On July 20th, Trump posted a dangerous and outrageous AI-generated video of Obama being violently arrested and abducted by secret service agents at the White House. That this video, dripping with Trump’s white supremacy and gleeful sadism, in itself did not cause an international outcry demanding Trump’s removal from office means we are far down the road to normalizing and accepting fascism.
Now the regime has seriously escalated its attacks, with director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claiming to build a case against Obama and other leading Democrats for “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine the 2016 election – by suggesting Russian interference that favored Trump. Trump baselessly said, “This was treason. They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever imagined, even in other countries.” Trump also claimed he could have had Hillary Clinton arrested and chose not to, but he would show no such leniency to Obama. This is dangerous, provocative, and reason enough that the whole Trump fascist regime should be driven from power through a mass, nonviolent struggle of millions.
All this is not a smear or distraction—it’s a calculated move to criminalize opposition and consolidate fascist rule. It is also a continuation of Trump’s white supremacist rhetoric against Obama going back to his lies that Obama was not born in the United States. Trump has repeatedly carried out and acted on threats that endanger his Democratic Party opponents. From the New York Times:
Mr. Trump’s campaign to exact revenge against his perceived enemies has taken many forms. Over the past six months, he has pulled protective details from former colleagues facing death threats from Iran. He has revoked or threatened to revoke the security clearances of Mr. Biden, members of his administration and dozens of others. His administration has taken steps to target members of the media seen as unfriendly, taken the hatchet to entire agencies perceived as too liberal and fired or investigated government workers deemed disloyal.
A fascist regime must de-legitimize, neuter, and/or eliminate its opposition in the ruling class. This is because, as the Refuse Fascism Call to Conscience, Call to Act states:
“Fascism” is not a curse word. Fully imposed, it is a radically oppressive and repressive form of rule over the people of this country, with devastating impact on the people of the world. The rule of law is shredded. Civil and democratic rights are eliminated. Dissent is piece by piece criminalized. The truth is bludgeoned. Group after group demonized and targeted along a trajectory that leads to catastrophe.
This is fascism, and we are in an emergency. Our rights, the lives of millions of immigrants and others, and the future of humanity are at stake. Now is the time to act.