Trump Is no fascist

OPINION:

Among the many outlandish and historically ill-founded criticisms of former President Donald Trump, the charge that he is a fascist has taken center stage.

Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared in his recent book that Mr. Trump is “fascist to the core.” This slander has been endorsed by former Rep. Liz Cheney, Joy Reid and other commentators, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris herself.

But what is fascism, and who is a fascist? Fascism has been defined in many ways over its 100-year history, but at its core, it is a form of national organization in which the state controls everything.

One can do no better than to quote the first fascist ruler, Benito Mussolini. He said fascism is “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”

How does Mr. Trump measure up against this standard? Mr. Trump signed one of the largest tax cuts in American history, shifting money destined for the state back to individuals and corporations that earned it. In this way, he reduced the state’s power.

Mr. Trump significantly reduced government regulations. He also reduced the state’s power here, returning freedom to individuals and private entities.

Mr. Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices who joined in invalidating the national standard concerning abortion, taking power from the national government and giving it to the people of the states.

These same three justices contributed to a ruling that overruled the Chevron doctrine, which had required courts to defer to the interpretations of the executive branch. In doing so, the court removed a degree of authority from the permanent governing class and returned it to the elected representatives of the people.

The Trump administration opposed the many forms of censorship of Americans, which flew under the flag of combating disinformation. Whatever its sponsors may say, restricting what they call disinformation is censorship, pure and simple.

Two further areas remain to be considered. It is true that Mr. Trump centralized power over illegal immigration in the executive branch. Immigration policy has been understood to be a federal responsibility since the late 19th century. In this regard, there was nothing new.

Congress should play an important role in crafting immigration policy. Still, amid congressional inaction, Mr. Trump acted in ways consistent with the authority granted to the president under long-standing legislation. President Biden has used this authority to undo Mr. Trump’s actions.

One might also note that Mr. Trump’s power exercise was not directed against American citizens. It was employed entirely against immigrants who entered the United States illegally. No rights of Americans were newly subsumed under the power of the state. On the contrary, the property rights of many Americans in the Southwest were strengthened by Mr. Trump’s policies.

Finally, in fairness, we must consider Mr. Trump’s actions after the 2020 election. However these might be judged — and this author thinks that some of them were ill advised — it is interesting to note that enhancing the power of the state was not at stake; none were designed to expand the power of the state but to retain power after an election that Mr. Trump says he had won.

These are hardly the policies of a fascist. They seem more akin to the policies of a classical liberal. They are mostly policies designed to take powers away from the state and its elite acolytes and return them to the people.

One might ask who actually wants to increase the power and centrality of the state. Perhaps those who wish to raise taxes, multiply regulations, expand the reach of the federal bureaucracy, expand censorship, nationalize abortion law, reduce the independence of the Supreme Court and adopt election laws that aim to further one-party governance.

I am far from calling these views fascist, but they are much closer to it than the policies of Donald Trump.

• Jeff Bergner served in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.