I’m tearing up a bit. Not because I’m sad but because I’m tired of always being correct and amazing. It’s difficult carrying all of this around every day, especially with people contacting me about the growing Mega Millions jackpot and wanting me to gift them the winning numbers. But this one was really a gimme. The President of people who buy their toilet paper at places that sell scratch-off tickets has just a confirmed that he’s a fascist or —as he calls it—a “nationalist.”
I think we’ve all know for quite some time that he’s both.
During a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz, who, I reiterate, is absolutely not the Zodiac killer, Trump did the thing where he acts like he’s going against the wishes of everyone around him to bond with the people of (insert any backwoods town where Trump is holding a rally). It’s a Trump moment that has become famous during his WWE-style rallies to move his base. Well, during this rally for the senator who is unequivocally not a serial killer, Trump decided to stand up for nationalists across the country and declare himself one too.
Here’s how CNN’s Chris Cillizza explains the impact of Trump’s word choice.
Then there the historical context of the word “nationalism.” It primarily conjures two close associations: Nazism and white nationalism.
The roots of Adolf Hitler’s rise were built around his emphasis on extreme nationalism—the idea that the only way Germany could be great again was to seize onto the superiority of the German people and drive out those across Europe who refused to acknowledge that superiority.
White nationalism, which reared its ugly head in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year is organized under the principle that Caucasians are inherently superior and in order for society to truly prosper, the agenda of whites needs to be recognized as a first priority — at the necessary expense of anyone who isn’t white.
This isn’t news to anyone who has been watching. What makes this interesting is Trump’s admission. Since taking office, Trump has proven that he’s the president of straight white men. He’s made no bones about alienating just about everyone who has a vote in upcoming elections. He consistently berates and belittles the Democratic party; he’s called Mexicans rapists; made fun of a sexual assault survivor and a reporter with a physical disability. He’s made the press the enemy of his administration and has done a plethora of all types of clown shit since taking office. Oh, and let’s not forget that after that rally in which white men stormed the sidewalks of Charlottesville, Va., it was Trump who called them “good people” and refused to denounce their behavior.
Let’s also not forget that he stacked his cabinet with white nationalist sympathizers like “voice of the alt-right” Steve Bannon; the man who co-opted the KKK motto “America First” Stephen Miller; Nazi sympathizer Sebastian Gorka; and Kris Kobach, “the most racist politician in America.”
The point is that Trump knows the difference between patriotism and nationalism. He wasn’t just noting that he’s pro-America, he’s also letting the sea of white faces who greet him during these rallies he uses to pleasure himself know that he’s continuing to push a white nationalist agenda to which they all cheered.
The current president of the United States has always been a white nationalist and a fascist and he’s acted accordingly since taking office. Now, he’s emboldened enough to come right out and say it. And he knows that with Russia on his side, nothing can stop him from saying or doing anything he wants.
Are we great again yet?