TRUMP IS A PROTO-MONARCHIST NOT A PROTO-FASCIST
Now that Trump will soon become a “waste management” problem, it might be useful to determine what form of rule he aspired to. This issue is separate from what his voting base and aides and appointees sought from him.
Those that were his most ardent supporters among the electorate were white supremacists and right-wing Christians. The former wanted a return to something resembling the segregation era, or similar to apartheid South Africa. If they could not accomplish this de jure, de facto would do. They also wanted to stop immigration by non-whites.
The latter, right-wing Christians, sought an end to abortion and gay marriage. Still, some may have wanted to go further and end birth control, their tax dollars to pay for their children going to religious schools, and media censorship harkening back to the days of the Hollywood Code.
Beyond that, some might have wanted a minimal social welfare state or a robust one, depending upon their class background. Affluent Trump supporters might have been indifferent to his bigotry but wanted him to dismantle economic regulations and make the tax code as regressive as possible. Working-class fans might have even hoped he would replace Obamacare with something more ambitious.
Trump never expected to be elected in 2016 and was unprepared to govern in any concrete sense. In this vacuum, the far-right-wing Kochs and Mercers, ardent believers in laissez-faire capitalism, who had not supported him in his quest for the nomination, realized his unpreparedness offered a rare opportunity to guide his race against Clinton and promote policies in their preferred direction: minimizing their taxes and dismantling government regulation.
Both families began to supply him with men and women from among their stable of associates. Steve Bannon was associated with Mercer and wanted to destroy the regulatory state. Although we think of Mike Pence as an Evangelical Christian, he also had strong ties with the Kochs and supported their minimal government ideology. This background was similar to those of others chosen for his cabinet and various administrative posts, e.g., DeVos; Pompeo.
Trump himself was probably just happy to have any bodies to place in positions. He wanted to rule, not spend much time paying attention to the details of government.
What did Trump himself want? On a personal level, it seems it was both mass adoration and the respect of those among the elite who had never given it to him before. Much as he railed against the New York Times, he kept pestering Hope Hicks to call them to interview him. In addition, given his precarious financial situation, he surely wanted to monetize his presidency and did so at every opportunity.
Beyond that, I think it’s fair to say Trump was not a proto-fascist. To be a fascist or embrace any political ideology, one has to owe some allegiance to a set of ideas beyond personal interest. There is no evidence Trump has any coherent ideology. Before being President, he gave money to Democrats and the GOP, mainly to curry favor for his business projects. Yes, he was a bigot, but he seemed too happy to befriend black sports stars, such as Mike Tyson, because they were stars and adored by millions.
I think it’s more useful to view Trump as a proto-monarchist, someone who wished he was a king ruling over his subjects. He has contempt for governmental rules and any form of protocol. He is unhappy to have to deal with Congress. Mitch McConnell is not someone he would ever want in his company or even speak to if he could avoid it.
His refusal to wear a mask may also express his rejection of being told what he should do more than anything else. If he were told not to wear one, he might well have put one on. Rejection of any authority other than his own was, of course, consistent with his always being the boss and never having to obey the authority of others.
The heads of state Trump admirers are all strongmen who seemingly answer to no one. Some may have been elected at one time, but they now rule as monarchs. Others, like Kim Jong-un, who Trump seemed very much in awe of, is essentially a quasi Divine monarch in a family dynasty. Trump envisions Ivanka and Donald Jr. as his successors.
The official duties that Trump has enjoyed the most involve giving awards to those he admires or have done him favors. He also loves utilizing his pardoning powers and even giving tours of the White House.
On the flip side, like many absolute monarchs, he enjoys dishing out punishment. During the early days of the pandemic, he made a point of demanding Governors say nice things about him if their states were going to receive PPE.
He has also presided over more federal executions than any of his successors, making sure he can kill as many as possible before leaving office. Even firing people seems to give him great pleasure, though he doesn’t seem to like to do it in person.
Soon Trump will no longer be able to play King and, if his ban from social media continues, he might not be able to have a vehicle to communicate with his subjects and receive their adoration.
More horrifying, he might find himself at the mercy of commoners in the justice system, in an arena, he will be unable to control.