Thomas Edsall’s columns in the New York Times share a consistent pattern: Edsall poses a question or initiates an inquiry, then contacts several experts, posing the relevant questions, and sharing their responses. Most recently, he explored the mechanisms that have characterized the Trumpian replacement of market capitalism with a “bend the knee in order to earn government’s blessing” approach that–like so much of Trump’s administration–is reminiscent of bygone fascist regimes.
It has become common to label Trump’s administration fascist, but usually that accusation arises in the context of ICE thuggery, the attacks on minorities and the evisceration of constitutional rights–actions echoing the Fascist regimes that focused on whitewashed pasts, and claimed traditional class structures and gender roles were essential to the “social order.”
These comparisons are accurate but incomplete; fascism also–and importantly–engaged in a thoroughgoing and intentional subversion of market economics.
Fascism is sometimes called “national Socialism,” but its approach to the economy differs significantly from socialism. The most striking aspect of fascist systems, of course, is the elevation of the nation—a fervent nationalism is central to fascist philosophy. That nationalism accompanies a union between business and the state; although there is nominally private property, fascist governments control business decisions.
In one of his recent columns, Edsall explored the current echoes of that approach, and how dramatically it differs from former Republican agendas and beliefs. As he notes, Trump and his administration regularly apply a “financial and regulatory chokehold” on businesses, corporations and nonprofits that he believes are antagonistic to him, from electric cars and wind energy projects to service-providing nonprofits and television networks.
“The administration has terminated, to use one of Trump’s favorite words, wind energy projects and ended tax and other incentives for electric-powered vehicles, two industries he believes are the creation of Democratic policies.”
As Edsall notes, the Trump administration’s extensive intrusions into the private sector are in direct conflict with traditional Republican and conservative beliefs, which held that government interference with the free market should be limited. Trump, of course, is neither conservative nor Republican–for that matter, he appears incapable of developing anything remotely like a coherent agenda, economic or otherwise. For him, government regulation is not ideologically an anathema; it is a tool to exercise power and control in his constant pursuit of self-aggrandizement.
Trump is often referred to as “transactional,” but a more accurate description of his corrupt dealings would be “quid pro quo.” Private sector businesses needing government approvals (or needing government authorities to ignore improper activities) “bend the knee” in exchange for those desired outcomes. In effect, they have acquiesced to the government’s control of business decisions–the sort of control that characterized fascist regimes.
The administration’s growing chokehold on the private sector are also tools allowing Trump and MAGA to pursue their culture-war aspirations. According to an email to Edsall from a political historian at George Washington University,
The president’s use of the government’s power to approve corporate mergers, the fear — and the actuality — of lost research funding and government contracts have enabled Trump to shift the culture in his ideological direction. Social media companies have lifted bans on far-right hatemongers and made X and Facebook more hospitable to pro-MAGA content. Universities such as Columbia; law firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom; and media institutions like ABC News have reached settlements with the Trump administration to stave off existential threats, including canceled licenses, loss of research funding and revoked security clearances.
CBS, once a key source of critical reporting on the Trump administration, has, for example, been taken over by Larry and David Ellison, Trump allies, who put Bari Weiss, the anti-woke publisher of The Free Press (and a former writer and editor for Times Opinion), in charge of the news division.
The takeover of information sources may be Trump’s most politically consequential victory. As Edsall reports, “key platforms and hubs in the social media complex — TikTok, Meta, X — have been taken over by Trump allies or have shifted right to accommodate Trump,” shielding low-information voters from vital information, and spreading bigotry and propaganda.
These incursions haven’t been limited to the private sector; as noted sociologist Kim Lane Scheppele wrote:
The entire nongovernment community (or — as we might say in tax parlance — the 501(c)(3) sector) has been threatened with a combination of loss of tax exemptions, cuts to federal funding and potential investigations.
Some statistics indicate that fully one-third of NGOS incorporated in the U.S. lost funding in the first half of 2025.
As a professor of public policy noted in his email, every part of Trump’s government is intent upon bringing private institutions to heel.
The old GOP is long gone.
If you notice, Trump’s “power over companies” is limited to those that are progressive and most likely to donate to or control the Democratic Party. For his donors, there is nothing he won’t accommodate and give our money to freely.
He thought he was doing Big Oil’s bidding by removing Maduro and promising US citizens and corporations an unlimited supply of free oil. And then he orchestrated a meeting with his oil executive donors. Yes, I know it was ass backwards, but that’s how Trump rolls. Their response? Venezuela is “uninvestable.” LOL
He is such an idiot!
Cancelling credits and subsidies for electric cars will put American industry years behind Chinese automakers like BYD, which dominates the global electric car market. Same for alternative energy. China just made a major breakthrough in fusion energy.
If Trump were an 8-10 on the leadership scale and had even marginal intelligence, his dictatorship might be tolerable. However, he’s an idiot. Always has been an idiot, and will die an idiot.
To show that the “marketplace” still exists, for 10 years, Dan Bongino barked on his podcast about the deep state pedophiles associated with the Epstein files. He hated how the deep state controlled the government behind the scenes, and he had millions of followers as a result. Unlike most MAGA podcasters, Dan got tapped to be the Deputy Director of the FBI and could actually take action against what he railed against for a decade. However, he did nothing! He didn’t make a single arrest. He didn’t hold a press conference to share his findings. In fact, when it came to the Epstein Files, he claimed “Epstein committed suicide and that there was no evidence Epstein bribed anyone.” LOL
He resigned and kick-started his podcasting gig, and guess what happened? He lost his followers. Nobody showed up, and the ones who did show up hammered him for being a fraud. DUH! LOL
To me, this epitomizes Trump’s administration. Will Kash Patel get treated the same way when he returns to being an “influencer?” What about Kristi Noem? Will she still be the darling of MAGA? LOL
Being close to Trump is literally the Kiss of Death.
Is the old GOP really gone?
1968 : The Shooting of Unarmed College Students At Kent State.
2026 : The Execution of An Unarmed Soccer Mom In Minneapolis.
I detect a pattern.
1970 not 1968…
“Always has been an idiot, and will die an idiot.” Sooner rather than later … before it’s too late and we in fact do collapse as an economy, a democracy and a society.
Everything Trump has touched in his life has ended up hurting people for the benefit of himself. So, naturally, Republicans, in their blind lust for power – both political and financial – fawn over this monster. Now, it’s who they are.
Maybe even the rural folks in the red states will finally realize that they are backing a rotting carcass of a political party, will stop trying to sell their mothers into slavery and will vote for Democrats … warts and all. I know. I do rave and rant at things that should be.
Rant on, Vernon!!
Mr. new Acting president of Venezuela is tanking, and my hope is that he takes his coattail people down with him, with no exceptions. One positive, of sorts, is that he’s allowed the scum of the right to expose themselves, and we know who they are.
Ian,
Perhaps the major similarity between MPLS shooting and Kent State was that poorly trained fools given guns over-reacted. My very own National Guard unit was at Kent State that day, and I can say first-hand that we weren’t trained for crowd control. Worse, some knuckle-headed officer gave these frightened kids live ammunition. Result? Four killed.
The thuggery being exhibited by ICE goon is different in that the selection of personnel is flawed and skewed badly for ideology. I suspect many of these newly-minted G.I. Joes had their army toys taken from them by mommies when they were little. Sorry for the snark, but as a child growing up during and after WW II, boys playing soldier was typical and normal. War movies (John Wayne made a fortune doing them) were everywhere and there were no censorship rules for content … just language.
My point, ultimately, is that our culture is a militant culture when it comes to raising young males. We, as a people, “conquered” North America by way of having better weapons than the originals … along with diseases and genocidal tendencies toward the “enemy”. No other country worships guns the way ours does. It’s ingrained from the day little boys get their first toy gun.
And the MPLS shooting isn’t the first in this latest episode of stupidity by Homeland Security and Botox Barbie’s thug squad. It won’t be the last. To these people, cruelty is the point. Notice how NO apologies or explanations worth a bucket of spit has come forth.
If we the people don’t do something to stop these monsters, more innocent people will be killed, deported and otherwise abused by the vagaries of psychotics like Steven Miller.
Watch for tourist dollars to stop coming this year.
Soooo, when he is gone, how do we overcome the damage? How do we deal with the smarter monsters (Miller etc.) who will continue to wield power?
The most concerning part of this is the control of media. I have friends who have never seen nor heard about most of this administration’s abuses. They think that CNN is too far to the left. They watch FAUX News and if they have any doubts about a story, they go to OAN where their doubts are dealt with by a different reporter on a different network telling the same story. If they have any lingering doubts, they go to social media, where the algorithms kick in to reinforce the message.
Things like the killing of Rachel Good will be discussed, but the Vance/Norm version will be what they hear. That is, that a brave ICE officer HAD to shoot and kill a left-wing terrorist, who was trying to run him over with her car.
God help us!
U.S. instigation of wars can be traced to Republican party leaderships;00000 often resulting in much later admitting to “possible” mistakes, poor choice or poor timing. The total destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 cannot be blamed on President George W but ignoring the earlier attack by bombing the WTC parking garage was ignored as a fluke. Using the fertilizer bomb tactic which was so destructive and with a higher death toll in Oklahoma City was not given the deep state, preventive investigation it deserved. After 9/11, there was a one hour special documentary on AES Channel, when it provided quality journalism, titled “The Man Who Predicted the Destruction of the World Trade Center, laying partial blame of loss of life on the poor quality of communication equipment between police officers and between fire department members and between the two departments. The lack of improved communication was rarely reported as having been a problem.
Look at the commercial plane actual crashes and near misses early in Trump’s current term and think back to Reagan’s firing of all Air Controllers and the same connections can be made with Trump’s appointment of Musk to rule the newly created DOGE. “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Ian made a valid point; Trump & Co. are setting new, bottom-level future “pasts” that I question all current leadership of learning anything from during the current rapid destruction of America and the global attacks Trump is threatening/promising. All of which currently appear to be plausible events in coming weeks; so far he has not been stopped on any level of his destruction of democracy, Rule of Law and is highly successfully ending all Constitutional protection.
I’m not stupid enough to say even on this blog what I believe the ONLY solution is to salvage what remains of 250 years of living in America as Americans which has worked, even with the problems and mistakes we were forced to live through and/or deal with.
Being transactional means Trump can be bought. ‘Quid pro quo’ seems too elegant a term for what he’s doing.
Shelia, I was sent a Heather Cox Richardson substack blog that identified a U.S. Army pamphlet distributed to ww2 solders defining Fascism, how it takes hold and the. Treat to the world and the US. After reading it, the likeness to MAGA and Trump Administration tactics and actions are spot on. Please share with your readers if possible. https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=armytalks
War Department, “Army Talk 64: FASCISM!” March 24, 1945, at https://archive.org/details/ArmyTalkOrientationFactSheet64-Fascism/mode/2up
Sheila:
“It has become common to label Trump’s administration fascist, but usually that accusation arises in the context of ICE thuggery, the attacks on minorities and the evisceration of constitutional rights–actions echoing the Fascist regimes that focused on whitewashed pasts, and claimed traditional class structures and gender roles were essential to the “social order.”
Vernon:
“Everything Trump has touched in his life has ended up hurting people for the benefit of himself. So, naturally, Republicans, in their blind lust for power – both political and financial – fawn over this monster. Now, it’s who they are.”
Rhett Butler in “Gone With The Wind”:
“There is as much money to be made in the destruction of a civilization as there is in building one.”
Butch Cassidy to Sundance Kid in movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”:
“Never bring a knife to a gunfight!” This seems to be the situation we are in at this time and Trump is turning this nation to the greatest money-making business of WAR. He has changed his reasoning and his ultimate target is one he questioned the U.S. not using in past wars; taking the “Spoils of War” at the final whistle in this current game. And to him, his entire life has been a game of Monopoly by grabbing all of the money and power; now graduated to becoming the richest man in the world. The Presidency is just a sideline.