Noah nailed it. This was very informative. It is a relief to finally see more writers using the term fascism. His focus on Hungary and Turkey offers a real-world current model to justify his assertions about Trumpist MAGAism.
As a psychologist, it is puzzling how so many Americans can embrace a candidate for president who made it clear when running that he was going to be a dictator on "Day-1." To most of us who voted for somebody else in 2024, the MAGA population seemed to be endorsing policies that would create self-inflicted harm to their own best interests - tariffs - for example. My best hypothesis is limited critical reasoning skill. Then, when noting that most MAGA voters live in rural areas, I began to wonder if there was a correlation there.
I grew up in a small German immigrant farming village west of Chicago. I managed to escape what I call Whiteflightburbia at age 13 by convincing my parents to send me to a Catholic prep school in Chicago's inner city. Unlike my pals back home, I was taught critical reasoning. I also observed that my classmates from the inner city already had a head start on critical reasoning - it was a necessary skill to function in urban life.
By college age, I had noted that most of my pals in the neighborhood back home did not reflect the critical reasoning my prep school pals did. At the time, I associated it with attending a better high school; not living in a sub-urban bubble. Today, I think I might have overlooked that critical reasoning skill in farm-county is not that essential. Life is rather routine and the town culture is quite homogeneous in contrast to big cities like Chicago where you always need to be alert to possible scams and threats. Maybe that is how MAGA mainly took hold in Red states, but not states with large urban populations.
That may be true of rural areas. The one I came from is indistinguishable today from the way it was in the 50s.
That leaves out the middle and upper class republikkkan voters. They think. They are educated. They live in large cities. They like their low taxes. They don't concern themselves with politics beyond how it affects them personally. They don't hate minorities or non-white majorities. They simply don't think of them. They have no reason to do so.
Excellent Noah, and I agree. As you’ve so eloquently stated, we at least were always moving towards a country of inclusion, to fulfill our mandate as a democracy. Today, we’re sliding backwards, and worse, the Supreme Court has legalized corruption, and voter suppression.
And now they are taking up the last remnants of the Civil Rights Act right before the midterms, giving Trump and his minions another opportunity to win an election by suppressing voters rights.
Bottom line; they won’t kill the bill outright, but they’ll gut it to the point where it’s toothless, which could be enough to tip the scales once and for all, making us for all intents and purposes a competitive authoritarian state; if we aren’t already! IMHO…:)
Orban is teaching the far right in the US the basics of authoritarianism. He has given speeches at the annual CPAC conference every year since at least 2022.
I'm wondering why Americans are still mostly ignoring the obvious.
White America is terrified of being a minority. The NRA was founded not for hunters and gun enthusiasts … but to prepare for when the “young black bucks” rise up.
When the will of the majority is continually thwarted by the minority, there may come a time when frustration will lead the majority to take more drastic measures. Perish the thought.
If Trump is allowed to have a new census removing the undocumented, citizens will also be removed, as many do not have proof of their citizenship. Driver's licenses aren't accepted as citizenship documentation, the majority of Americans don't have passports, and states DO NOT automatically issue birth certificates (to get one, one needs an SS card and MONEY). This is all part of the authoritarian model -- voting is a "privilege" for those who deserve to be in charge of the rest of us. If this comes to pass, I only hope that many MAGATs don't have proper documentation.
This article helps me continue to open my eyes to the authoritarian streak present in our country. It's a long journey from GW not telling his father a lie to where I am today, but this article moved me further down the path. I've already turned into a socialist. Next thing up is radical progressive. I might already be there. Thank you for this.
I have read some of the racial resentment Trump enthusiasm correlation studies but what % of 2024 voters is enthusiastic racist MAGA? You can’t win w just those freaks. I’d also like to see some studies of misogyny and Trumpphilism because that seems to be the much bigger factor in young gen z male MAGA and maybe some of the black male and Latino male shift-Christian freaks like both racism and misogyny prob equally. Also I have met/socialized with the ignorant Trump voter who knows NOTHING about the crazy shit trump says and did and just thinks Trump rich businessman= Trump good for inflation/economy, so there I blame MSM for shitty sanewashing, decontextualized, GOP framing headlines and Biden Kamala Dem derangement syndrome in media (I have my criticism of all 3 Gaza, pro corp Kamala, feckless DNC that also contributed to trumps win) We know 75% of people only read headlines (prob on FB or Apple News) and headlines dictate downstream vibes on social media the uninformed/antinews voter does consume like fucking Rogan and TikTok.
"The change would be in line with Trump’s demand that red states engage in an orgy of mid-cycle gerrymandering aimed at allowing Republicans to *increase the number of safe GOP seats* and make it possible for them to hold onto the House despite their deeply unpopular policies."
The GOP gerrymandering orgy is actually a gambit to turn tossup and Lean-D seats to Lean-R seats. It may, in fact, slightly *reduce* the number of Safe-R seats, or at least how safe they are. The bottom line is *more* GOP seats (Trump demands they squeeze every drop from the lemon) but slightly less secure overall against a potential blue-wave electoral shift (see E2018).
However, the GOP has other ways of dealing with the threat of such a shift (especially in red states and counties where it has control, though federal intervention in blue venues should not be discounted): targeted voter suppression and intimidation, voter purges, possibly vote count manipulation (if needed). I examine this at greater depth here: https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/us-politics/full-frontal-gerrymandering-trumps-roided-up-play-to-hold-the-house/.
Noah nailed it. This was very informative. It is a relief to finally see more writers using the term fascism. His focus on Hungary and Turkey offers a real-world current model to justify his assertions about Trumpist MAGAism.
As a psychologist, it is puzzling how so many Americans can embrace a candidate for president who made it clear when running that he was going to be a dictator on "Day-1." To most of us who voted for somebody else in 2024, the MAGA population seemed to be endorsing policies that would create self-inflicted harm to their own best interests - tariffs - for example. My best hypothesis is limited critical reasoning skill. Then, when noting that most MAGA voters live in rural areas, I began to wonder if there was a correlation there.
I grew up in a small German immigrant farming village west of Chicago. I managed to escape what I call Whiteflightburbia at age 13 by convincing my parents to send me to a Catholic prep school in Chicago's inner city. Unlike my pals back home, I was taught critical reasoning. I also observed that my classmates from the inner city already had a head start on critical reasoning - it was a necessary skill to function in urban life.
By college age, I had noted that most of my pals in the neighborhood back home did not reflect the critical reasoning my prep school pals did. At the time, I associated it with attending a better high school; not living in a sub-urban bubble. Today, I think I might have overlooked that critical reasoning skill in farm-county is not that essential. Life is rather routine and the town culture is quite homogeneous in contrast to big cities like Chicago where you always need to be alert to possible scams and threats. Maybe that is how MAGA mainly took hold in Red states, but not states with large urban populations.
It is inertia. It is the desire to let someone else to do the “heavy lifting” … as long as whites maintain control. CRT, was pooh-poohed, now reigns.
That may be true of rural areas. The one I came from is indistinguishable today from the way it was in the 50s.
That leaves out the middle and upper class republikkkan voters. They think. They are educated. They live in large cities. They like their low taxes. They don't concern themselves with politics beyond how it affects them personally. They don't hate minorities or non-white majorities. They simply don't think of them. They have no reason to do so.
Excellent Noah, and I agree. As you’ve so eloquently stated, we at least were always moving towards a country of inclusion, to fulfill our mandate as a democracy. Today, we’re sliding backwards, and worse, the Supreme Court has legalized corruption, and voter suppression.
And now they are taking up the last remnants of the Civil Rights Act right before the midterms, giving Trump and his minions another opportunity to win an election by suppressing voters rights.
Bottom line; they won’t kill the bill outright, but they’ll gut it to the point where it’s toothless, which could be enough to tip the scales once and for all, making us for all intents and purposes a competitive authoritarian state; if we aren’t already! IMHO…:)
To borrow Al Gore’s term, much of our history can be labeled as An Inconvenient Truth.
Red states spend less on education. They know that this allows rethuglicans to stay in power.
Al Gore conceded the election … as he should have. But, looking back, shouldn’t have.
Orban is teaching the far right in the US the basics of authoritarianism. He has given speeches at the annual CPAC conference every year since at least 2022.
I'm wondering why Americans are still mostly ignoring the obvious.
White America is terrified of being a minority. The NRA was founded not for hunters and gun enthusiasts … but to prepare for when the “young black bucks” rise up.
Is that a fact you can substantiate, or merely your opinion?
Substantiate? The NRA? Substantiation is difficult when “facts” are hidden behind lofty promises. So, “opinion”?
Why are you so defensive? Am I supposed to simply take you at your word? Sorry, but I won't do that.
Then don’t.
Thank you, Mr. Berlatsky. Great essay.
When the will of the majority is continually thwarted by the minority, there may come a time when frustration will lead the majority to take more drastic measures. Perish the thought.
If Trump is allowed to have a new census removing the undocumented, citizens will also be removed, as many do not have proof of their citizenship. Driver's licenses aren't accepted as citizenship documentation, the majority of Americans don't have passports, and states DO NOT automatically issue birth certificates (to get one, one needs an SS card and MONEY). This is all part of the authoritarian model -- voting is a "privilege" for those who deserve to be in charge of the rest of us. If this comes to pass, I only hope that many MAGATs don't have proper documentation.
This article helps me continue to open my eyes to the authoritarian streak present in our country. It's a long journey from GW not telling his father a lie to where I am today, but this article moved me further down the path. I've already turned into a socialist. Next thing up is radical progressive. I might already be there. Thank you for this.
I have read some of the racial resentment Trump enthusiasm correlation studies but what % of 2024 voters is enthusiastic racist MAGA? You can’t win w just those freaks. I’d also like to see some studies of misogyny and Trumpphilism because that seems to be the much bigger factor in young gen z male MAGA and maybe some of the black male and Latino male shift-Christian freaks like both racism and misogyny prob equally. Also I have met/socialized with the ignorant Trump voter who knows NOTHING about the crazy shit trump says and did and just thinks Trump rich businessman= Trump good for inflation/economy, so there I blame MSM for shitty sanewashing, decontextualized, GOP framing headlines and Biden Kamala Dem derangement syndrome in media (I have my criticism of all 3 Gaza, pro corp Kamala, feckless DNC that also contributed to trumps win) We know 75% of people only read headlines (prob on FB or Apple News) and headlines dictate downstream vibes on social media the uninformed/antinews voter does consume like fucking Rogan and TikTok.
Well done. Thanks.
Ultimately Trump wants to change the census to count only loyalists.
Great piece, one significant correction:
"The change would be in line with Trump’s demand that red states engage in an orgy of mid-cycle gerrymandering aimed at allowing Republicans to *increase the number of safe GOP seats* and make it possible for them to hold onto the House despite their deeply unpopular policies."
The GOP gerrymandering orgy is actually a gambit to turn tossup and Lean-D seats to Lean-R seats. It may, in fact, slightly *reduce* the number of Safe-R seats, or at least how safe they are. The bottom line is *more* GOP seats (Trump demands they squeeze every drop from the lemon) but slightly less secure overall against a potential blue-wave electoral shift (see E2018).
However, the GOP has other ways of dealing with the threat of such a shift (especially in red states and counties where it has control, though federal intervention in blue venues should not be discounted): targeted voter suppression and intimidation, voter purges, possibly vote count manipulation (if needed). I examine this at greater depth here: https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/us-politics/full-frontal-gerrymandering-trumps-roided-up-play-to-hold-the-house/.