch the question: do you see a single sign that he is not? Can you find one example from his past that proves he does not consider himself above the law?
Can someone stop him?
Congres could get rid of him. They have enough legal ground as he is making money from his position as president. That’s illegal. But congres is full of Republicans who see a chance to get all the things they have always wanted. They’re thinking: we’ll get rid of him later. But in 6 months Trump will start saying that congres has no real purpose. Then they will be afraid.
My biggest fear is that we will soon see a terrorist attack in the US. That would give Trump the power to get rid of the legal limits to his power or to suspend the 2018 elections.
Are you afraid there will be war?
Of course. It took Hitler 6 years to get to that point. If you look at Trump’s first week, Hitler started his term quietly. And let’s look at Trump’s style of leadership: his whole platform is build on crisis. He will not bring prosperity because he is dismantling all welfare and taking away million’s of people’s health care. Why would people still love him when the newness wears up? So he will need a new crisis. Which he gets when he starts a war or something in the US explodes.
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