Fergus Finlay: The worst may yet be to come from fascist Trump and his army

The party of Abraham Lincoln looked exactly like the old and feeble German leaders who stood by while Hitler marched to power, writes Fergus Finlay

During the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at Capitol Hill, Washington DC where 'the spineless and hypocritical Mitch McConnell' failed to stand up to the fascist. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

There’s nothing quite as enthralling in its own way as being able to watch history unfold. CNN, with all its faults, gave us that opportunity over the weekend with its live coverage of the impeachment trial against Donald Trump.

In years to come, historians will pore over this trial. Some of the questions not fully answered now will be answered then. But already we know a lot.

One of the things I know is that I was wrong. When Joe Biden won the election, and in the warm glow of the immediate aftermath, I wrote here that… “a bad man is gone. … Trump is a bad man who won the US Presidency by tapping into something dark and different in the American psyche. That’s not the basis for an enduring movement — or if it is, it’s not the basis for a country that could survive indefinitely.” 

A number of people at the time took me to task for so easily dismissing the forces he had unleashed. They were right — Trumpism is not dead. At least not yet. 

There is a famous quote from him where he says he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. As far as the leadership of the Republican Party is concerned — Abraham Lincoln’s party — that still holds good.

That was one of the things we learned from the weekend. And one of the reasons to still fear Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump smiles at supporters as he rides by in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Picture: Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP

Trump is a fascist. There are many definitions — my Concise Oxford Dictionary has one, Encyclopaedia Britannica a slightly different one (the differences are nuances). 

But in any, and all, definitions the characteristics of a fascist include contempt for democracy, a commitment to authoritarianism and ultra-nationalism, the willingness to suppress opposition and dissent, deep-rooted hatred of any form of liberalism, and frequently, a willingness to foster deep racist instincts.

That’s a good working definition, and it’s a good working description of Donald John Trump. And, it seems clear, of the party of which, by default, he is still the leader. Watching the debate over the weekend, the party of Abraham Lincoln looked exactly like the old and feeble German leaders who stood by while Hitler marched to power.

The spineless and hypocritical Mitch McConnell — more of him in a moment – looked and sounded like President von Hinderburg, the President of Germany who could have stood up to Hitler but didn’t. Von Hinderburg at least had the excuse that he was 84 and worn out — he saw himself as occupying a ceremonial position. McConnell still thinks of himself as having power.

The great irony — and it’s another lesson of history — is that the Republican leadership once saw Trump as essentially disposable. He was useful to them because he could beat Hillary Clinton, and because he was willing to pass the tax cuts and deregulation measures that are at the heart of what the Republican Party calls its soul. 

In creating a monster, they never saw how the roles were going to be reversed — they are now utterly disposable to him. On January 6 he was ready to stop at nothing.

Trumpism is not dead. At least not yet. There is a famous quote from him where he says he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it

Supporters watch former President Donald Trump to go by in his motorcade in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Picture: Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP

He brought the United States to the brink of a fascist coup. I’m a poor historian but the historical parallels are chilling. 

Ten years before he became the absolute dictator of Germany, Adolf Hitler was arrested and charged with treason after what was known as the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, essentially an attempt to take over the state by violence. (It was while he was in prison  that he wrote Mein Kampf.) 

Of course, the parallels aren’t exact — Trump’s failed (for now) march on the Capitol was for the purpose of hanging onto power illegally, whereas Hitler’s was a first step on the road to gaining power. But the ruthlessness of Trump’s intent compares to that of any narcissistic dictator.

We surely know now, and I’m guessing it will become clearer and clearer over time, that Trump was prepared to stop at nothing that day. If Nancy Pelosi had been found by the mob and seriously hurt, would that have given him any real pause? By then Trump was calling out his own vice-President, who had served him loyally for four years, as a traitor. And he was doing it to a fanatical and dangerous mob.

A number of people at the time took me to task for so easily dismissing the forces he had unleashed. They were right — Trumpism is not dead. At least not yet. Picture: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File

Indeed, there was a moment in the impeachment trial when it looked like the prosecuting Congressmen and women had found a smoking gun. If it had been established that Trump had been tweeting contemptuously about Pence after he had been hustled out of the chamber by the Secret Service, surely only the most lick-spittle senators would have been able to stand by him.

As events unfolded, the tweet appeared to have been issued before. So the famous Nixon impeachment question — “what did the president know and when did he know it?” still hangs in the air.

But by the end of the trial, 100 senators knew the truth. In a speech that will come to be seen as one of the most self-serving pieces of hypocrisy in oratorical history, McConnell confirmed that. 

He made it absolutely clear that they knew what Trump had done, why he had done it, and what he was capable of. He said all that immediately after voting to acquit him. As someone said on Twitter, there are profiles in courage. And there’s Mitch McConnell.

No sooner was the trial over than the worst of them were beginning to gather around Trump again. Security was doubled around key democrats, and many of them — and the more honourable republicans — will live in danger for months and perhaps years to come.

There were many good things about the impeachment trial. A new breed of leaders emerged, in the form of many of the team that took Trump on in the investigation. Names like Jamie Raskin, Joe Neguse, and Stacey Plaskett are likely to become much better known in years to come. All young, all skilled, all passionate. They’re the sort of people I’d want on my side.

Supporters cheer for former President Donald Trump as his motorcade passes them in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Picture: Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP

And it probably made a sort of pragmatic sense to bring the trial to an end when they did. Realpolitik — the politics that’s all about getting what you can get, and minding your relationships — argues for getting on with the new president’s agenda. Economic recovery, a successful vaccination programme, a gradual return to normal everyday life — that may be the best way, perhaps the only way, to win over more voters to the Democratic message.

But it’s not enough, not nearly enough. In America, the fight against fascism has to become a daily feature of democratic politics. Because we also learned some deeper truths about Trump, his political acolytes, and the dangerous army that will follow him anywhere. 

We know there is no winning over a large part of his fanatic base. We know that hatred, intolerance, and racism are still buried deep. We know there is a huge swathe of the Republic Party that hates Trump but won’t stand up to him.

So, has the bad man gone away, as I thought? Is Trumpism dead? Clearly not. In fact, to paraphrase Trump himself, the worst may yet be to come.