MAGA, Trump, and the question of fascism in the US

The roots of the MAGA movement go back a long way—to the origins of the US as a slave-based settler colony. Parts of the US right now openly sympathize with a neo-apartheid regime.

By Carl Davidson and Bill Fletscher

[This article posted in July 2025 is translated from the German on the Internet, https://zeitschrift-luxemburg.de/artikel/maga-trump/.]

Against the destruction of the future
——————————————

A specter is haunting the world—the specter of right-wing authoritarianism.[1] This has changed: from right-wing populism to 21st-century fascism, which some call “post-fascism,” others “neo-fascism,” and still others “constitutional fascism.” This recognizes that there is a difference between the form of fascism today and the form that emerged after World War I.

The left in the US tends to overuse the term “fascist.” They tend to label any right-wing repressive regime as such. We propose to differentiate and, in the case of the US, to take a closer look at the relationship between “authoritarian neoliberalism” and fascism in the history of US imperialism, right-wing populism, and the forces that want to restore and reshape white supremacy.

Right-wing populism has a long tradition in the US, its beginnings usually associated with the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829–37). However, its roots go back further, to the origins of the US as a slave-based settler colony and the associated construction of “race” (see Berlet/Lyons 2000). Furthermore, so-called traditional gender roles and the oppression of women have always been important components of right-wing populism. In order to better understand the current situation in the US, it is necessary to include the contradictions that arose after the American Civil War (1861–65) more strongly in the analysis, but also to demythologize the entire “democratic” history of the US. Only then can we see more clearly that what we have been experiencing since Trump’s two election victories and the rise of the MAGA movement (“Make America Great Again”) has been flowing like poison through the veins of the US from the very beginning.

While the term fascism is often associated with 20th-century European dictatorships such as those of Mussolini and Hitler, elements of fascist ideology and practice can also be identified in certain phases of US history and politics. These are closely interwoven with the legacy of white supremacy, racial hierarchy, and authoritarianism that emerged from the dynamic between the forces of “Reconstruction” and “Redemption.” The interplay between ‘Reconstruction’ and “Redemption” can be seen as the basis for a specific US variant of fascism (cf. ibid.). As long as people in the US still believe in the existence of a biological “white race” and subordinate “colored races” and see this as part of a “natural order,” the “Old Confederacy” will continue to haunt their minds.

“What we have been experiencing since Trump’s two election victories and with the rise of the MAGA movement has been flowing like poison through the veins of the US from the very beginning.”
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

With the reorganization of the right wing in recent decades, certain fascist elements have been rearticulated within authoritarian neoliberalism. MAGA has evolved from a right-wing populist movement into a new fascist force. In the face of crisis-ridden US imperialism and a divided ruling class, Trump and his allies are attempting to form a new bloc. This is based on what we call “imperialist populism” and is moving toward a new hybrid form of fascism with the goal of establishing an authoritarian “neo-apartheid regime.”

“Redemption,” white supremacy, and traces of “American fascism”
—————————————————————

The “Reconstruction” refers to a period (1865–77) after the US Civil War that was about rebuilding the South and integrating formerly enslaved African Americans, along with their allies, the poor white Scalawags,[2] into the political, economic, and social fabric of the nation. The counter-movement, the Redemption Movement, had its roots explicitly in the ideology of white supremacy and sought to restore the racial hierarchy that had been temporarily abolished by Reconstruction. W.E.B. Dubois described this movement as the “counter-revolution of property.” This included the use of violence, terror, and the justice system to disenfranchise and subjugate Black Americans. The overthrow of the governments that stood for Reconstruction and the introduction of so-called Jim Crow laws[3] were accompanied by the takeover and consolidation of power by white elites in the southern states and the systematic exclusion of Black people from political participation. Even harmless gatherings were often suppressed with violence.

The period of “Reconstruction,” the state reorganization of the former Confederate states, which many consider the “second American revolution,” ended in 1877. Its achievements were destroyed by the ballot box and bullets, to quote Malcolm X. This repression was directed not only against African Americans, but also against poor whites and the organized labor movement in general. Repressive instruments included laws against vagrancy and a poll tax, which had to be paid in order to vote. This was an effective means of denying poor people, and poor African Americans in particular, a basic democratic right. And extra-legal violence was deliberately used to intimidate opponents. Bullets always played a role when it came to bringing Jim Crow forces to power, for example in the violent overthrow of the democratically elected local government of Wilmington, North Carolina (known as the Wilmington Massacre of 1898), or in attacks on strong Black communities such as those in Tulsa, Oklahoma (the 1921 Tulsa pogrom). Time and again, the labor movement was also targeted, as in 1914 in Ludlow, Colorado, when the National Guard fired on striking miners. Among the internal instabilities of the bourgeois-capitalist US state that brought us close to the brink of an authoritarian takeover was the political conspiracy of 1933/34 against President Franklin Roosevelt to turn the US into a dictatorship.

These examples show how vulnerable society and the state have always been to right-wing authoritarianism, even in the US. Accordingly, the coup attempt of January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., did not come out of nowhere and is by no means “un-American,” but can rather be interpreted as a repeat of the attempted overthrow of the government in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898.

Authoritarian neoliberalism and the realignment of the extreme right
——————————————————————–

Since the 1960s, right-wing extremists have been working on a strategy aimed at seizing power and “unwinding” the achievements of the 20th century. This goal runs like a straight line through the rise of MAGA. A coalition of arch-conservative Christians, representatives of the fossil fuel industries, the real estate sector, and sections of the disenfranchised white working class and middle class threatened by social decline – one could call it the neo-Confederate bloc, organized by the extreme right – equipped with sufficient funds, has made concerted efforts to create a new mass social movement and make it powerful in the media. This neo-Confederate bloc was already powerful during the Ronald Reagan era and was an important part of his support and voter base. In 1994, it was reactivated in a new form when the Republicans gained control of Congress with Congressman Newt Gingrich’s so-called Contract with America. From then on, the Republicans pursued a more confrontational approach with the explicit aim of weakening, if not overthrowing, Bill Clinton’s government. Since the early 1990s, right-wing militias had been increasingly visible in public, especially after the 1995 right-wing terrorist attack in Oklahoma City. From that point on, the Republican establishment saw the radical right as a tool it believed it could control while opening the doors to power. As it turned out, the monster they had created soon turned against them.

A second critical moment was the period after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Bush’s strategy for the US, which was based on the “Project for the New American Century,” a neoconservative think tank, was similarly aggressive, but did not find unanimous support among the right.

Some were uncomfortable with Bush’s geopolitical visions and rejected US involvement in global affairs. The third and decisive moment was the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

This election was essential, bringing about a realignment of the extreme right and ensuring that Donald Trump entered the political arena. Obama’s election challenged a core element of the founding myth of the United States: that the US was a racist settler state and therefore a republic ruled by white people, in which no person of color, and especially no African American, should ever govern.

The fact that the Tea Party movement gained so much support and became so influential had as much to do with this mood as with the failure of Obama and his allies to take action against the right. The movement’s social base was primarily in the white middle class and not so much among white workers or the white poor, although some of them also found their way into the Tea Party. The Tea Party movement and the subsequent birther movement (which questioned Obama’s citizenship) were right-wing populist and reactionary movements that reacted to Obama’s election and the economic collapse of 2008. They contained elements of what we see today in the MAGA movement, but they were not entirely coherent. Nevertheless, protests with slogans such as “Watch out, government: hands off our Medicare” were not quite as ridiculous as they might seem at first glance. Here, people were protesting Obama’s efforts to reform healthcare out of concern that what they believed they were entitled to, namely Medicare,[4] could be weakened if, in their view, marginal and irrelevant population groups were to gain access to public health insurance in the future. These could have been the first warning signs of what was to come, as new boundaries were already being drawn between relevant, deserving population groups and those considered unworthy of support.

“The Republican establishment saw the radical right as a tool it believed it could control while opening the gates of power to itself.”
—————————————————————————————————————————————

The reconfiguration of the extreme right in the US is part of the global rise of authoritarian neoliberalism, a development that encompasses both right-wing and center-left forces and is fueling political crises. With the advent of neoliberalism, the role of the state has changed. Increasingly, the focus has been on the repressive and economic apparatuses, while its redistributive and compensatory functions and the so-called social safety net have been steadily weakened.

The neoliberal authoritarian state provoked contradictory reactions from forces on the right and left. The right largely welcomed the growth of the repressive apparatus, while the emerging right-wing populists rejected, at least politically, what they saw as the rise of globalism, which they blamed for the weakening of the nation-state. The attitude toward globalization and neoliberalism is an ongoing conflict within the right-wing camp and has repeatedly led to divisions. This division has not yet been overcome in Trumpism, although the new oligarchs are doing everything in their power to make the new regime both neoliberal and authoritarian, while at the same time trying to mobilize a mass base that is opposed to all the advances and achievements of progressive forces in the 20th century. The relationship between the transnational capitalist class and right-wing advocates of a strong nation-state and nativist, racist, and traditionalist economic and social policies is causing tensions within this new bloc in power.

Because traditional right-wing parties and much of the left-of-center proved to be staunch defenders of neoliberal globalization, right-wing populist movements had a unique opportunity to fill the void. Right-wing populists around the world have responded to the increasing inequality of wealth distribution on a global scale by blaming neoliberalism, with migrants among their favorite scapegoats. As material leeway shrinks in the wake of neoliberal redistribution from the bottom to the top and due to the effects of numerous environmental and climate disasters, the radical right is promoting a nationalist agenda of defense and exclusion. The parties of the center, on both the left and the right, have little to counter this with. To save itself from ruin, the Republican Party capitulated to Donald Trump. Due to the undemocratic two-party system in the US, Trump and the MAGA forces decided to hijack the Republican Party instead of establishing a new right-wing political force outside it (as was the case in Germany and Italy, for example). The radical right is profiting from the disasters produced by authoritarian neoliberalism.

MAGA – a fascist movement?
————————–

The MAGA movement emerged as a right-wing populist movement and largely arose from the fusion of the Tea Party and Birther movements and the momentum generated by Trump’s first presidential candidacy in 2016. MAGA forces see themselves as the voice of “the people” opposing an “elite” and consider themselves to be in a permanent war with those they regard as intruders and enemies of the US. At the top of the list so far have been unwanted migrants, but also progressive social movements. When they refer to the elites on the East Coast or to cosmopolitan forces, there is always a hint of anti-Semitism, even though they are fundamentally pro-Israel, partly due to the important role played by Christian Zionists (who are deeply closet anti-Semites). Open racism is compounded by shameless misogyny. The MAGA movement increasingly supported Trump in his role as the “bad boy” who likes to degrade women as sex objects, while at the same time trying to win over conservative and right-wing women.

If one had to describe the MAGA movement in one word, it would be revanchist. It is a movement that is inherently based on a politics of revenge, resentment, and resentment. It is convinced that something has been stolen from the “relevant population groups,” and MAGA’s goal is to get back what has been “stolen” by any means necessary. To achieve this, the progressive reforms of the 20th century would have to be reversed or overcome. During Trump’s first term, MAGA was essentially a right-wing populist movement, but even then it had fascist elements. It was not a conservative movement in the traditional sense, but saw itself as a force that promised to bring about dramatic changes in the system and to resolutely oppose progressive social movements.

The Covid pandemic and the 2020 presidential election seem to have been a decisive moment in steering the MAGA movement toward fascism. Key elements of this are irrationalism and disinformation, something that gained prominence during Trump’s first term. As more and more Republican politicians and members of the MAGA movement pledged eternal loyalty to Trump, irrationalism grew. Trump placed himself at the forefront of those who publicly downplayed the Covid pandemic and came up with increasingly absurd proposals for combating the virus, while in private he relied on tried and tested methods. This irrationalism became part of a new ideological framework for the MAGA movement, accompanied by further conspiracy theories, such as claims about the spread of pedophilia in the Democratic Party establishment and warnings about the so-called “deep state.”

“The Covid pandemic and the 2020 presidential election seem to have been a decisive moment in steering the MAGA movement toward fascism.”
—————————————————————————————————————————————–

As the 2020 presidential election approached, Trump laid the groundwork for an uprising against what he increasingly described as an attempt by the Democrats to ignore or betray the will of the supposed majority. At that time, there were growing signs that Trump was prepared to abandon any pretense of abiding by the rules of constitutional democracy. He made it clear that he was only willing to recognize and abide by those rules as long as he was winning. The coup attempt of January 6, 2021, was only the beginning of a path toward fascism.

And where do the factions of capital stand?
——————————————-

This is where things get a little complicated. At the present time, the ruling classes in most advanced capitalist states have no interest in abandoning constitutional democracy. However, they seem to be concerned because the convergence of economic contradictions (the crisis of neoliberalism, the increasing polarization of wealth), the crisis of legitimacy of the bourgeois-capitalist state, and the climate crisis are expected to lead to growing instability. The democratic uprisings during the Arab Spring, the square occupations by the Indignados and Occupy Wall Street after 2010 were an indication of what can happen when people are dissatisfied. That is why they support the strengthening of the neoliberal authoritarian state and advocate preventive security measures to prevent mass uprisings.

And yet fascist movements do not usually originate from the capitalist ruling classes. As Poulantzas showed in his remarkable work “Fascism and Dictatorship,” fascism begins as a social movement rooted primarily in the middle classes. This is a right-wing extremist movement that wants to destroy democratic capitalism and replace it with a completely different state structure and ideology in order, it hopes, to renew capitalism. In terms of its goals, the MAGA movement has now moved toward fascism. It wants to radically transform the capitalist state of the US, but has decided to do so by controlling the structures of the existing bourgeois-capitalist state – at least for the moment. That is why there is more than a grain of truth in the oxymoronic term “constitutional fascism.” In other words: Instead of trying to seize power through pressure from the streets, for example with storm troopers or black shirts, the instruments and institutions of the bourgeois-capitalist state are being used for their own purposes, while at the same time everything is being done to weaken, if not destroy, these same institutions by explicitly and implicitly threatening the use of extralegal violence.

The capitalist class in the US appears to be divided over the MAGA movement. There are those who continue to support the Democratic Party and are openly opposed to Trumpism. There are segments that engage in various forms of “anticipatory obedience,” which means they voluntarily submit to the Trump regime before they become its target. Then there are those who have openly sided with Trump, such as Musk. What is increasingly important to them and other sections of the capitalist class in the US is stability and order, even without democracy if necessary. What MAGA currently has to offer is mainly chaos, corruption, and insecurity—a combination that capitalists rarely like. It cannot be ruled out that a fascist state could be imposed on a divided and weakened capitalist class, especially if—as in our case—such influential tech oligarchs support the government (regardless of whether one considers them techno-feudalists or simply mega-capitalists). But without a significant base within the capitalist class, it is unlikely that “fascism in power” (as opposed to a single “fascist in power”) can succeed and become institutionalized. It is more likely that we are facing widespread political turmoil, possibly even civil war.

The goals of the MAGA movement
——————————

The MAGA movement has very specific goals, which can be found in “Project 2025,” the right-wing plan to transform the executive branch of the US government. At the time of writing, the Trump administration is brazenly pursuing and implementing these goals: the transformation of the US into an authoritarian state based on a kind of imperialist populism. Trump and the MAGA forces have set out to rewrite all the rules. Their approach is not unlike that of the Redemption movement of the 19th century, as they appear to be attempting to undermine democracy under the guise of democracy. To this end, they are promoting the formation of a new hegemonic bloc that envisages a break with the international legal system and, at the same time, the establishment of a neo-apartheid system in their own country, with the promise of securing the standard of living of the “deserving” and “relevant” sections of the population to the extent that they support the imperialist populist program.

Trump’s inaugural speech in January 2025 contained all the elements. “Making America Great Again” was clarified to mean that the current regime intends to undermine the rules of international law (including the prohibition of territorial expansion), deport migrants en masse (as a first step toward ethnic cleansing), smash and dismantle everything that has even remotely to do with anti-discrimination and anti-racism (in the name of meritocratic ideas), restore male domination, and fight people with non-binary gender identities. This is the US version of fascism in the 21st century. And behind the scenes, various paramilitary units are standing by, their deployment presumably still being considered in detail, but which have already offered their services to the Trump administration in the hunt for migrants. We must prepare ourselves for the possibility that such right-wing paramilitaries will eventually be let off the leash—at the latest when the Trump regime realizes that the existing apparatus of repression is not reliably doing what is required of it.

What distinguishes 2025 from the period of “redemption,” however, are the many demographic shifts and political developments that have taken place since the 19th century. Increased immigration after 1965 and the emergence of various social movements, including the powerful civil rights movements of people of color, have fundamentally changed the terrain. Although there are currents within the radical right that seek the complete eradication of people of color, a different kind of “race politics” has emerged. There is now a phenomenon that some would call “cross-ethnic and cross-racial rights” and we would call “neo-apartheid rights.”

The “neo-apartheid right” and demographic change
————————————————

To understand this strategy, one must consider the impact of the waves of immigration to the US after 1965, as well as the changes in the mainstream narrative regarding “race” that can be traced back to the social movements and struggles of people of color. Jim Crow positions are simply no longer tenable today. But there is more to it than that. Growing sections of the political right, including the far right, are well aware that demographic change in the US is irreversible. The US population will always be diverse. What kind of “reconstruction” (forgive us for using this term) of racist and nationalist relations of oppression would then be conceivable for US capitalism today?

One answer is a policy of apartheid. Although the South African apartheid regime was largely based on the US experience with Jim Crow laws, what was introduced in South Africa was in some ways comparable to the Spanish casta system in Latin America, although it was much less permeable. For the Boers, Europeans were the whites at the top of the racial hierarchy, below them were Indians/South Asians, the so-called Coloureds, and finally, at the bottom, the Natives/Blacks. The apartheid system provided specific conditions and expectations for each population group and even created a category of “half-white” for the Japanese, with whom trade was desired. Those who served the apartheid regime had their place in society and could hope for rewards.

Within the US right wing, ideas sympathetic to such an apartheid regime have now gained acceptance. Although racist codes continue to be used, non-whites are no longer excluded from their own circles and certain groups, such as members of South American and Asian communities, are offered the opportunity to “switch to the white camp.” The price for this, however, is that these population groups are not allowed to challenge white supremacy. This has led to a phenomenon known as the “Hindu right” in the MAGA movement. Tulsi Gabbard, the new coordinator of the US intelligence services, represents this new right wing. The political right in the US is currently attempting to change and adapt the system of social control and oppression to suit its own ends without eliminating its racist and nationalist foundations.

The alternative
—————

In the meantime, progressive circles almost everywhere have come to realize that we urgently need a broad anti-fascist front against the extreme right—even if this often causes a certain amount of discomfort. Everything must be done to weaken the fascists. Resistance to MAGA is currently growing, but there is a lack of overall coordination to make it more effective. In addition, progressive movements in the US find it difficult to work together for a different politics and society. The left-wing electoral alliance Nouveau Front populaire (New Popular Front), founded in France in 2024, could serve as a model for this. It combines opposition to the extreme right with proactive advocacy for a progressive program that spells out the concrete prerequisites for real democracy. We propose that such an approach could be summarized under the term “third Reconstruction.”

“Resistance to MAGA and fascism requires a critique of real existing capitalism as it manifests itself in the US.”
——————————————————————————————————————

The “first Reconstruction,” as we recall, refers to the period from 1865 to 1877. The term “second Reconstruction” usually refers to the period from 1954 to the early 1970s or 1980s. This was a time when social movements won a series of important social and political struggles, especially the women’s movements and the movements of people of color, fueled by the African American liberation struggle. In contrast, the period from 1980 onwards was a phase of setbacks and major defensive struggles for all progressive and left-wing forces. The “third Reconstruction” was to be guided by the history and democratic principles of the movement for the abolition of slavery in the 19th century – but it was also to go beyond this and leave behind some of the limitations of the original “Reconstruction.”

Resistance to MAGA and fascism requires a critique of real existing capitalism as it manifests itself in the US. This critique should be consolidated in a generally understandable program of principles that can guide the left in its efforts to coordinate and lead the anti-fascist front. It will not necessarily be a united front program, because in order to defeat the MAGA forces, our front must be very broad. It must address the climate catastrophe and economic crises (overproduction and overaccumulation), but it must also not shy away from taking a clear stand against the oppression and social control of certain population groups. The program of a “third reconstruction” must advocate for consistent democratization and, beyond that, for: redistribution of wealth, demilitarization, abandonment of fossil fuels, protection of nature and endangered species, support for victims of colonialism, Neocolonialism and environmental disasters in the Global South, democratic land use planning, affordable housing, healthcare for all, Reparation for the damage caused by racism and oppression of other countries, the United Nations principles for peaceful coexistence, defending women’s right to control their own bodies, defending the right to live one’s identity free from state interference, free and fair elections, the abolition of corporate campaign contributions, and the right to organize unions without any interference from employers.

The “third Reconstruction” could represent an important step toward strengthening the power of the subaltern classes. With it, we could undermine the supporters of 21st-century fascism. It could also usher in the transition to a new socialism.

[1] This article has been shortened for publication. A longer version can be found at: http://www.zeitschrift-luxemburg.de/artikel/maga-trump.

[2] A derogatory term for white people in the southern states who supported Reconstruction after the Civil War (translator’s note).

[3] Jim Crow laws are laws that were in force mainly in the southern states between the abolition of slavery in the US (1865) and the enactment of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the mid-1960s, and which served to maintain systematic discrimination against black people (translator’s note).

[4] Medicare is the public and federal health insurance program for people over 65 and people with certain physical disabilities (translator’s note).

### Literature

Berlet, Chip/Lyons, Matthew, 2000: Rightwing Populism in America, Guilford

Seymour, Richard, 2024: Catastrophe Nationalism. On authoritarian tipping points worldwide, in: LuXemburg Online, November 2024, https://zeitschrift-luxemburg.de/artikel/katastrophen-nationalismus/

### Carl Davidson

Carl Davidson is a publicist and activist, as well as state co-chair of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, board member of the Solidarity Economy Network, and member of the Steelworker Associates.

### Bill Fletcher

Bill Fletcher Jr. is a political scientist, trade unionist, activist, editor, and columnist for BlackCommentator.com, as well as a lecturer at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. He was president of the TransAfrica Forum and founder of the Black Radical Congress.