Fear & Fascism: How America Reached a Political Breaking Point and the Media's Failure to Adapt

This episode features Lincoln Mitchell, a professor at Columbia University, discussing his article "America chooses Fascism" and the critical state of American democracy. Mitchell argues that the term "fascism" accurately describes the current political movement led by Donald Trump, defining it by key components: the rise of a "strongman" leader who claims to solve problems alone, the practice of "othering" specific groups (e.g., migrants, trans people) to blame for societal issues, the elevation of a specific "nation" (identified as the white Christian segment of the American population) above others, and a complex economic relationship where private sector power is ultimately subservient to the leader through mechanisms like tariffs used as cultural signals and tools of control. He contends that Trump's initial victory in 2016 normalized what should have been recognized as a fascist threat, leading to a dangerous cognitive dissonance among media, pundits, and academia who continue to cover it as a normal political contest.

Mitchell makes crucial distinctions, emphasizing that fascism is not merely a "democratic rollback" but an active choice made by a significant portion of the electorate. He challenges the deeply ingrained American belief that "it can't happen here" and the notion of a historical consensus for democracy, pointing out that universal suffrage is a relatively recent development in the US (1968). A significant nuance highlighted is the media's failure to adapt to this fundamental shift, continuing to apply a "red team/blue team" narrative to a political landscape that has fundamentally changed. He also points to the phenomenon where racial identity, particularly among white women, often outweighs gender identity in voting patterns, leading to support for Trump despite policies that might seem to contradict their gender interests, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

For those who believe in democracy, Mitchell offers practical insights and recommendations. He urges them to stop normalizing the situation, to possess the moral and intellectual courage to explicitly name fascism when they see it, and to actively resist its most egregious manifestations, such as rounding up undocumented workers, harassing free media, or violating civil liberties. He advises focusing on ensuring free and fair elections in the future and on building a genuine, broad-based consensus and demand for democracy, rather than getting sidetracked by immediate electoral strategies or candidate debates. For scholars and media professionals, the core advice is to demonstrate fearlessness, prioritize doing "what's right," and avoid letting career or reputation supersede moral obligations.

Broader implications extend to the structural weaknesses within American democracy, with Mitchell controversially identifying the Constitution itself as a "crisis" due to elements like the Senate's disproportionate representation, the influence of money in elections (termed "legalized bribery"), and the racially biased application of the Second Amendment. Geopolitically, he warns that Trump's return signals a shift towards a "Putin's world," with the US likely to abandon Ukraine, sending a dangerous message to China regarding its ambitions in Taiwan. He re-frames the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war between the US and China, with Russia acting as a Chinese proxy, underscoring the profound global ramifications of America's internal political choices. The overarching message is that fear, both as a tool employed by the fascist regime and as a paralyzing force for its opponents, is the central challenge that must be confronted and overcome to preserve democratic ideals.

"I alone can fix it that is something that nobody who believes in small D democracy would ever never ever say democracy is a group activity..."

"poisoning the blood was a phrase he actually used I mean that's that's exactly out of the fascism textbook"

"the illogic of this is that we we the evidence that Trump isn't a fascist is that he won the election but if you know anything about how logic works or ever taking you know an advanced math class there's no there's no logic there"

"America chooses fascism should have been the headline in every major newspaper"

"the notion that Americans prefer democracy and there's a consensus for democracy in the United States there's no real historical evidence for that that's also a story We Tell ourselves"

"fascism doesn't happen fascism is something that people choose a majority of people choose it when it when it becomes strong at the expense of the weaker and the minority"

"the media has to adjust they have missed the biggest story in America for the last eight years and perhaps the biggest story in America really since the end of World War II which is a takeover of a major Party by a fascist movement"

"the road to the gulag starts when someone says something that you know is wrong in a faculty meeting and you nod your head anyway"

"white women are driven more by their racial identity than their gender identity"

"she lost because Americans chose Fascism and we have to have the moral and intellectual courage to say that"

"the Constitution is the crisis what the founders did to stop the kind of mob mobocracy that they were afraid of has created this crisis"

"fear is the magnetic field that pulls us away from doing that which we should be doing for democracy"

"we have to normalize talking about fascism not in a way as some kind of scary buzzword but but spelling it out to people when we see the Democratic roll back happen"

"Russia is a Chinese proxy"