American Fascistby Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier, professor of politics, analyzes Trump's inaugural speech and points out the language and ideas of fascism. “Trump’s entire speech was a kind of Alice-in-Wonderland crazy quilt of words that meant the exactly opposite of what was expressed... an angry rant, reflecting the personality traits of an insecure bully: narcissistic, thin-skinned, revengeful, and impulsive, lacking empathy or humility.Fascists claim to speak for “the people,”  but pursue policies that overwhelmingly benefit a handful of the favored – families, cronies, corporations, and loyalists. They always claim the mantle of “the people and seek to unite the country behind a smokescreen of patriotism while scapegoating the weak and powerless. His speech was a series of deflections away from the core problem facing the US: the growing power of a tiny wealthy elite – the .001% — over our economy and politics."