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.