Tom Nichols on Trump’s Recent Rhetoric: “An Actual Fascist Has Shown Up” | Amanpour and Company

In a new article for The Atlantic, staff writer Tom Nichols sounds the alarm on former President Trump’s fascist rhetoric. In his article “Trump Crosses a Crucial Line," Nichols lays out his increasing concern about the language showing up in Trump's speeches -- language which Nichols argues is aligning more and more with the history and methods of fascism. He joins Michel Martin to discuss the threat this poses to American democracy.
Originally aired on November 29, 2023
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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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[@Danuta628]

The problem is no one is or has held that man accountable. He should be in jail

[@andreah6379]

Boom!! It took over 1 full year before Garland felt shamed enough by Jan 6th House Committee members to even start to investigate Dump's involvement in Jan 6th. & start assigning cases to Smith. And Wray, in FBI, same thing! It was well over a year ago, Morning Joe sat down with both FBI spokesmen: Chuck Rosenberg & Frank Figluzzi & talked about no justice seen up to that point. Chuck held the conversation simply saying, "Both FBI and DOJ must think twice before taking any action against Trump. We have to worry about his supporters, first." Nobody at that conservative rountable argued against Chuck. I was furious!! Because of CONservative, feckless Garland, justice won't be seen before 2024. And now 2024 will be another repeat of 2016 or 2020. No progress. And that's not even taking into account the 140 Rethuglicons in power today that Garland has never even subpoenaed them for their aiding & abetting Jan 6th domestic terrorists. WTF. Both Wray & Garland are CONservatives. This IS what they do. They don't believe in progress.

[@gaywizard2000]

Or taken duck hunting.

[@Adogslife54]

Similar to what I have been saying. I see an awful lot of folks talking about what is going on here and how dangerous it is to not just us but the world. The people who are actually doing something about it are few and they need help. It’s past the time for talk. PS as entertaining as the duck hunting comment is, I am not suggesting anything shady! I am talking about sleeping voters getting out and voting; donating to causes that are making a difference, etc. Rise up, all! Together, we can make a difference!

[@gaywizard2000]

@@Adogslife54 I just wonder sometimes for a country that believes violence solves everything they have not come up with this solution!? I don't know if voting really hard will solve this! Republicans everyday are purging voter rolls, redistricting, becoming poll workers, finding new ways to cheat and steal elections. I think about the Kennedys, MLK, and the many other civil rights figures assassinated 60 years ago, why don't they return the favor? The courts and congress are designed to be slow and weak. It's going to be too late one day! Same for Putin, these guys are not leaving willingly!

[@richardlawson6787]

Fred couldn't do anything with a teen Donald and shipped him off to a military academy..that tells me a lot

[@romanrojas8588]

I’m Venezuelan and the very first time I saw Trump in his infamous announcement that he was running for president I knew right away how dangerous he was. Us Venezuelans know a dictator when we see one, we’ve been there, done that. Most Americans don’t realize how dangerous he is because they’ve never had to deal with somebody like him. If he’s president again this will be a very hard lesson for the US.

[@Milestonemonger]

You are rooting for communism??? Trump is anti- communism, you fool.

[@sawtooth808]

In 2016 when Trump got elected, I commented to a co worker whose family was from Uruguay, America went from having the first African American President, to the American African President, or American Latin American President, the co worker laughed “Yep, Trump is an early stage Quadillo alright”. Hell, Trump having Paul Manafort (who got a lot dictatorships started in Africa and Latin America. He didn’t a Quadillo he didn’t like) should have been a red flag

[@tartgreenapple1]

I appreciate hearing your experience. For me, I recognized his personality disorder before he ever ran for president and I've been able to predict lots of his behavior. It's beyond me how people STILL can't see. Whether it's from people who have lived under dictators or those of us who have lived with narcissism, it's time to start listening!!

[@phyllisneal8687]

​@@tartgreenapple1I completely agree with you 💯 You have given me something to think upon, also! I, too, knew IMMEDIATELY that Trump was dangerous & a destroyer, of good things! Several of my friends are the same way while other good friends think he's Wonderful!!! You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that "having lived with a narcissist, you RECOGNIZED this trait, in Trump!". THAT'S IT‼️ THAT'S the reason some people can SEE trump for what he is & others CANNOT! They don't recognize anything bad, concerning trump, bc they've never had to deal with it, before ‼️ My goodness, thank you, so much ♥️ Whether you realize, or not, you have solved the "UNSOLVABLE" question ~ How can people STILL like Trump? This HORRID, MONSTROUS TRAITOR & EVIL person ‼️Thank you ♥️

[@UpsheetscreekWOapaddle]

Correction.... He's a MALIGNANT narcissist

[@peterweicker77]

Welcome to Germany in 1933. Everyone had lives and more important things to worry about back then, too.

[@svnsetsomnia8280]

That’s what y’all said the first time around in 2016. Go see a doctor for that TDS!

[@MrRichDavid]

@@svnsetsomnia8280you need a doctor if you don’t see this

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

The only thing I can think of that’s more important than defending democracy is protecting the environment.

[@andrewkohler9730]

@@svnsetsomnia8280 Now it's more like Germany in 1937.

[@judykinsman3258]

Sorry Tom! You’re late to understanding Trump’s danger as a fascist! Glad you finally woke up!

[@kevinjenner9502]

He’s an apologist for the illegal invasion of Iraq.

[@honuman39]

Tom is late to a lot about the reality of conservatives and Republicans. The road to this toxicity has been clear for decades but Tom was too busy hippie punching to actually listen to the left's legitimate concerns.

[@sawtooth808]

Hey, better late then never, 🙄🤦‍♂️ (emojis directed at Tom Nichols, who btw _was_ a card carrying Republican who thought Dubya made the right call going into Iraq guns blazing like a typical Texan)

[@johnfulmer4058]

@@honuman39 True. These Republicans who have suddenly seen the light helped pave the way to Trump. You know, demonizing left-wingers, calling them anti-American and unpatriotic and so on. They should have called out Trump on Day One. They either were too stupid, too chickenshit or unable--as are many conservatives--to change their stance. Believe me, there are many things I don't like about progressives, but a vote for Trump in 20224 is a death knell for this country.

[@TheWayOfRespectAndKindness]

Calling out genuine fascism at the point that it's full-blown is too little too late. It's very similar to the climate issue.

[@deborahedelman2659]

👍

[@jim2376]

Spot on.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Now the climate is fascist? LMAO you kids get sillier by the day!

[@Laura-il5lo]

It's never too late to see something for what it is. What matters is doing something about it. You've known for a long time. Have you done anything about it yet? Have you changed minds and opened eyes? I sure hope so. Because we need more people doing just that if we are going to fight the disinformation outrage machine. Cynicism against each other is not going to help.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@Laura-il5lo I still see nothing fascist about Trump though. Did he get rid of free speech or take guns away or expand government powers of education and healthcare or something?

[@tartgreenapple1]

Good grief. Just because his eyes were closed to Trump doesn't mean he all of a sudden became something he wasn't. Maybe, just admit you were wrong and move on and do something about it? Trump didn't become a racist in the last month.

[@sawtooth808]

People like Tom Nichols (even though he’s a decent-ish guy) _Hate_ to admit that they were wrong about something.

[@jfverboom7973]

Trump did not change. Nichol's viewpoint has shifted. Took a lot trigger the shift.

[@tartgreenapple1]

@@jfverboom7973 Exactly!

[@marilynnyoung7026]

Tom Nichols is a lot of things, one of them being an arrogant elitist. They aren’t prone to admitting they were wrong in public. That said, better late than never in finally seeing the light.

[@tracysample6942]

Nichol's still think it was all those people's fault who lost their homes during the great recession. He basically said as much on twitter recently. That's his idea of modernism. You fall hard when you make a mistake, unless you're a business owner. Then you can pick your poison and start all over again. @@marilynnyoung7026

[@BeautyandtheBeesTasmania]

What amazes me is that Tom Nichols did not see Jan 6th as a classic Facist move. Hitlers early facisit moves were relatively clownish, but he honed it over the eyars. Same with Trump.

[@woodrowpreacely7521]

The similarities between Hitler/Germans in 1930s and Trump/MAGA are SCARY even PARANORMAL! Look at rise of fascist anti-semitic leaders throughout the world - just as in 1930s! History may not repeat itself but it damn sure rhymes. We all may have mushrooms in our futures!

[@oldones59]

Mussolini and the blackshirts predated the rise of national socialism in Germany by more than a decade..

[@iv2sab512]

Yes, if there was any doubt that Trump is a fascist, Jan 6 should have dispelled it.

[@tanyas6643]

Many republicans were still in denial, back then. Heck… some are still doing it now.

[@InterestedCitizen]

This guy loves to hear himself talk too much, I think. We don't need his advice about what we know Trump is. I find this guy kind of silly, naive, immature.

[@anthonypanneton923]

It wasn't a mistake to call Trump a fascist early on, Nichols simply wasn't seeing what was really there. He was only seeing what he wanted to see, and the people calling Trump a fascist could see where this was all headed. And Nichols wasn't. Better late than never, I suppose.

[@thjbird]

Nichols description of what fascist means was pretty much everything that Trump demands. He was describing Trump.

[@justaghoulintheworld]

It is inevitable when you give a child power.

[@LowR-HighK]

IKR? Like what about M.A.G.A. wasn't totally fitting the M.O.? I swear, conservatives are so damn slow to pick up on things.

[@lauracarstiou3505]

Madeline Albright had it nailed way before most people

[@user-ss8iy2to6t]

DONT CALL TRUMP A NAZI ha ha ha

[@cmddcd]

Tom says - "An actual fascist shows up!" Me - "Told you so !!"

[@deborahedelman2659]

👍

[@andrewkohler9730]

The rest of us: "Yes, dear. Riding down an elevator in 2015."

[@antoniovictorhilario4270]

Good grief: In 2016, folks I knew here, in the Philippines, where I'm a voter, gave essentially same reason for why they would choose Duterte, 'to see what would happen.' I argued against that idea, without the benefit of hindsight, or any clear idea of how a candidate's horrendous words could be enacted as policy. Well - Duterte did deliver on the promise of murders, and erased trust in the idea that government is a citizens' tool to achieve a good life for all. Duterte did diminish us as a people. Trump has, and promises to do the same for Americans.

[@sawtooth808]

Yeah, and now Bong Bong Marcos is president of The Philippines, with Duterte’s “lovely” (used very loosely) daughter as Vice President, kiss Elections goodbye, the Presidency of The Philippines is now a Family Compact

[@9000ck]

we live in such a stupid age. why did you jump into the sea with the shark? 'to see what would happen'

[@catherinemacaskill1421]

America has a history of dancing with this issue in the 1930's and 1940's. Maybe it's time to bring back the idea of teaching history so people are better informed.

[@kevinjenner9502]

Very few people in American history are as due for recriminations as the neoconservative cabal in then President George W Bush’s administration.

[@kjw6383]

You evidently don't live in a state where history had been outlawed . alot of us already live this.

[@AndyCutright]

What other history books have you read @@nonya.bizness ?

[@Soapandwater6]

And civics.

[@AndyCutright]

Did you take a civics course in public school? @@Soapandwater6 ? What did y'all cover, exactly?

[@cimbalok2972]

Trump's rhetoric has Stephen Miller's and Steve Bannon's fingerprints all over it. Excellent questions and answers. Thanks for an informative and fascinating interview.

[@robertsmith5744]

Goebbels Miller writes trunt's** speeches and much more. Bannon should be in Prison.

[@smokeykitty6023]

I find it telling that a lot of these well thought out arguments are coming from ex-Republicans. When, in recent history, have so many top tier members of a major political party just rejected their party so publically. For God sakes, even the Koch money has walked away from Trump.

[@The6thelement9413]

Agreed, but Ivana Trump clearly mentioned before her planned accident that Donald always read books about Hitler.

[@joanbeauregard9338]

Total agreement

[@doolie1779]

Absolutely agree, particularly about Miller. When I hear "enemy of the state", "vermin", "root them out", "I'm your retribution" etc. I can just hear Wormtongue (Miller, who also reminds me of Goebbels) in Trump's ear.

[@jonbrewer5027]

Imprisoning immigrant children and separating them from their parents wasn't enough? He had to literally hit the fascist quotes before academia takes note?

[@lauracarstiou3505]

So true

[@Soapandwater6]

Others in academia have been sounding the fascist alarm for some time: Jason Stanley and Timothy Snyder, among others.

[@elainelouve]

​@@Soapandwater6yes! Stanley even wrote a book on it a few years ago.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Do you think children should be placed in adult prisons with the father or mother? We don't do that to Americans, why should we do that for illegals.? FYI, they are illegals, not immigrants.

[@lesliecurran1704]

This is not prison, this is a detention facility. There were little to no records kept, so that many many of these children are STILL not reunited with their parents.. This was a specific method of demonizing people -- human beings in case you haven't noticed because you are labelling them whatever you choose to label them in order to dehumanize them -- already traumatized by what has happened to them in their own country. It is inhumane, unethical, and, quite frankly, disgusting and evil what was done to these families. Perhaps you need to hear the tape of these children screaming and crying for their parents. It is just one small snippet of the "policies" that this man wants to put into practice, including denying immigration to anyone who is not Christian. There is so much more, the threats to squash the free press is another, seriously you should be careful for what you wish for,.

[@dbltime]

We must never downplay what Trump says or does! He is hell bent on returning to power are all costs!!! To dismiss his behavior is a mistake. We must all be an engaged and informed citizens to stop Trump and his accomplices.

[@hamishstewart5188]

What? Americans ? Engaged and informed citizens? Don't you realize that the world has been laughing at you since you voted that clown in.

[@amarbyrd2520]

You know ... some of us -- including a member of the Irish Senate -- tried to tell Tom Nichols when Trump had shown up a fascist had shown up ... BACK IN 2016 when there would have been time to actually do something about it. He blocked us.

[@susanharrison2941]

The word EVIL works and everyone understands it

[@freethoughts2898]

Yeah but the issue is that the people who need to hear it aren't listening.

[@zen-Tii]

Sure, Democrats are evil according to MAGA.

[@Abmotsad]

So, according to this guy, we shouldn't start worrying until the person in question starts using *the actual words* in *the actual contexts* that Hitler used? That's a pretty high bar for tolerance. How could that possibly go wrong? Oh wait. This. This is how.

[@amarbyrd2520]

You know ... some of us -- including a member of the Irish Senate -- tried to tell Tom Nichols when Trump had shown up a fascist had shown up ... BACK IN 2016 when there would have been time to actually do something about it. He blocked us. He didn't want to hear it.

[@Abmotsad]

@@amarbyrd2520 His argument is ridiculous. Basically, he's saying that you shouldn't dial 911 until the house is completely engulfed in flames. The mainstream press's "oh-so-measured-let's-show-both-sides-no-need-to-be-hysterical" attitude is 100% responsible for the current situation. And here's the REAL problem: THEY ARE STILL DOING IT. They've learned absolutely nothing. He's just embarrassed that he did not hear the ear-splitting claxon as soon as the rest of us.

[@wendyfrith3407]

My hair burst into flames the first time I ever saw Trump…on the 3rd debate (I had never watched the Apprentice and don’t buy rags). Even more upsetting than the monster on the stage were the commentators calmly analyzing the debate post event…as though they’d just witnessed something NORMAL …and not screaming, like I did: Good God, WHAT was THAT!?

[@tiasara5967]

Exactly. I didn’t need any prep time. Wtf is wrong with people?

[@zeitgeist1958]

Instead of answering questions, he would insult the interviewers or his opponents and the news analysts would sit there and blame the interviewers!! Not the crazy con man being asked the questions!

[@starcrib]

We all knew hate we were looking at- you are absolutely correct. 🟥♨️🟥

[@lawrenceralph7481]

An then Trump I had a fine presidential term with lots of foresighted policies, regulatory improvements, economic success and significant accomplishments. And left office and left power on the appointed day as required. So the Chicken Little',s sky didn't actually fall in. An incompetent gollum followed. Now 4 years later, with hair smoking, ears screaming and fear of Emporer Donald II at its height, the woke entitled progressive shirkers quake again that they'll actually have to work. But now we the electorate have not biased fear mongering bs, but actual recent past records of both presidents as evidence of future performance. Never has the public had such a clear comparison. Calm people can now quietly look at either record in its entirety and choose the person who best served them. Meanwhile, our American lives under either were not very different. Certainly not worth any more silly Trump nightmares. So, look em over. And choose the person that best served your interest. It's kinda obvious to each of us. And it really only matters to about 100,000.swing voters in a small number of contested states. The rest of us can probably stay home.

[@KeithRowell-ix2qg]

And you put this worthless Biden in office and he has been selling out our country for profit

[@sdbutlerredux3177]

Nichols leaves out a primary element in this defiinition of fascism - the merger of corporate power and the state. As Mussolini said: "Fascism should more properly be known as corporatism, because it is the merger of state and corporate power." I'm merely a retired carpenter with a BA in political science , but comfortable in correcting a PHD.

[@amarbyrd2520]

You know ... some of us -- including a member of the Irish Senate -- tried to tell Tom Nichols when Trump had shown up a fascist had shown up ... BACK IN 2016 when there would have been time to actually do something about it. He blocked us. He didn't want to hear it.

[@HomeGypsy]

Yes, thank you! I remember that being a MAJOR part of how we were defining fascism during the Shrub years. And I kept wondering about this as Nichols was speaking.

[@bwanna23]

Nichols is a real 'Johnny Come Lately' on realizing Trump's fascist ideology. Those who spotted it years ago weren't playing with words. Glad to see Nichols woke up!

[@imperialmotoring3789]

So now the Constitution is fascist? Seriously?

[@user-of1ld1km5v]

There are too many who didn't see 'the light' early on. Your mainstream media comes to mind since most are still asleep at the wheel. These people aren't doing you any favours by coming out now, they 're just trying to save face at this point. IMO, too little too late. Trump, I'm afraid, has already convinced a large part of your population that he's the second coming.

[@robertlee8805]

I'm sure he noticed and wasn't happy with the direction and ideology of the previous ruler. It just got worse so he's defining the consequences to our Democracy from history to today's thinking processes.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@robertlee8805 USA is not a democracy. It makes me cringe when people mistakenly call the USA a "democracy".

[@MrSoonerCal]

@@imperialmotoring3789it makes patriots cringe when someone denies what we’ve been doing for 245 years.

[@melissadouglas570]

He was behind the curve, in recognizing the fascistic foundations of Trump/Maga politics. Thank you for asking him why it took him so long to ‘see the light.’ Unfortunately, like many people, he could not admit fault in his argument.

[@randmayfield5695]

I've watched the PBS documentary on fascism several times. It is produced and narrated by Rick Steves. He starts with post WW1 Germany, and associated countries, then brings it into the happenings of WW2. What Hitler did along with his cronies is so strikingly similar to what is going on now with donald that it's easy to see where he got his plan and playbook from. Frighteningly similar to pre-WW2 Germany.

[@marilynnyoung7026]

Indeed. I concur 100% after watching this same series several times. Another good series on PBS is the “Rise of the Nazis”.

[@randmayfield5695]

@@marilynnyoung7026 Thanks. I will look for it. Happy holidays to you.

[@annharding9634]

The Marxist formula is also the woke cultural warfare instituted by CCP and Russia's anti-democratic axis takedown; massive money behind it, destruction of education and culture, and immigrant weaponized/funded by both, the most recent fail was in Norway where they've closed all their borders, whereas the EU and GB are now being lamed by massive immigration influx again funded and organized by CCP, Russia and their Allies. They will now pit Democratic countries in South America against their new communist pawns, like Venezuela: which will be militarized. They are everywhere with this agenda, Africa, the Armenian genocide currently ongoing, etc. Can't believe this amount of evil is in charge.

[@dorotheakenneweg]

As a German I agree. I was shocked when Trump got elected. As a "dictator for one day" he will use his power to destroy the American constitution, if Americans don't prevent this from happening.

[@thomasbullen5239]

As I recall there was an election in Germany in 1933 and the "socialist democrats" (as Hitler called them) won the election. But no Hitler said, I won and he had the brown shirts to back him up. Sound familiar? All poor Trump had was the mis-guided proud boys and friends.

[@JackMenendez]

I noticed back in 2016 that Trump was using peculiar hand motions during his speeches. So I watched the videos I could find of Mussolini and Hitler and seemed to me that Trump must have watched them and copied some of the mannerisms of both dictators. So, I used the word fascism in my writing because it felt to me that there is some kind of planning around Trump and that he is being coached to play the "Strong Man" role.

[@pjpredhomme7699]

absolutely - none of this is an accident they are absolutely intentional

[@tiasara5967]

Thing is trump is uncoachable. It’s all him.

[@Hollywood041]

There is no way that Drumpf copied mannerisms of the other two. He may have done the same actions, but I refuse to believe that he ever studied someone else doing something else, right? He thought he was the first person, at age 79, to "see US and read it as us, U.S. can you imagine?..."

[@joelgriffitts1385]

"as long as he hates the same people they hate" seems an apt description of what motivates many of the former president's supporters. When a political figure or an entire party leads with resentment and desire for retribution, run the other way.

[@deborahedelman2659]

Well said joel!!

[@joycej9415]

The sad part is that if he should be in power again, his base will be some of the first people who will be repressed. Once he is dictator he will no longer need them.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Do you hate Trump? Consider yourself guilty of what you accuse others of.

[@Jlr-vz8cc]

​@@imperialmotoring3789I can honestly say that I have never hated anybody in my life and I am over 60 years old. That being said, I sure have a good amount of discernment for those who love to hate and live it out like Donald J. Trump. Hatred for others is a dangerous poison.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@Jlr-vz8cc Who does Trump hate? You sound like you have some serious issues with hate yourself. I don't "hate" the illegals, I just want them repatriated. Well I do hate the Hamas-holes, but that is understandable.

[@trex3003]

Trump didn't just become fascistic. People saw it before writer Tom Nichols just realized it was an apt description.

[@LowR-HighK]

And people were seeing the roots of it growing within the Republican party under George W Bush and his administration of clown. The base was lead here, they didn't just pop up wanting and talking fascism out of nowhere.

[@user-ss8iy2to6t]

TOM IS NUMB SKULL NAZI

[@mytruecrimelibrary]

Absolutely 💯 💯 💯

[@doorsfan173]

Exactly, I vividly remember the "loyalty oath" moment of one of his 2016 rallies, the brawling, the "I alone can fix it" line all from that same election; the DNA of fascism was always there in Trumpism, just under a gloss of populism and GOP establishment normalizing him. Even if it was nascent at the time of 2016, it was easy to identify the underpinnings waiting to come to the fore. Since then, every *perceived* wrong Trump believes he's faced (usually consequences of his criminality) has only laid those instincts of his bare. It seems now, in his 2024 campaign, he has just surrounded himself with people no longer interested in pretending that this is a normal American political candidate. Edit: this also doesn't even get into Jan 6th, any of his 2020 campaign, actions as president, etc.

[@AndyCutright]

Words have definitions. You wanna argue you knew what was up before everyone else, fine. You wanna argue you weren't just tossing words around regardless of meaning? I don't buy it.

[@VinnyWilk]

Tom Nichols is a slow learner. Everyone else was right, but he was the apologist.

[@sawtooth808]

Tom Nichols was a dyed in the wool conservative Republican, he’s not, and hasn’t been since 2018. However he still thinks that Kent State, Grenada, and Iraq when George W was president were appropriate uses of force. But I shouldn’t judge Tom harshly for that, because there is a small part of me (and it’s a part I hate) that thinks Waco was an appropriate use of force, and that the National Guard and JSOC (who were definitely present at the Capitol area on January 6th ) should have went “Kent State” on the people who stormed the Capitol on January 6th.

[@tracysample6942]

Tim Nichols is an elitist.

[@mithulahiri4105]

There should be no "impartiality" about a candidate who dehumanises whole groups of people and talks like a fascist. The media HAS TO make a choice to stand up against this guy.

[@anthonypanneton923]

They won't, and the reason is because they know Trump may become the President again. And so they will try to do the "fair and balanced" thing to hedge their bets.

[@kathyq6167]

​@anthonypanneton923 It makes me cringe, but I think you're spot on. The "right and balanced" thing to do would be to hold him ACCOUNTABLE for his crimes (and his family also). Sure I don't need to say it, but I will anyway: VOTE BLUE!! ✌️🇺🇸💙☮️🌐🫶

[@Michael-ig8ne]

Ratings are more important

[@judyorourke2410]

Univision, a huge Spanish-language network, just broadcast a softball interview with Trump where there was no pushback to his usual tremendous pile of lies. CNN did the interview letting Trump control the narrative. Remains to be seen if any media take this seriously. Trump and his outlaw behavior has been so lucrative for all media, lets not pretend business has a conscience.

[@ApexEater]

He just threatened the existence of MSNBC as well. Specifically saying government should take them down. Dudes gonna take the whole country down if people don't wake up.

[@louiesimon5292]

I knew he was a fascist from his ride down the escalator. This video just shows that even highly educated people can sometimes fail to see what is right in front of their face--because they don't want to believe it, I suppose. Others saw this coming from a long way off.

[@amarbyrd2520]

You know ... some of us -- including a member of the Irish Senate -- tried to tell Tom Nichols when Trump had shown up a fascist had shown up ... BACK IN 2016 when there would have been time to actually do something about it. He blocked us. He didn't want to hear it.

[@catc8927]

It doesn’t help that Nichols was a Republican until fairly recently, and is thus swimming against the tide of his own party and social milieu. Everyone likes to think they’d be a hero and stand up to Hitler in hypotheticals. But when it comes down to it, only a handful of Republicans are willing to push back on Trump (Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, the Lincoln Project guys), and most end up either leaving the party or getting voted out.

[@colleenorrick5415]

I’m Canadian and I knew he was a fascist from the start too. It was the racism I think.

[@sarahcarder7076]

I’m glad she asked him why it took him so long to figure out Trump is fascistic. I had all the warning bells going off in 2015-2016.

[@Astrid-jt8cd]

I think they are doing this because he is ahead

[@Astrid-jt8cd]

So how will you solve this problem we have at the border. Roosevelt put japanese people in camps

[@advocacynaccountablity]

I hope people in the same camp as Nichols are finally at the same point he is and refuse to support Trump's extraordinarily dangerous movement. I hope they speak up and out, like Nichols. I wish that they could have seen this earlier, but am grateful they are at last seeing it. We have less than a year before the next election and must pull out ALL of the stops to engage with voters, build community, and take our country back from this brink!

[@rcox54321]

Great question. Many of us tried to tell this guy on Twitter years ago what Trump was, who he was, but he didn’t want to hear it. You could see this coming when the man came down the escalator. I love how people are now trying to pivot and cover their reputations.

[@honuman39]

Tom never admits fault ever. He's intellectually dishonest and always has been. Republicans and conservatives have been laying the ground for the toxicity we're dealing with for a long time and Tom's dismissed, ignored or outright been hostile to anyone who's pointed it out. He's been a conservative tribalist towing the line. Now that the monster has gotten out of the dungeon all of a sudden he's saying that's it's gone too far all the while he's been feeding it and caring for it. He's a f'ing hypocrite and he shouldn't be given any high profile media exposure. He should be ashamed.

[@joycej9415]

I remember reading the book On Tyranny that was written and came out because of tRump being elected. It scared me but I was hopeful others would listen, sadly it might be too late.

[@andreah6379]

🎯

[@jim2376]

"people are now trying to pivot and cover their reputations." Yep. Former AG and Trump manservant Bill Barr being chief among them.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

That escalator sure triggered you.

[@myindigoblues5796]

This is terrifying

[@dianagross8784]

Steve Bannon and Stone and Flynn are all pulling Trump's strings

[@denisehenry3427]

Flynn is very dangerous. Remember he was a ranking military man. Miller and Bannon are just Dracula's (blood suckers)helpers . The white mega followers are afraid of losing the majority . They are afraid 😨 that they will lose their superiority (mindset)over other ethnic groups. May God continue blessing all of His people. 🙏

[@user-ss8iy2to6t]

BANNON IS DR MENGELA

[@mytruecrimelibrary]

And The Heritage Foundation, who comes up with all the culture war nonsense.

[@Soapandwater6]

Yes, they are! 😱They are sure to be advisors and cabinet members for his next administration. Gotta get those henchmen in place.

[@61bullet43]

Miller reads Hilter’s speeches to Trump as bedtime stories.

[@patrickgilmore4602]

Tom little late to the realities much like the GOP.

[@JoeSmith-cy9wj]

Yes, crying wolf is a bad idea, until you get a guest like this, who would wait, afraid of the term or offending the sensibility of the moronic voter, until the damage is nearly complete. ANYBODY with half a brain saw this candidate coming , the escalator was past the point. He is not yet incarcerated and still runs for office. The last thing we need is half assed apologies when real journalism was called for, years ago. This man would have us read articles written from political prison by disfavored journalists after Trump becomes King.

[@TruthrConsequences]

Nice to see a former-Republican is somehow now able to see the light, huh?

[@kaysumpter2447]

Trump declared himself King in 2018, now he wants to become Dictator Trump👹! This is very similar to scenario in 1920's and 1930's Germany and Hitler's takeover of their government. Guess we're going to be apathetic until Trump and his henchmen start imprisoning journalists and murdering opponents like Putin does in Russia.

[@d.jeffdionne]

Yeah, no. Most folks actually paying attention saw this a long time ago. 'Enemy of the people' referring to the press should have been proof enough for you, Tom.

[@lauracarstiou3505]

Yes and many other statements like l'm the only one who can solve your problems. Before the election he lost he declared if he didn't win it would prove that the election was rigged. So many people have dropped the ball on this guy weaseling his way into power and his betrayal of democracy

[@Soapandwater6]

His saying the press is the "enemy of the people" was a HUGE red flag. I didn't miss it!

[@sawtooth808]

@@Soapandwater6 Not to mention Trump “casually joking” about killing members of the press. That’s Authoritarianism 101, and if Barrack Obama had of casually joked about having Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter, and Laura Ingraham “disappeared” Conservatives would have lost their minds

[@technobubba4]

"Enemies of the people" is a 'Stalinist' term and should have informed everyone

[@EH23831]

Yes, when words are over used or misused they lose their meaning - this is why fascists call others fascists exactly so it loses all meaning.

[@InterestedCitizen]

This man talks waaaay too much. Why is he even a guest?

[@carinaekstrom1]

It's a good idea to spell out exactly what fascists do, and show the likeness, like 'Beau of the Fifth Column' did.

[@andreah6379]

Rethuglicons strategists have always been practiced using "1984" & 'Double Speak', where they say one thing but it means the opposite. They get away with it because unlike the left & Democratic party leaders, the reichwing/Rethuglicons have billionaires promoting & spreading their propaganda & buying up major newspapers & TV like FOX,OAN, Newsmax, etc...+ 1500 radio stations playing hate+lies propaganda nationwide + their social media sites, like X, Dump's own brand. Democrats have NEVER bothered to invest in any kind of media to get their message out. Not many greedy rich want to back a party that believes the rich should pay more of their share in taxes, either. Hitler had his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels & they both worked to manipulate Germans using same tactics as FOX, OAN, Newsmax, etc...uses today. Fascists all use the same playbook.

[@DennisMoore664]

@@carinaekstrom1 Well howdy there Internet person.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

You are 100% correct. Calling Trump "fascist" is outright silly, but the college kids heard that word somewhere and jump on it.

[@jamesbruce8749]

If it walks like duck and talks like a duck .....it's a duck!!

[@grf15]

I LOVED this line, "Is your solution to vote for a fascist?" I agree that this is the one, and only, question.

[@fridayfriday3948]

I'd say Tom Nichols is a bit slow, but at least he woke up! Perhaps it will help others to wake up too?

[@teresalegler2777]

His last line, “Are You Willing To Vote for a FACIST?” This is the intimate message that must be pursued.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Biden is a fascist, and no, I will not vote for him.

[@ernestintownandjackintheco1024]

Gee, who could have foreseen it?

[@deborahedelman2659]

👍

[@MosmMAli]

The effects of fox and right wing media are devastating enough that apathy and ignorance may breed fascism 😢😢

[@deborahedelman2659]

👍

[@andreah6379]

Bingo × 1 million. Fascists all do the same thing. Same playbook. I don't understand why more Americans don't know that Joseph Goebbels, as Hitler's propaganda minister, manipulated Germans to turn on other Germans just like FOX, OAN, Newsmax, 1500 reichwing radio stations + their social media sites do 24/7 today to us Americans.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

I take my advice from people like you. I see what you say, and then I think the opposite.

[@Jlr-vz8cc]

​@@imperialmotoring3789Shows your ignorance and darkness in your heart ❤

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@Jlr-vz8cc You are a follower and a supplicant. No darkness in my heart I have Jesus in my heart!

[@XLseattle]

I grew up under Franco and Nichols is spot on about what it is to live in fascist dictatorship. The Right’s willingness to use violence like Hitler and Mussolini is terrifying. I remember that Trump kept a copy of a book of Hitler’s speeches on his night stand. That and Steven Miller are the source of Trump’s current rhetoric

[@outdoorgirl2260]

spot on...and I was just thinking these speeches smack of Steven MIller

[@bcoldwell1]

If Trump kept ANY book on his nightstand, it was for show.

[@dennisyoung4631]

@@bcoldwell1 true (for the most part.) Drumpf is said to have great difficulty with reading. He’d need to be exceedingly motivated to do much of it - and *outside of certain hedonistic practices, Drumpf tends to lack that level of motivation.* The only thing I can think of that *MIGHT* supply that kind of motivation would be “an unquenchable desire for absolute dictatorial Power” - which he seems to have. One *might* be able to make a case for “Absolute Power being the ultimate expression of hedonism.”

[@jim2376]

Stephen "Baby Goebbels" Miller and Schutzstaffel Kommandant Bannon are malevolent influences on Fuhrer Trump.

[@jim2376]

@@bcoldwell1True. The orange defendant doesn't read.

[@barbaras2669]

No one called John McCain a Fascist. He may have confused John McCain calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a Neo-Fascist. In fact, McCain's hero was Robert Jordan, a character from Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" who fought fascism set in the Spanish Civil War.

[@ruffian25505]

My very basic understanding of fascism is that it takes a decade or two for a “charismatic” leader to emerge who persuades the crowd that they need to fight for a mythical heritage that they are in danger of losing… and that any means/ violence is necessary and acceptable to preserve the myth. It can’t happen over night… when it can clearly be seen… perhaps Trump and MAGA… its roots have been deeply embedded for years surely?

[@rachaelik]

Meh. Other people saw it before Nichols did. Trump has been saying this sort of thing for years. He just didn't use "the right words" about "the right people." It wasn't ever just "crazy talk."

[@grahamepinnell367]

Thanks. That was the most useful 18.06 minutes I have spent online in the last 6 hours: it places in a nutshell the only thoughts necessary prior to casting a vote next year. Unfortunately, living in Europe, I don't get to vote. What this discussion did bring out is that fascists generally require a cult-like following. Many in Europe took Trump for a fascist very soon into his bid for President: any one of his utterances and behaviours (on and off the record) would have been sufficient for people here to disqualify him as a suitable candidate. We have had many actual and real fascists throughout our history which we have managed to innoculate ourselves against, but the US, with its adoration of 'celebrity' (which includes acceptance and apology for bad behaviour)and money over principle, seemed suitably primed for someone like Trump. And it grieves us all.

[@SteveBrant55]

I think this problem isn't just limited to the USA. I'm happy to hear you believe Europe has "inoculated" itself against fascism, but I'm reminded The Netherlands just elected one.

[@Maggie-zr2ow]

@@SteveBrant55And Germany recently elected their first far-right candidate (Alternative for Germany party) since the Nazi era. Both France and Italy have more fascism popping up recently. I’m as worried about Europe as I am the US. Climate change, dwindling resources, more migration…all of this will make fascism look good to every day people.

[@deborahedelman2659]

Thank you for your observations.. I think you are correct..😢

[@dweb]

​@@SteveBrant55I aggree because Dutch ​​​Wilders' supporters are similar to Trump's MAGA followers. Willing or gullible to believe a grifting autocrat. Many people in the Netherlands feel emboldened to support Geert Wilders or just look the other way. His hatefull antics and rants about immigration have been normalized by his Dutch political collegues and the press. Putin's agenda to undermine the EU and NATO will be served just like in Hungary. ​​The Kremlin weaponized immigration when it launched “managed nationalism”, an attempt to co-opt and mobilise radical nationalist militants, including neo-Nazis, as a counterweight to an emerging anti-Putin coalition of democrats and leftist radicals. Since 2008-09, radical militants migrated to two rival Kremlin proxies, the nationalist “Young Russia” group and the anti-immigration “Locals” group. These organisations became bridges between the neo-Nazi subculture and the Kremlin. Unlike mainstream nationalists, who tend to support the idea of free elections, neo-Nazis reject democratic institutions and the very idea of human equality. For a dictator dismantling democracy and constructing an authoritarian regime, they were ideal accomplices. This weaponization of immigration has been successfully exported via traditional and social media, and serves well for seeding division and discontent in the West in order to increase destabilization of our allied unity. In 2018, five years after Wilders made a trip to Russia, as an invited guest paid for by the Kremlin, an analysis of voting behavior and PVV (Wilders' single member political party) motions shows that positions on Russia have remained the same. Although the party condemns the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it maintains its opposition to sanctions on Moscow and arms deliveries to Kyiv. Russia must be offered 'comfort' and Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO, foreign spokesperson Raymond de Roon and Wilders said in a joint motion that was immediately picked up by the Russian media. Early in 2022, just after the invasion, the PVV was the only party to vote against an investigation into foreign financing of Dutch political parties.

[@carinaekstrom1]

Very well put. My sentiments exactly. I was apalled from the start.

[@TheMonkdad]

I retired from a 31 year career in mental health. I noticed the same thing with the word narcissist. In the past 3 years I couldn’t go 3 days without someone referring to someone who they don’t like as a narcissist. It completely lost its meaning. The scary part here is that people either don’t understand the potential consequences of electing Trump or worse, they understand yet are willing to abandon their freedom in order to live in a perpetual state of vengeance.

[@DennisMoore664]

People have been doing the same thing with the word "genocide" of late. Sometimes the word is accurate - sometimes not so much.

[@shawnastephens1536]

For someone who has panic attacks this interview really scared me because I'm trying with all my heart telling anyone who will listen to vote blue and it doesn't seem to be getting thru.

[@teresalegler2777]

Keep on talking. More are listening than you think. VOTE BLUE!

[@lauracarstiou3505]

There's good reason for fear..the feeling of impending doom is not unrealistic

[@ApexEater]

A lot of conservatives will not vote if it's made clear their candidate is dangerous. Most of them still have a conscious.

[@andreah6379]

​@@lauracarstiou3505This isn't the time for despair or apathy. It's a waste of good energy. Stay positive & get involved in elections next year. Keep ppl who think as you do around you for support. It's nice if someone who is a Rethuglicon wakes the f up, but better chances exist if we go for those new voters, or voters who have apathy & teach them little about Hitler. 😮

[@richardlawson6787]

​@@ApexEaterto his credit bill barr said trump isn't fit to be president...then he turns around and says if trump is his partys nominee he will vote for trump...now go and try to figure that out

[@JMack42]

I do wonder what has happened to "the media" in whom I used to trust as they were then "trustworthy". But now, it seems that "the media" has abandoned their clear, truthful, reporting of years past ... I cried when Mr. Cronkite passed as well as a couple of others and though I didn't realize it at the time, I was already mourning the passing of an age of truth, honesty and facts of what was going on in America.

[@andreah6379]

The quality of our news also took a nosedive during Clinton Era. Thom Hartmann has written books about how corporatized our media has become and well over 50% is owned by greedy uber rich--only a handful of them. Some own multiple types of media ie both TV channels & online newspapers and/or social media sites. Teddy Roosevelt raged against monopolies in US. He was the last Rethuglicon that did! DC politicians, all Rethuglicons & too many Democrats don't care to honor The Sherman Anti-trust Act on the books. Part of that is because of the 5 reichwing sociopaths on SCOTUS who decided in 2010, that "Money is speech."

[@TR-mg1eq]

Even Trumps mug shot (head tilt, glare, chin thrust) is an exact lift from one of the most famous state photos of Hitler.

[@richardlawson6787]

Dont forget trump is a german removed by just his grandpa... could be Hitler reincarnated

[@deepashtray5605]

Mike Johnson, who is an avowed Young Earth Creationist, is also a fascist. I do not make that statement as hyperbole or use the word without serious consideration.

[@DennisMoore664]

Mike Johnson is scary in a great many ways - especially in how low-key he is. Trump is loud but Johnson is like Stephen Miller in that he creeps up on you like a deadly snake.

[@deepashtray5605]

@@michaelrogers2080 I am not stating that lightly. Are you familiar with Dominionism? Seven Pillars or Seven Mountain Dominionism who believe they have a mandate from God to establish the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth in order to fulfill prophesy and bring about the return of Jesus. If you are familiar with it you may want to compare notes with what you dug up on fascism. The Fascist writings of the 1920s Italy are nearly indistinguishable from their doctrine. Johnson is a Dominionist BTW. How about Young Earth Creationism? Any idea why they have been working so hard to get creation "science" into our school systems? Their core doctrine mandates cultural genocide... which I've had explained to me by several Creationists. Cultural genocide is a real thing recognized in international law. Authoritarian is putting it lightly, the politics Johnson is pushing is totalitarianism, and his particular church asserts that Donald Trump is God's chosen (cannot make this shit up). His ideology is not about authoritarian control but the total domination of culture and society where the church/state controls every aspect of a person's life, from conception through death; strikingly similar to Nazi Germany. I stand by my statement. If you don't buy it that's fine.

[@hamishstewart5188]

@@deepashtray5605 Meanwhile the rest of the world ignores real crises to watch kids fighting in the playground

[@deepashtray5605]

@@hamishstewart5188 I see it as more comparable to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[@Hume77]

I never used the word "fascist" in relation to any post-war American political figure. In graduate school I used to occasionally challenge the younger grad students who would refer to Newt Gingrich, or Reagan as a fascist. I would argue that this was little different from conservatives who would call most liberals "communists" and "socialists" which was false if not farcical. But Trump is the exception. I finally gave up and acknowledge that he is a fascist and the biggest threat to the rule of law and American democracy since the Civil War.

[@JoannaRives]

Tom Nichols just "woke up" to the fascist threat after Black women have been sounding the alarm since Trump's first presidential run.

[@rachaelik]

Exactly! LGBTQ people as well.

[@itsjustmet1743]

13:24 But fascism was what he has been speaking for years…

[@theobserver9131]

Trump is great at confessing. He just confuses it with accusing.

[@kennethmorrison7689]

When I first found out that 84 million Americans voted for Trump, I knew the that the US was finished. No one should abandon calling a fascist a fascist.

[@ajmeyers5661]

"Trump won 74,222,958 votes, or 46.8 percent of the votes cast....Biden won 81,283,098 votes, or 51.3 percent of the votes cast."

[@andreah6379]

Please! Check your facts: about 73 million voted for Dump. About 81 million voted for Biden. Nobody in either 2016 or 2020 got 84 million votes!!

[@kennethmorrison7689]

@@ajmeyers5661 numbers & per cent don't matter: Trump was declared president

[@b.justiceforall9544]

Thank you very much Liz Chaney/Amanpour & Company and keep up the reporting on the most important relevant news for the survival of this country; truth (verifiable by the scientific method) does absolutely matter.

[@ifodaniell]

Thanks for finally waking up, Tim Nichols. Trump's actions have far and away belied his Fascist intentions.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

How exactly? You just want to use that "fascist" word although you have no idea what it means.

[@karenann17]

Great conversation. Thank you.

[@cerberus2881]

Nichols isn't likely to deny that the GOP is fascist! I started using that word during the trump error!

[@eaglefly1870]

Trump error..Lol. That's exactly what it was.

[@Theomite]

Hell I was using that term during the Iraq War.

[@cerberus2881]

@@Theomite Yeah okay, this might be what Nichols is talking about.

[@sawtooth808]

The Trump Error, apt description is apt (and funny) Clementine Caligula’s Reign of Error, sums it up perfectly.

[@technobubba4]

I think he means "era" ?

[@LowR-HighK]

Don't call him fascist. Fascist has meaning. Ok, now you can call him fascist ... Like ... what? Son, you're just slow on the up take.

[@grf15]

Okay, but he had a point. If you call every Republican a fascist then when the real one shows up people shrugged their shoulders.

[@Redactedlllllllllllll]

​@@grf15nobody is calling every republican a fascist, but some of them talk like Hitler so..

[@LowR-HighK]

@@grf15 Uhmm ... What's not "real" about the ones we have right now? Do they need literal SS uniforms?

[@61bullet43]

The sin of America is hubris.

[@DennisMoore664]

and apathy.

[@johnpiggott4101]

Remember this? Nichols, who is belatedly spot-on, should have: "The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned." Stephen Miller, February 14, 2017

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Wow! That's it. "As long as he hates the same people they hate.. and they think they're just going to get a pass." We're looking at radical evil here.

[@Soapandwater6]

🎯

[@pjpredhomme7699]

not sure if you have been paying attention - that is exactly the maga movement - they are united by the people that they hate - they really don't have anything else

[@leannevandekew1996]

It's in Trump's genes and upbringing. Trump's father Fred was arrested in New York City in 1927, when a group of Klansmen got into a brawl with police officers during a Memorial Day parade in Queens. There is a document trail, and the names, dates, and addresses match up. The New York Times published a story about the riot and the seven men who were arrested; Fred Trump is mentioned by name. His address is given at 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, New York City, and the federal census of 1930 shows that Fred Trump resided there.

[@lauracarstiou3505]

This is a known fact

[@kaysumpter2447]

Not surprising that a man who got rich by lying, cheating and stealing; and who chose a mob lawyer to mentor his son would be arrested for committing hate crime violence. The hateful dysfunction of Fred Trump, Sr. is one reason Mary Trump's father chose an honorable career and got away from his father. VOTE BLUE 2024 🌊💙🇺🇸⚖💙 President Joseph R. Biden 2024💙

[@johnwalker4642]

Wolf! There is a wolf! Some of us yelled. It was acceptable to export violence overseas and not call it fascism. Now the wolf is here, now, for all us to yell at once.

[@kevinjenner9502]

Illegal wars, occupations, regime change, and proxy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria…CIA Torture Program….

[@allanlees299]

This guy is so sweet! He genuinely believes ordinary people are capable of even a semblance of coherent thought. In reality, people who vote Republican do so because they think supporting "their team" is "patriotic" and have zero interest in thinking about whether or not the people they vote for are in fact destroying the nation they claim to love. Ordinary Republican voters would vote for Hitler, Stalin, or Mao as long as there was an R next to their name on the ballot. This is one of the many reasons why representative democracy is totally unfit for purpose.

[@AYVYN]

That’s pretty extreme, but when you look at the Israel Funding Bill; every Dem in the House voted No and every Dem in the Senate voted Yes. It makes no sense

[@dwaynezilla]

It's not representative democracy. It's the two party system. There's no incentive to work together.

[@feurigerStern]

I need to take a very long break on Trump news. It is angering and depressing that man is not yet in prison.

[@hamishstewart5188]

Well said.

[@teacher01ful]

Tom Nichols speaks powerfully. Glad he’s on the side of Democracy. Every time I listen to what he has to say, I learn more. Grateful for his voice. Thank you for having him on.

[@amandab.recondwith8006]

Honest to God, if he gets re-elected, I have to hope our press and most of the judicial and military systems will reject this sort of mania.

[@deborahedelman2659]

I for one am going to Canada amanda!

[@greatedges]

The press as we know it will cease to exist according to Trump. He promises to indict anyone who he sees as against him.

[@ajmeyers5661]

There's a Banon-backed 2025 plan for Trump's second term. They plan on purging the government and installing loyalists. In Trump's first term there were a lot of posts filled with interim appointees because Trump refused to put any up for congressional approval. Essentially what that did was allow him to select people for those positions who relied on his whims to keep their jobs, not Congress. He's going to crank that up 1000 fold in his second term.

[@DennisMoore664]

@@deborahedelman2659 I'm staying. If they want to go there, I'll play along. What's that old line from Jefferson about the tree of liberty? But I'm single and don't have kids or much left in the way of family so I don't have much to lose.

[@burle1cm]

If he gets elected, he will take over all the media. So no hope there unfortunately.

[@krakhedd]

I wish this possible outcome had been considered by Garland and Wray

[@andreah6379]

Neither Garland nor Wray have the balls. They proved that when they both sat on their hands for 1 full year refusing to take any action against Dump for his involvement with Jan 6th. It took Garland having to be shamed by Jan 6th House Committee members to finally take action. Both Garland & Wray are CONservatives. CONservatives don't believe in any kind of progress or movement forward. None. They would all be happy going back to the 1800s.

[@tracevicente]

The moment he asked Comey for “loyalty” was the moment he showed he was a fascist. Come on, Tom.

[@TruthrConsequences]

According to Ivana Trump in a 1990 Vanity Fair interview, Donald kept a copy of The Collected Speeches of Adolph Hitler by his bed.

[@DM31124]

If Trump had not said those words, would Nichols still have trouble thinking of him as being a fascist? The frequency of use against some has little to do with how appropriate and accurate it is when describing Trump.

[@catc8927]

Not to mention Trump was calling the press the “enemy of the people,” another clear Hitler quote , way back in 2016/17.

[@jules1again]

Can you say Steven Miller...

[@counseloridealist]

He could be much, much worse than any dictator in history.

[@marclapine1305]

I agree Trump has a very limited vocabulary; one of a 12-yr old. I suspect he never recovered emotionally from being sent to a boarding school. What some consider the beginning of his sociopathy and malignant narcissism.

[@anandaadidevi2339]

No, it wasn't the beginning. He was sent to boarding school because he was so obnoxious and out of control and the last straw was when he kicked a teacher.

[@andreah6379]

Going off to private schools has nothing to do with expressing yourself like a 12 YO, as an adult. Dump never cared to be an academic. His emotional IQ is arrested at 12yo--because nobody forced him to grow up and behave like a responsible adult.

[@artshealer]

He was a sociopath and that’s why he got sent to boarding school

[@AYVYN]

He’s a pretty good orator, not comparable to Reagan or Lincoln, but he’s above Biden, Christie, and DeSantis.

[@catc8927]

@@AYVYNGood orator?! This is the guy who uses his stage time to complain about how you have to flush modern toilets 10 times … 🤦🏻‍♀️ None of the above, not even Ron DeSantis, have done that.

[@stevechance150]

It's a tough decision. One candidate wants to discard our Constitution and end democratic elections. The other candidate is old.

[@teresalegler2777]

Both or old. If one has been a great leader and follows the constitution. The other, former #45, could care less about the constitution, citizens or the rule of law. HUGE DIFFERENCES.

[@kaysumpter2447]

Correction, one is a lifetime civil servant who is 4 years older than the lying, Fascist traitor who has stated he will rewrite the United States Constitution if he gets reelected. VOTE BLUE 2024🌊💙🇺🇸⚖💙 TRUE American President Joseph R. BIDEN

[@deborahedelman2659]

Trimp is in poor health AND old!!

[@deborahedelman2659]

​@@teresalegler2777👍

[@spelunkerd]

Biden and Trump are old, but the difference is who they surround themselves with inside the administration. Trump surrounds himself with yes men, less qualified people who won't talk back, who won't make him look bad, and who are willing to tolerate the chaos of a revolving door. Biden gets to choose people who aren't afraid to speak truth to power, the best form of administration, those qualified to make complex decisions.

[@melissaverduin3693]

Trump's 1st wife said his book on the night stand was a book of Hitler's speeches. I don't remember the name. 😳

[@kaysumpter2447]

Mein Kampf, the book Adolf Hitler wrote while imprisoned for plotting and executing his Beer Hall Putsch failed coup attempt. Trump's heroes are all authoritarian dictators, like Hitler👹, Mussolini👹, Putin👹, Viktor Orban👹, Xi Jinping👹, and Kim Jong Un👹. Fascist and Communist Dictators! Donald J Trump👹 EVIL!

[@burle1cm]

“Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) by Adolph Hitler

[@kellyberry4173]

Mein Kamph Published July 18,1925

[@Francinesworld]

Who actually owns media outlets and who has the editorial power like Murdock and Fox?

[@andreah6379]

By now, the vast majority of all major media are owned by the same handful of mostly reichwing/Rethuglicon billionaires. And those that own the major TV stations also own the major online newspapers &/or social media sites. Democratic party leaders have NEVER invested in media! A couple of reasons for that include most greedy uber rich don't want their taxes ever to go up as some Democrats would prefer, & in 2010, 5 reichwing sociopaths on SCOTUS decided in case called Citizens United, that, "Hell yeah, money is speech & the greedy rich can now buy politicians--openly."

[@dogstar7]

Tom Nichols is the classic "...Then they came for me..." guy. Trump didn't change in 6 years Nichols admits to being an apologist during the fascist rising| He didn't even blink on January 6th Now he sees the writing on the wall. Trump promised to put ALL his enemies into camps in his Veterans Day speech...and Nichols can see what side of the slice his toast is buttered.

[@hamishstewart5188]

Well said

[@edwardpincus]

Steven Miller, the Poisoner; Steven Miller, the Hate Monger. Steven Miller, the personification of Self Loathing and Self-Hatred turned Outward to hurt anyone and anything not himself.

[@kjw6383]

Little Goebbels

[@drumcircler]

Hatred and greed are his currencies, prison is his fate.

[@miltonthegreat6520]

Sounds a little like the Fall of Rome, but only many years earlier than when it actually happened. Rome as a Republic ended when Caesar marched his army from Britannica to Rome, then next they gave him a crown and called him 'emperor'. (This also sounds a little like the 'Beer Hall Putsch'.)

[@dorfmanjones]

True, but the Roman senate was composed of Patricians who hated and feared the citizenry, who they referred to as 'the mob.' It was far from an ideal Republic, which after all should be representative. They were ripe for coup and one man rule. 100 years before the Caesars there was Sulla.

[@DennisMoore664]

History do tend to rhyme like that. And here comes Trump in his silly red hat. Followed by people who think he's the best willing to do the worst to all of the rest. Can't say what I'd like to have happen to him cause I don't want the SS kicking my door in. (oh damn - even the acronyms are the same)

[@Gess575]

He's defining 'fascist' and I'm like...check, check, check,

[@lspthrattan]

This dude wants to act like he just discovered something new when it's been staring him right in his face for years. Denial is a powerful thing.

[@dennisfountain1547]

Every election,no matter how trivial it may seem, gives the Trump movement leverage. Dems have to approach each of these with the same fervour as every other.

[@andreah6379]

What gives Dump or any Rethuglicon leverage in their state, if not in the nation are the Reichwing/Rethuglicon billionaires like Rupert Murdoch & Elon Musk not to mention the vast majority of online newspapers are owned by the same ppl. They push hate+lies propaganda via TV ; FOX, OAN, Newsmax, etc...+ they own 1500 radio channels nationwide playing the same messages of hate+lies 24/7 + social media sites like Elon Musk & Dump's own. This IS why they control the messages & have a cult following. NOTHING like it on the left/Democrats. There are many more greedy uber rich that don't want to pay higher taxes or want to expand social safety net than not, so Dems never get their messages out. Rethuglicons are doing what Joseph Goebbels did for Hitler. Same fascist playbook.

[@lovethatagave]

Great show - thank you. Important to mention - along with the other authoritarian signs - trump's intent to use schedule F (professional civil service slots) to place loyalists in important positions in government.

[@DennisMoore664]

Project 2025. Wish more people were talking about it. I keep trying but it doesn't seem like people are listening. Kind of like how nobody paid attention to the neo-con Project for the New American Century back in the 90's. But when they got in power and 9/11 happened it was game on. Well, here we go again.

[@AmanpourandCompany]

Thanks for tuning in.

[@HomeGypsy]

Bush Jr. did that one.

[@powellp25]

This is the most intelligent interview about the former president and his followers I have heard to date. Thank you!

[@mikeklein4949]

Own your democracy. Treat it as your democracy. Politicise yourself. Self preservation demands it.

[@richardblock2458]

Tom is 7 years too late. Congratulations, Professor.

[@arklyn]

The Atlantic sounded the alarm in 2015. Many psychiatrists have also sounded the alarm since 2015.

[@scottjacobson3016]

Thanks Amanpour & Company

[@rui569]

Power is very compelling. People will do anything for power.

[@rkparc57]

We've been crying wolf so long that when a real fascist shows up it is almost ho hum. Not a good sign I fear...

[@Maggie-zr2ow]

I was thinking…But didn’t those previous Republican fascists lead us right to Trump? People label leaders as fascist when they see the signs, and it’s a warning because the slide is so quick. That slide led right to Trump. And guys like Nichols hold blame too because they allowed a lot of horribleness in their party for a long time.

[@AndyCutright]

Yep, when folks don't understand what a word means, and just applies it to everyone they don't like, this is in fact what happens.

[@eligoitein6499]

GOOD ANALOGY liberal snowflakes so far in their own silos they dont recogmixe thev real wolf/sociopath when he shows up

[@andreah6379]

That's NOT the problem! The problem is our media & justice system! They haven't cried wolf!! The corporate-owned media has soft-peddled Dump & all his countless lies. They never call him or the Rethuglicon tribe out for fascism. That "F" word that MSM & their pundits have refused to use only until recently! They delayed--Garland took over 1 full year before he finally took action against Dump. It actually took Garland to have to be shamed publicly from Jan 6th House Committee members urging him to take action! And FBI--same problem! Americans are suppose to look up to both agencies with awe & respect. They don't deserve any! They haven't protected us. 2024 shouldn't be a repeat of 2016 if either one of these agencies did their damn job long ago! We, who have the functioning brains, have been wanting legal action against Dump and 140 Rethuglicon congressional members who aided & abetted domestic terrorists on Jan 6th haven't even seen Garland do anything about them!? Again, WTF. This IS the problem. We don't see the quick & appropriate responses from ppl in power!! That's why we are getting impatient, tired of listening to the news, tired of not seeing any progress. NOT crying wolf. Nobody's been doing that. Dump & 140 Rethuglicons in power today are dangerous as hell, not to mention all those fascist red-ruled states & the 6 sociopaths on SCOTUS.

[@Redactedlllllllllllll]

Ive seen that waay more with socialism and communism. Republicans call liberals this all day everyday.

[@healingsoul13]

I guess Trump finally had somebody finish reading Mein Kempf to him....

[@rickknight1810]

Congratulations to Michel Martin for asking really good questions and drawing out very helpful responses from Tom Nichols. I'm not fan of the neocons, but now that we have the looming danger of trump, I'm with him 100%.

[@spikepa2963]

It why teaching real history is so important.