Donald Trump: following in Benito Mussolini’s footsteps?

A month after his inauguration, the new American president, along with a group of his ideologues, shook the global political landscape. No one expected that, despite his extravagance and unpredictability, he would start his new term with an attack on the fundamental values of the United States - democracy and freedom. And the first targets of his attacks would be Ukraine, as a young democracy, and Europe, as an old democracy.

In general, Donald Trump, based on his previous way of thinking and actions, is not very well-versed in the sciences and has a rather mediocre education. But he doesn’t even try now, when his words and actions confuse many people, to theorize or apply ideological frameworks to his actions. Others, led by his vice president, Vance, do that. Meanwhile, he offers simple solutions to very complex problems, considering them to be genius.

• In particular, he was planning to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours. At least, within 24 days. At least, quickly. And quickly – that’s not in Ukraine's favor. The worse for Ukraine. And the better for Russia, with its wonderful authoritarian regime and wise leader. And, in general, Russia is not the aggressor, it’s Ukraine and its leaders who are to blame for everything...
• Has America spent too much money defending distant Ukraine? Ukraine should pay back the U.S. and give them five times more than it received.
• We’ll return the Panama Canal, which China uses intensively, to the U.S. since we built it.
• We’ll buy Greenland from Denmark because the island is more important to us as a future military base. It doesn’t matter that the Danes are against it; we have ways to convince them.
• At the border with Mexico, we will build a fence to prevent suspicious individuals from infiltrating the United States. And, in general, it's time to abandon immigrants.
• Why do we need so many people in administrative structures? Fire them all!
• Why do we need NATO? Europe should defend itself! And we will bring American soldiers back to the U.S.
• And anyway, who said democracy is better than autocracy? While democrats argue among themselves before making decisions, autocrats have already done everything! In times of incredible technological progress, democrats and liberals spend too much time making decisions, and as a result, fall behind corporate structures. And he, Donald Trump, is ready to become the king of America…
• The political systems of the U.S. and Europe are catastrophically behind the modern development of society and production relations. Corporate leadership and autocracy now better meet the needs of the day.

Anyway, why does the United States need democracy if they have Donald Trump as president, who can make better decisions than Congress, the government, and the judiciary?! It's time to abandon the principles of democracy and individual freedom, and instead proclaim the era of techno-autocracy, which should resemble corporate governance by the nation's elite, capable of making the best decisions for everyone and taking on the full power and responsibility.

...In practice, this still looks like a softened version of fascist ideology (authoritarian state capitalism). But for now, it is softened. Because it could easily be transformed into something much larger and more threatening.

Alright, eventually, a developed democracy like the United States will sort out its governance principles and its leaders, if it wants to. But how should we act in this time, when the leader of the country that has supported us the most during the toughest period of the war is constantly threatening to halt arms supplies and support if we do not follow his instructions?

If we do not fall into despair and keep our heads in a working state, we must acknowledge that during this month of Trump's rule, nothing worse has happened to us than what had already occurred. And it seems that nothing will happen in the next year in terms of Western support. Even the United States, according to agreements, is obligated to continue supplying us with weapons and equipment that have already been paid for throughout this year.

Europe, which has firmly taken Ukraine's side, recognizing our organic closeness and interdependence, will fully revive its military-industrial complex this year and stand by us. Yes, the Europeans are still largely not ready to participate on the battlefield. But they are ready to send troops as peacekeepers after a ceasefire is declared. And from there, they will be one step away from participating in the war on Ukraine's side.

There is no doubt that sooner or later Russia will try to provoke a conflict with the peacekeepers, and then the involvement of European countries in large-scale combat actions will become a fait accompli. The Europeans, who already realize their role and necessity in repelling the aggressor, will only need a reason to start military actions.

This war has long ceased to be a war between two states and has become a continental war, if not a global one. Regular North Korean forces are fighting for Russia. The fastest to engage in combat are the drone units of Iran. And it is only a matter of time before soldiers from France, the UK, Canada, the Benelux, the Baltics, Germany, Poland, and Romania join the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

How the United States will stand in this case is hard to say. One thing is clear, the United States will not dare to fight against Europe. Especially since the truth will be on the side of the coalition. And Trump will be forced to support his NATO colleagues.

It is interesting to consider what fate awaits Trump after America learns that he, along with a handful of people (some say a group of 20, others only 6), is attempting to change the political system of the United States (essentially a coup), offering America, instead of a structured, institutional democracy, technofascism? It's a complex question. But he is not the first to go down this path, and not even the second.

After World War I, authoritarian-nationalist movements emerged worldwide as a reaction to the tectonic changes that occurred in societies with different cultures, economies, and traditions. Nazism in Germany, Peronism in Argentina, Falangism in Spain, the Iron Guard in Romania, the Fire Crosses in France, the Crossed Arrows in Hungary, the Ustaše in Croatia, the National Union in Portugal...

And everywhere this movement, which opposed democracy as an outdated form of human societal organization, brought much harm, primarily to the masses. Let’s hope that American society, inoculated against authoritarian tendencies in its leaders, will not allow extremism. Moreover, these extremities could primarily strike at Ukraine.

This is the time we live in. We certainly didn’t need fascism. Everything depends on how long Donald Trump will stay at the helm of the United States. We hoped he would bring us victory. But has he?

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About the author. Viktor Moroz, Ukrainian journalist, columnist.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.