Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States put on display fascism’s 21st-century iteration — a combination of oligarchic power and ultranationalism unlike anything in recent memory.
It was a shameful spectacle for a country that deems itself to be the world’s greatest democracy and the leader of the so-called free world. Trump was flanked by billionaire tech moguls and far right leaders from Italy, Germany, Argentina, France, the U.K., and other countries around the globe. His inauguration speech promised a “golden age of America” by making the country “greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before.”
It was an inauguration speech dripping with authoritarianism and jingoism in which Trump cast himself as the savior of the country. “Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he said, and described the leadership of the past four years as incompetent and corrupt, without specifying Joe Biden or other Democrats by name.
The speech left little doubt about its ideological character. Indeed, the political message behind Trump’s return to the White House was best captured by Elon Musk’s Nazi-like salute during the inauguration celebrations (though, in this case, predictably, the Anti-Defamation League rushed immediately to Musk’s defense by downplaying the significance of the gesture). The South African billionaire has appointed himself as leader of the West’s far right movement and has been fomenting fascism since he helped Trump win reelection. For Musk and his ilk, who expect to be the biggest beneficiaries of the new administration’s much anticipated anti-regulation blitz, Trump’s return to office promises a new “Golden Age” of U.S. world dominance and prosperity for the super-rich.
Acting like an authoritarian from day one, Trump signed dozens of executive orders that pose a direct threat to democracy and make a mockery of human rights and the rule of law. He ordered a crackdown on immigration, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, and pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago.
