Anyone still in denial about the fascist nature of the Trump regime and the need for its immediate removal ought to take a close look at the vile, hate-filled State of the Union Address (SOUA) that Donald Trump gave to the US Congress and a nationwide television audience on Tuesday, February 24.

This was no “normal” SOUA. It’s content and manner of presentation – now followed by the illegitimate and illegal war on Iran – further shattered the governing norms that have long existed in this country and threatened a consolidation of power that could destroy any chance at a decent future. We ignore, normalize, seek to manage, and prematurely declare triumph over this regime at grave peril to humanity.

Virulent white supremacy was celebrated as Trump called Somali Americans “pirates” from “parts of the world where corruption and lawlessness are the norm. He used the phrase “illegal alien” ten times but did not say the word “immigrant” even once.  Sounding like a bloodthirsty sadist, Trump recounted ghastly crimes committed by “illegal aliens” and identified non-citizens among us as perpetrators of violent and drug crime.  

And beyond the usual slew of glaring lies, Demonization of the Opposition Party and the Promise of Election Subversion was on full display during this shameless fascist spectacle, punctured repeatedly with obnoxious shouts of USA, USA from the audience.

“These people are crazy, I’m telling ya,” Trump said, turning to the Democratic side of the chamber. “Democrats are destroying our country.”  

When Trump said sanctuary cities should be outlawed, bringing Republicans in Congress to their feet, he again turned to the Democratic side of the chamber and said, “Stand up and show your support…You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

But the most menacing thing Trump said about the Democrats was that “the only way Democrats can get elected is to cheat,” a claim consistent with his multiple, many-sided efforts to rig, postpone, cancel, or nullify the 2026 mid-terms.

He got another standing ovation from the Republicans when he called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a “show your papers” law designed to intimidate and disenfranchise immigrant voters.

These are the people in power, setting the terms of lawless violence, vicious white supremacy, misogyny and patriarchal subjugation, and “America First” xenophobia that endangers the entire world. As Refuse Fascism’s Call to Conscience, Call to Act states, there can be no conciliation or collaboration between the world we want and the country they want. We have no common cause with MAGA fascism.

The Democrats’ response to Trump’s fascist carnival was far from commensurate to its danger. Half of the party’s Congressional delegation attended the noxious spectacle, barely protesting and thereby serving as feckless props for Trump’s fascist theatrics. Top Congressional Democrats forbade righteous disruption in the chamber.  Democrats sat cowed and cowardly as the Black Texas congressman Al Green was removed from the chamber simply for holding a sign saying “Black people are not apes.”

Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger’s dull rebuttal speech appealed to economic concerns, asking Americans if Trump was “making life more affordable for you and your family,” as if Trump’s fascist –program would be acceptable if costs were coming down.

Even after praising anti-ICE protests and walkouts, Spanberger offered the following inadequate definition of how “Americans across the country are taking action: They are going to the ballot box to reject this chaos” by voting for Democrats. 

The fact that Trump can give a two-hour address issuing such threats, cheered on by the MAGA fascists in Congress and met by such tepid opposition, is a disgrace.

As the Trump regime moves to undermine if not cancel the 2026 mid-terms while committing new outrages at home and abroad on a daily basis, building out a vast concentration camp network to detain 80,000 more human beings this year, this advice is like telling someone in the middle of a heart attack to take two aspirin and make sure to go to their regularly scheduled check-up with a really bad doctor who is themselves quite sick and may be dead in nine and/or twenty three months.

The danger is great and it is up to us to stop it. This regime must go. What is urgently needed is sustained mass nonviolent uprising of millions that makes it impossible for this regime to maintain its hold on power.

We cannot wait for a future rigged election. Get in the streets. Demand Trump Must Go Now.

In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America!