!trekkies what do you guys think was the point of this character considering how she ended?

Yeah don't say "this person". We've got pronouns. Pronoun avoidance is misgendering.

Context:

The post is full of gems, but this is probably the best part:

stable stable, which is consistently growing, consistently profitable, and paying employees $5k to $10k per day at current full comp market rates. These are largely flying under the news radar. These companies aren't Google or Apple, but rather some tractor company or heavy manufacturing company just churning out results for years without destabilizing the world. Stable stable companies do that thing where every quarter they "beat expectations" on their stock reports by a coincidental $0.01 just to prove they are always growing.

He seems to think that people working at manufacturing companies are making $10k per day.

BTW, this is what antirez wrote about the author 10 years ago:

One thing I did not liked was Matt Stancliff talk. He tried to uncover different problems in the Redis development process, and finally proposed the community to replace me as the project leader, with him. In my opinion what Matt actually managed to do was to cherry-pick from my IRC, Twitter and Github issues posts in a very unfair way, in order to provide a bad imagine of myself. I think this was a big mistake. Moreover he did the talk as the last talk, not providing a right to reply. Matt and I happen to be persons with very different visions in many ways, however Redis is a project I invested many years into, and I'm not going to change my vision, I'm actually afraid I merged some code under pressure that I now find non well written and designed.

There might be some good points buried in this post, but all I get is bitterness without much self-reflection. They seem like they'd be difficult to work with and would blame you for it.

He's looked at levels.fyi.

He even links to it from his resume.

His problem is that he thinks L10 is the benchmark to compare against, when the vast, vast majority of engineers (including many with decades of experience) would never make it to L10.

Wow, indeed, in his resume under "Waiting for AI Apocalypse / Available for Employment", he links to levels.fyi page for L10 Google Engineer ($3M total comp).

I deserve a $3M salary and if I don't get, it means the whole industry is fricked

The author's tone is condescending, angry and entitled. If everyday interactions with him followed the same tone, I would argue that he is the exact type of person behavioral interviews are meant to screen out (technically competent but a nightmare to work with).

If this guy has reasonable technical chops, he seems like someone who would be great to work with.

It's always, always good to have people in your group who are willing to call a steaming shitpile a steaming shitpile. It's also always good to have people in your group who can fairly rapidly turn a steaming shitpile into something that's fit for purpose and reasonably maintainable.

HNers are absolutely terrible at recognizing smart people. I think that's why they often heavily upmarsey beginner-level projects like "I made Redis in Python (meaning: I wrapped a dict with a simple API)" or "I made a desktop in HTML/JS"

_____

Women will literally make everything into a complicated little social ritual

Most Based Comments

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

What? What Remains of Edith Finch only takes a few hours start to finish. You must have pretty much given up instantly on reaching the forest because that section doesn't take long at all. (1067)

Yep, hence the title (-89)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔘🔘🔘

Honestly that is hilarious OP. The two branching paths are literally just for an achievement, it makes no difference which you take, you don't even need to enter the forest and if you do, going through the forest takes maybe 30 seconds? A minute tops. This is the equivalent of booting up Mario Bros, seeing the first jump and thinking "geez that looks like a lot of hassle..." and quitting. (3903)

I believe you, but my completionist brain can't leave a single stone unturned and I felt overwhelmed by the perceived size and slow walking speed. (-82)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔘🔘🔘

Well, they download it because it's free. (51)

Seems like a waste of time and storage space to me… (-53)

Angriest Comments

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Not really immediately but I finished the story in Diablo 4 and felt no desire to keep going. The story was pretty good better than the prequels. But man that end game on release was abysmal. It killed my interest in the game and Diablo has always been about end game grind so I feel it counts. (-1)

I'm sorry but this had me do a double take. Diablo 4's story was a mess. The whole thing can be summed up as "Chase villain to location A. Get told that she isn't here and you should go to B" rinse and repeat until the game is over.It was mario levels of "the princess is in another castle".Don't even get me started on the absolute dumb shit the main cast does. MOTHERLOVER WHY NOT USE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!<JUST STAB HIM YOU IDIOT!<Seriously the game was rife with stupid shit like that. (1)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Alan Wake. Thankfully, this was a "free" game from a GameStop promo, but I immediately stopped playing the game after a Duracell commercial played. Frick this shit.Alien Isolation. Made it to the room where I was supposed to find a card on a dead doctor. I'm no fan of crap AI in games and this one is bad. Side note: turns out, I'm not the only one who quit the game on this level. Based on achievements and comments, many left the game at this level. Gee, wonder why. /sFoamstars. Thinking this would be a different take on Splatoon, boy was I wrong. After the tutorial was over, the game vomits all over the player with the most atrocious microtransaction and prices I had ever seen in a game. (1)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

First descendant. Idk how people are playing this garbage. It's diet warfram / destiny. The voice acting is god awful, the lighting is awful everything looks all washed out no matter what you do. The gameplay is mid. Again, diet warframe/ destiny. Micro transactions that again are even WORSE than warframe and destiny.On top of that the game is piss easy and made for fricking babies. All challenge comes from fricking stat bloat on enemies which still isn't hard because the mechanics are shit. Anything outside of the "crazy hard" difficulties are like fighting ants that can't even hurt you.Oh and to top it off it has that generic garbage butt "chosen one" story line shit. Fricking hate that trope. This game is peak garbage. (2)

Biggest Lolcow: /u/Black_Mammoth

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Being the supreme leader in a vegetative state for 4 years is nothing compared to thousands of years for the God Emperor in Warhammer 40k, so what are we even talking about? The point is that the Democrats behind him can make the correct choices to prevent the chaos chuds from ruining everthing, and destroying the world, and that's what really matters.

Here we spot wild Bardfinn Bluesky activities.

Be valid and ping ! bardfinn for something worthwhile or create a new thread.

Hey besties!!!

I'm the bloke that wrote this.

https://rdrama.net/h/pol/post/278965/the-state-of-the-race-whos

In the comments, I talk to a guy about the debates, and make a prediction. I wonder what I say?

I think the debates will be a Biden win, honestly. And going by the way rightoid media personalities have been pushing "Biden will be on drugs during the debates!!!", they think so as well. But we could all be wrong, Biden is really old after all.

Biden's performance can be summed as

The kindest thing I've seen about his performance is "Well, the debates don't matter." Is that the case Rdrama.net? Well, no. For this write-up, I'll compare the first debates, the second debates and sixth debates, which were considered to have the biggest impacts on the races, and how they relate to Biden's performance.

Tl;Dr

1960 US Debates

Richard Nixon () v John Kennedy ()

These debates are famous. The story is that Nixon looked like shit, Kennedy looked great, and so Kennedy won. This is only half of the story - America has elected uggos to office before. Politics is basically Hollywood for ugly people - were the American people really so shallow they voted for the Hotty over the Notty?

The campaign was built on a simple question - experience, with Vice-President Nixon, or change, with Senator Kennedy. Kennedy's campaign had been that Eisenhower as President had made the country stagnate. As President, he was going to advance civil rights, expand social security with medicare and get far more bombs so they could bomb the shit out of the Commies . Nixon promised to not screw up the good thing they had with Eisenhower, who was the most popular President until 9/11 era Bush .

Nixon looking like a corpse on TV while Kennedy was tanned and exuberant gave a lot of credit to the idea that America needed change, that Nixon was stagnation. With how insanely close 1960 really was, it's obvious this screw up was why Nixon lost the election. If he was able to look more secure on TV, then he would win. Instead, he became the visual argument for why Kennedy was right.

1976 US Debates

Gerald Ford () v Jimmy Carter () ((the joke is that Jimmy is a peanut farmer))

The battle of the nice guys is known for having the best ever losing campaign, when Ford managed to lose by just one state only 2 years after pardoning Nixon . If Ohio was 1% different, Ford would have been a two term president.

After roughly 15 years of lies from the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administration, America wanted change. Jimmy Carter, an outsider disliked by the mainstream Democrats, was able to ride the wave of change by positioning himself as a humble Bapist that just loved God and America and would never tell a lie . By contrast, Ford had been in Congress for about 20 years, was popular inside the party, and managed to barely beat Republican outsider Ronald Reagan . He was viewed at best as an r-slur that pardoned a criminal, at worst as another criminal.

Ford managed to overcome this however. He accepted the facts of the race, America loves newcomer Jimmy Carter, and adapted to them. Carter is an outsider - but can he handle the economy? The Cold War? Coupled with Ford just being a really nice, friendly guy, and he managed to flip the race on it's head by accepting the facts and changing the perspective on them.

The debates would end this, when he said repeatedly that the Soviet Union doesn't dominate East Europe.

It's clear that he's trying the same stuff as "experienced vs outsider" stuff by flipping the narrative and making Jimmy Carter sound weak on defence. But he just sounds like a fricking idiot, and ruined his own prior messaging. He would go on to admit his mistake, but it wasn't enough. Carter would narrowly win, despite his own countless mistakes.

1988 US Debates

George Bush () v Michael Dukakis ()

When the campaign started, Bush was going to lose. Governor Dukakis was a popular moderate liberal with one of the best states in the Union while Vice-President Bush was the dweeb tied to Reagan's various criminal scandals, like Iran-Contra . Bush was able to close the gap with one of the most brutally effective negative campaigns of all time, built on two key issues - Dukakis is soft on crime (America under Reagan had seen crime raise all over the nation, but lowest in Massachusetts) and Dukakis is soft on defence (Iran-Contra lol). If you've ever seen the Simpsons episode where Sideshow Bob runs for Mayor, it's genuinely barely a parody.

Dukakis misread the situation, and chose not to respond. Rather then make him look like the bigger man, he just made it seem like Bush was correct. Come the debate, and there's only one moment people are talking about:

: Governor Dukakis, if Kitty Dukakis were r*ped and murdered, would you favour an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?

: No I don't Bernard, and I think you know I've opposed the death penalty nearly all of my life. I don't believe it works as deterrent...

This really happened btw

The question was clearly, obviously inappropriate. And rather then say "Uh Mr. Shaw I'm really angry at what you're saying about my wife, there are better ways to discuss the issues" or whatever, he treated the question like it was fair and reasonable. If he wasn't gonna kick up a fuss, why should the public? So they treated the question like it was fair, and Dukakis' utter flop answer ("No I love murdering male feminists ") haunted him. There were other issues, but to the public he was the "soft on crime guy." Come the election, Bush wins in the last 400+ EV landslide.

Intermission

Did you know John Kerry is widely considered to have beaten George Bush in the debates? Or that Romney beat Obama in 2012? In 1984, during the first debates, Reagan's performance against Mondale is honestly comparable to Biden's performance last night. The idea that the debates don't matter does have some truth to it. The truth is, debates are just one part of the campaign. Everything, from the posters to the speeches to the badges, go into making a campaign. Debates aren't one massive part of it - they're just another cog in the electioneering machine. If a debate goes poorly, like in 2004, that doesn't matter. Bush wasn't running on being an egghead, he was running on being the commander, yee-haw! Reagan wasn't running on being the intellectual with the perfect facts and figures, he was running on keeping the government out of your life. The fact they preformed poorly doesn't matter, since the message wasn't really affected.

2024 Debates

Trump () v Biden ()

If you'll recall my write-up, I discussed the biggest issues these uniquely unpopular figures face. Trump is a loudmouth butthole and criminal, Biden is a senile r-slur. These debates couldn't have gone much better for Trump. He made some gaffes - some of his question dodging was kinda pathetic, outright bragging about repealing Roe V Wade will be used in some ads. But the formats of the debate were built, by the Biden team!!!!!, to cover Trump's worst traits. The 2016 and 2020 debates were both massive flops for Trump, since his obnoxious personality was on full display. With the mics being muted and the answer time limits being adhered to strictly, Trump couldn't be so annoying. Biden, by contrast, could barely fricking speak. He sounded like he was going to die in a week and could barely speak straight. 66% of undecided voters think Biden will die before 2028 (which yeah probably). When Biden can barely fricking speak, everything the public hates about Biden is made clearer than crystal.

Already, Trump is 2% ahead - basically undoing the conviction. 2% may not sound like much, but what can Biden do to fix it? Trump's convictions are hardly a secret. He's not really hidden his affairs. The only thing I can see stopping a Trump victory is if Trump is outright jailed, which polls have reported roughly halving his support base. With how obnoxious he acted in court, and were he a normal defendant, I would say that's likely. However, the Judge has made comments about not wanting to divide the country - this to me implies a fine, rather than behind bars.

Of course, anything can happen. There's always a good old fashioned October Surprise. But things are looking great for Dementia Daddy (R) - at this rate, he might even win the popular vote.

https://old.reddit.com/r/inthenews/

Head Jannie

https://old.reddit.com/user/Isentrope

Now why would a top /r/worldnews mod need to make an alternate subreddit apparently for the same thing?

The entire subreddit is just entirely bordering on delusional cope about Trump losing horribly right now, I suspect for the purpose of having an extra source to show up on /r/all and /r/popular.

All threads are extremely heavily moderated or locked, and submissions are auto hidden until approved.

Blatant propaganda

https://t.co/4H7VfX04rY

— _its_not_real_ (@_its_not_real_) July 24, 2024

like bro I get it the bureaucratic machine of state is an enormous terrifying apparatus that forces you to go to school and facilitates the capitalistic exploitation of human resources

but they will turn the ovens on and that's just objectively bad.

Crazy scene... pic.twitter.com/jq382r2gdY

— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) July 25, 2024

!britbongs

https://old.reddit.com/r/youtubedrama/comments/1eawgy6/not_jobby/

https://old.reddit.com/r/youtubedrama/comments/1eaou34/the_horrible_and_disgusting_sleepy_cabin_episode/

https://old.reddit.com/r/youtubedrama/comments/1eawgy6/not_jobby/

https://old.reddit.com/r/youtubedrama/comments/1earxx2/people_associated_with_shadman_twitter_thread/

They fail to realize these peoples audience aren't redditors or are sponsored by huge companies so you can't cancel them lol.

This is insane.

Macron's party colluded with the far-left socialists in order to block a Le Pen win.

200 candidates dropped out last week, coalescing against the "far-right".

Well the coup just paid off.

The socialists just won FIRST PLACE.

It looks like France will not…

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 7, 2024

Winning an election is treason

I need a Time Pool Marsey stat

Better to just stay home then don't vote.

!nonchuds

Why do I listen to you people every two years

Why do I always believe you

Every single fricking time "no carp honest it's coming home this time for sure"

And then shit like this

EVERY TIME

Kick a Spaniard in the teeth.

!britbongs !football

American queen in Germany retrofitting two AC units into her apartment because she was raised to have agency instead of sitting back and taking shit from the universe. pic.twitter.com/q20Q0ghddI

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) July 21, 2024

Most Based Comments

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔘

Lol these people are truly disgusting. (29)

The religious LOONIES ARE DISGUSTING. When right thinking folks confronted them in pioneer square because of their support for worship of horny toads, religious LOONIES began masturbating and moaning and flinging tampons at worshippers. It was quite the sight and immediately publicized by Marjorie Taylor Greene in her bid to prove God exists. (-46)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

Lol these people are truly disgusting. (29)

The religious LOONIES ARE DISGUSTING. When right thinking folks confronted them in pioneer square because of their support for worship of horny toads, religious LOONIES began masturbating and moaning and flinging tampons at worshippers. It was quite the sight and immediately publicized by Marjorie Taylor Greene in her bid to prove God exists. (-37)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

Interesting that the Usual Suspects consider Christianity on its own as white supremacy, Nazism, "Proud Boy"-ism, etc. I can only hope that the new DA actually follows up and puts these losers in prison where they belong once his term starts.If you want to be "progressive" and enact social change go volunteer at Sisters of the Road, the Oregon Food Bank, H4H or a soup kitchen. Don't protest a bunch of Christians having a peaceful event and yell insults at them. It's not productive and it literally does nothing except add to the total amount of suffering and negative energy occurring at any given time. (30)

Nope, frick those buttholes, they are not welcome here. We don't need to hear about their imaginary friend nor why that allows them to take away our liberty (-30)

Angriest Comments

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Well, they might actually be "Antifa" since we are walking the road towards Christian Nationalism. (-11)

They're antifa because they're a violent mob, and that's what antifa has always been. skinheads and the black bloc have been attacking each other in streets of Europe for decades, because that's what they do. But a christian event isn't a fascist mob. They're not storming the fricking beaches of normandy, they're smashing up store fronts and beating people for their opinions.You don't have to pick between one violent mob and the other. They're both terrorists who use violence and intimidation to achieve their goals. (16)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Nope, frick those buttholes, they are not welcome here. We don't need to hear about their imaginary friend nor why that allows them to take away our liberty (-30)

Too stupid to see he is the same by violently removing their liberty.Edit: since Apparently this comment got me shadowbanned or something.. just wanted to point out that no one has posted links of how THIS group has acted violently or aggressively. Instead only one side in this video is visibly using terrorism to silence others. Also don't give me shit about Christians being violent when you are cheering a group that is wearing the colors of a known terrorist group. (9)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

The German version of Nazi (the Nazis actually didn't call them selves that, that was a name made up by the Allies) is Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiterpartei which translates to "National Socialist Germany Workers Party". Hitler spoke about being a Socialist in his speeches often, but he wasn't referring to Socialism in a Communism Light sense that many Americans have coined it as. The NSDAP was very against Communists, as where incidentally The Anti Fascist movement where as well. That's actually one of the three down arrows in their symbol. (Monarchy, Fascism, and Communism) (5)

I will not link to "Mein Kampf" here, but I have skimmed it because my family lived through the war and immigrated here, and there is actually an interesting section where Hitler is clearly laying out his positions on Unions, social democrats, and communists - which he is all negative on. But he is also negative on pure capitalism for mistreating workers too. Basically, he says unions are run by self-important people who like to order the rank and file around. He says he can briefly sympathize with people who want to support social democrats except he considers them misguided, and he totally dislikes communists. He criticizes ruthless industry leaders who keep the working class in marginal conditions. But then Hitler offers an even worse program - he essentially blames the problems of capitalism on owners from certain ethnic groups such as jews or old royalty, and he says that what we really need is an outbreak of patriotism and nationalism which will result in company owners volun... (1)

Biggest Lolcow: /u/StumpyJoe-

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The political right often rejects claims that Donald Trump is a fascist. This debate is complicated by fascism's slippery nature, which can resemble authoritarianism, totalitarianism, or military dictatorships. Modern authoritarian regimes like Hungary and Russia further muddy the waters by maintaining the appearance of democracy through elections. Even as Republicans restrict voting rights, they argue that America remains fundamentally democratic. I aims to demonstrate that Trump meets the criteria of fascism using a comprehensive definition from Robert Paxton's "The Anatomy of Fascism."

What is Fascism?

Paxton's definition of fascism in "The Anatomy of Fascism" is chosen for its comprehensive analysis and distinction between fascism and other authoritarian systems. It also divides fascism into stages and shows how they are achieved or how they fail. It helps the reader understand that fascism is not merely a cult of personality where Mussolini or Hitler and their policies define what fascism is. What Hitler and Mussolini did is often what defines so called "liberal fascism", while neglecting the other components that make up fascism. My use of this definition is to avoid such incomplete analysis.

According to Paxton:

"Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

This definition can be broken down into several key components:

1. Political behavior characterized by:

• Obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood

• Compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity

2. Mass-based party of nationalist militants collaborating uneasily with traditional elites

3. Abandonment of democratic liberties

4. Pursuit of internal cleansing and external expansion through redemptive violence, without ethical or legal restraints

How is Trump A Fascist?

Political Behavior—Obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood

Here are there quotes from a recent Fox News interview with Brian Kilmeade about Biden and Democrats:

"He's absolutely destroyed this country."

"He's being laughed at by the leaders of foreign countries. It's ridiculous that he's our president."

"More about policy than anything else and these radical Democrats are all radical everyone that they're talking about is a radical left lunatic and whether it's Biden or whether it's somebody else I think it's the same. They want open borders they want all the things we just discussed and much more. No more gasoline powered cars. They want you to go all electric, which don't go far and made in China; very expensive. They, you know, as an example I say it's almost embarrassing to have to even say, they want men playing in women's sports."

In this interview, Trump and his supporters paint Biden as a national embarrassment, whose policies are supposedly destroying America. They criticize Biden's stance on renewable energy, immigration, and transgender rights, framing these issues as evidence of America's decline. This narrative of national decay and embarrassment sets the stage for a sense of victimhood and persecution.

Trump and his base often portray themselves as victims of the media, claiming that the press unfairly targets and vilifies them. This belief is held regardless of whether they feel the criticism is deserved or not.

While these statements might not be strong indicators of fascism, they do provide insight into Trump's political behavior and his ability to shape public opinion by exploiting fears of decline and outsider threats.

Political Behavior—Compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity

This component, and the next, are crucial as they highlight that fascism is more than just a cult of personality, which is how it is often simplified in the media. By examining the behaviors and beliefs of those within Trump's circle, we can better assess whether he can be considered a fascist, regardless of his self-perception.

Trump's description of the assassination attempt at the Republican National Convention (RNC) is telling:

"I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people breathlessly waiting, and started shouting Fight! Fight! Fight!... When my clenched fist went up high into the air, the crowd realized I was okay and roared with pride for our country like no crowd I have ever heard before..."

Trump's interpretation of the event equates the crowd's enthusiasm for his survival with their passion for the nation. In Trump's narrative, he and the country are one and the same, indicating that he sees himself as the embodiment of a movement fueled by his unique vision for America.

This sense of unity and purity is further emphasized in another quote from his RNC speech:

"Our resolve is unbroken, and our purpose is unchanged: to deliver a government that serves the American people better than ever before. Nothing will stop me in this mission because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure. No matter what obstacle comes our way, we will not break, we will not bend, we will not back down. And I will never stop fighting for you, your family, and our magnificent country. Never."

Here, Trump presents himself and his supporters as righteous and pure, invoking religious notions to justify their political agenda. The fact that the RNC audience cheers on this statement despite its antithesis to democratic pluralism is concerning. Trump's rhetoric leaves no room for legitimate opposition, casting those who challenge him as impure or even unpatriotic.

The support Trump receives from his base further solidifies this dynamic. Many Trump supporters at the RNC wore bandages on their ears in solidarity with him. Figures like Kid Rock, whose Instagram proclaimed, "You frick with Trump, you frick with me!" embody the loyalty of Trump's followers. The Republican Party's continued endorsement of Trump as their standard-bearer indicates their alignment with his vision for the country.

Mass-based party of committed nationalists militants work in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites

Fascism is not merely about the figurehead but also about the social landscape surrounding him. Let's examine this aspect by starting with the relationship between far-right nationalists and traditional elites, which is often uneasy but can be functionally collaborative.

Two recent examples from U.S. politics illustrate this dynamic:

Firstly, consider the recent Republican National Convention (RNC) vote, where Mitch McConnell, a long-serving Senator and instrumental figure in conservative politics, was booed by attendees. McConnell embodies the definition of a traditional elite within the Republican Party. Despite his successful tenure in the Senate, including his role in securing two Supreme Court seats for conservative justices, he was met with disdain by RNC attendees. This reaction is particularly notable given the successful advancement of the conservative agenda through the Court, with landmark decisions such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Chevron deference.

The second example is the insurrection attempt on January 6, 2021, led by Donald Trump and his supporters. Far-right militant groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were present and prepared to commit acts of violence. When former Vice President Mike Pence, a long-serving Republican and loyal supporter of Trump, declined to overturn the election results, these militants turned on him. Despite Pence's four years of service to the conservative movement, his adherence to the law was met with calls for his murder, with insurgents chanting, "Hang Mike Pence."

This tenuous relationship between far-right nationalists and traditional elites is exemplified by these two cases. In the political arena, figures like Trump, McConnell, and Pence share a common vision for the country. However, outside these halls, Trump can leverage the support of far-right militants to exert pressure on more moderate conservatives, as seen during the insurrection attempt. Traditional elites like McConnell and Pence benefit from the support of the far-right base while also needing to maintain a delicate balance to avoid backlash.

In this context, Donald Trump serves as a central figure, navigating both worlds and utilizing them to further his agenda.

Abandons democratic liberties

This criterion expands our understanding of fascist aims beyond just Trump or his supporters, highlighting how fascism poses a direct threat to democratic institutions and the liberties they guarantee. In Trump's statement about the purity of his cause, he emphasizes his determination to overcome any obstacle, including those posed by democracy and the rule of law.

Trump has suggested that, if reelected, he might weaponize the FBI, despite acknowledging the potential consequences for American democracy. A leader committed to preserving democratic norms would instead ensure the lawful punishment of political enemies, thereby upholding democratic liberties and avoiding any actions that could endanger the nation.

Since losing the 2020 election, Trump has consistently denied the validity of the results, claiming without evidence that the election was stolen. This rejection of election results undermines the most fundamental aspect of democracy. What makes this particularly egregious is that Trump is willing to abandon democratic liberties in his pursuit of power. Trump and his allies are already laying the groundwork to challenge the 2024 election results, citing unsubstantiated concerns of fraud.

In another concerning development, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, in Trump v. United States, ruled that the President "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers" and is "entitled to presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts." This decision effectively places the Office of the President above the law, preventing accountability for the most powerful position in the nation—a departure from democratic principles.

Additionally, Trump has vowed to deport up to 11 million undocumented immigrants using the military, a plan that violates the Posse Comitatus Act. This Act prohibits the involvement of federal troops in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has disregarded this Act, stating that undocumented immigrants are not civilians but rather "people that aren't legally in our country."

Trump's brand of fascism sacrifices democratic liberties and norms to serve his pursuit and retention of power. He seeks revenge on political enemies, disregarding the legal justifications, and works to "purify" the nation. That last clause might be a strong phrase but....

Pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion

Trump's characterization of immigrants reveals a lot about his perspective and intentions:

"They're poisoning the blood of our country...They've poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world...They're coming into our country from Africa, from Asia...all over the world they're pouring into our country."

By describing immigrants as "poison," Trump implies that removing them would have a purifying or healing effect on the nation. Immigration is a significant issue for conservatives, and they are likely receptive to Trump's plan of action. Similarly, during his Veterans Day speech in New Hampshire, he vowed to:

"Root out the Communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country...[They] lie and cheat and steal on elections, and will do anything possible, whether legal or illegal, to destroy America and the American dream."

Trump's rhetoric has been identified as echoing Nazi language. Critics often argue that using Nazi rhetoric does not necessarily make one a Nazi, and thus the left's concerns are overblown. However, this component of fascist behavior is about the means fascists employ to achieve their goals. In Trump's case, how does he intend to "root out" these people or deport immigrants? As discussed previously, he has shown little regard for legal constraints, and his actions are likely to violate democratic norms.

The specter of violence looms large within Trump's rhetoric, and with a cause he deems pure and righteous, along with followers eager to act, the potential for violent outcomes increases. Similarly, Kevin Robert, President of the Heritage Foundation and an acquaintance of Trump, has characterized the "radical left" as "coming for your freedom, your God-given rights, and our national soul." Robert further asserted:

"We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,"

Here, Robert strongly insinuates that he and his far-right militants are prepared for redemptive violence to restore their vision of America. Trump's rhetoric and that of his far-right allies indicate a readiness to employ violence in pursuit of their version of the "American dream," raising serious concerns about the potential for future unrest and the erosion of democratic norms.

Trump is a Fascist

To sum it up, Trump's narrative consistently revolves around the idea of national decline and humiliation, cultivating a sense of victimhood among his supporters. He evokes religious notions of purity and unity, entwining his personal interests with the nation's, which leaves no room for legitimate democratic opposition. Trump's false claim of election fraud and his disregard for democratic institutions, norms, and liberties further bolster the case for his fascist tendencies.

Indeed, one of the clearest indicators of Trump's authoritarian inclinations is his pursuit of power with no ethical or legal restraints. His rhetoric demonizes immigrants and his political opponents, using Nazi phrases like they're his own. Trump's loyal base of committed nationalist militants includes far-right groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were present during the January 6 insurrection. In concert, they pose a direct threat to democratic ideals. Traditional elites within the Republican Party, though maintaining an uneasy relationship with these militants, ultimately benefit from and contribute to Trump's fascist agenda. As Kevin Robert, an acquaintance of Trump's, insinuated, Trump and his followers are prepared to use redemptive violence to realize their vision for America.

Donald Trump is a fascist.