On August 12, the White House took control of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and deployed 2,200 National Guard troops and hundreds of federal agents in the city. For working people and the vast majority in the United States the military takeover is among the most dangerous steps taken by the Trump administration so far. It is part of a rapidly developing pattern leading toward one-man rule.
In its first month in office, the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has made clear in word and deed it represents a break from liberal democracy — the form of government that has prevailed in the United States through most of the country’s 250-year-long history. It is an abrupt shift to the right in U.S. politics, one with grave dangers for the working class and all who favor democracy. The evidence points to the danger of the rise of an incipient fascist movement. “Incipient” in the sense of beginning to come into being or to become apparent. This is the second of two parts.
In its first month in office, the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has made clear in word and deed it represents a break from liberal democracy — the form of government that has prevailed in the United States through most of the country’s 250-year-long history. It is an abrupt shift to the right in U.S. politics, one with grave dangers for the working class and all who favor democracy. The evidence points to the danger of the rise of an incipient fascist movement. “Incipient” in the sense of beginning to come into being or to become apparent. This is the first of two parts.
In the September 10 nationally-televised presidential debate Donald Trump declared, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating, the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in this country.” This reprehensible, wild, and utterly false claim was directed primarily at Haitian workers who have moved to Springfield in the recent past. It’s an example of the “Big Lie” technique: amplifying a falsehood over and over with the intention of persuading large numbers of people that the lie is the truth.
The 2024 presidential election is less than three months away. The U.S. working class faces the same challenge posed throughout its history. In this class-divided society, the wealthy minority that makes up the capitalist class has two political parties. The working class has none. We are presented with the claim — by Democrats and Republicans alike — that their candidate speaks for working people and will improve our conditions. That’s an illusion. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have defended and will safeguard the interests of the capitalist class. The second part of this article takes up the similarities and differences between Trumpism and Buchananism, the failure of Democratic Party liberalism, and the prospects of working-class political action independent of the two parties of the wealthy — Democrats and Republicans.
The 2024 presidential election is less than three months away. The U.S. working class faces the same challenge posed throughout its history. In this class-divided society, the wealthy minority that makes up the capitalist class has two political parties. The working class has none. We are presented with the claim — by Democrats and Republicans alike — that their candidate speaks for working people and will improve our conditions. That’s an illusion. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have defended and will safeguard the interests of the capitalist class. The first part of this article takes up the origins of Trumpism and its political continuity with the legacy of ultrarightist Patrick Buchanan.