The GOP Are Fascists!
March 27, 2025
The Republican Party, once a party of conservative principles, has now transformed into a fascist movement, systematically eroding democracy, attacking the most vulnerable, and consolidating power through fear, propaganda, and oppression. What was once a party that at least paid lip service to democratic norms has now openly embraced authoritarianism. The proof is everywhere, from their attacks on free elections, their attempts to criminalize dissent, their vilification of marginalized communities, and their open admiration for strongmen and dictators. Nowhere is this more evident than in the way they have taken a page from history’s darkest chapters, aligning themselves with the same methods used by fascist regimes of the past. Perhaps one of the most chilling parallels is the direct correlation between the concentration camps of past genocides and the inhumane detention centers in El Salvador, where thousands are imprisoned under horrific conditions with no regard for human rights or due process.
Fascism is defined by its core principles: extreme nationalism, suppression of opposition, the use of state violence, and a propaganda machine that distorts reality to maintain power. The GOP has checked every box. Under Trump and his enablers, the party has made clear that they do not see democracy as an institution to be preserved but rather as an obstacle to their complete control. This shift did not happen overnight, but it has now reached a critical stage where the party openly defies court rulings, weaponizes law enforcement against its opponents, and supports the persecution of immigrants, minorities, and political adversaries. The transformation is undeniable.
One of the most glaring examples of their fascist tendencies is their treatment of immigrants and refugees. The GOP has turned detention centers into tools of terror, implementing policies designed not just to deter immigration but to punish and dehumanize those seeking asylum. The horrifying images of children in cages, families ripped apart, and people held in overcrowded facilities under inhumane conditions are reminiscent of the worst abuses of the 20th century. The rhetoric used to justify these actions; describing immigrants as “invaders,” “poisoning the blood of our nation,” and “animals”, is the same kind of language that was used to justify ethnic purges and genocides throughout history. It dehumanizes, turning people into threats rather than individuals deserving of dignity and rights.
To understand where this leads, one only has to look at the death camps of the past. Fascist regimes always start by targeting a vulnerable population, blaming them for society’s problems, and slowly escalating their persecution until mass detention, forced labor, and outright extermination become acceptable. The Nazis did not begin with gas chambers, they began with detention centers, where people were held indefinitely, starved, and stripped of their rights. The GOP, through its extremist policies, has embraced a similar path. While they may not yet be committing mass executions, the foundation is being laid. Look at the detention centers in El Salvador, facilities the U.S. has openly praised and helped fund. Thousands of people are being rounded up and held indefinitely under the guise of a “crime crackdown,” a convenient excuse to target the poor, marginalized, and politically inconvenient. The conditions in these prisons are beyond appalling, with rampant abuse, starvation, and mass deaths, just as history has shown happens when authoritarian regimes take control.
This is not some distant foreign issue. The GOP is watching closely, and they admire what they see. Trump and his allies have already expressed their desire to implement similar policies here in the U.S. They want to use indefinite detention, strip people of due process, and expand the state’s power to imprison whoever they deem “unworthy” or “dangerous.” The precedent is already being set. The GOP has long used fear as a weapon, fear of immigrants, fear of crime, fear of political opponents, fear of anyone who does not fit into their vision of what America should be. This fear allows them to justify authoritarian policies, to normalize brutality, and to convince a significant portion of the population that oppression is necessary for safety.
It’s not just the immigrant population that is under attack. The GOP has shown time and time again that they have no interest in preserving civil liberties for anyone who does not conform to their ideology. They have pushed laws that criminalize protests, encouraged violence against political opponents, and vilified anyone who dares to speak out against their fascist agenda. The recent push to label protestors as “terrorists” and expand government surveillance on dissidents is eerily similar to what happened in past authoritarian regimes. From Stalin’s purges to Pinochet’s death squads, we have seen this playbook before. First, you silence opposition. Then, you criminalize them. Then, you make them disappear.
But perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this shift is how willing the Republican base is to go along with it. Fascism does not rise in a vacuum. It requires a population that is either complicit, indifferent, or supportive of its methods. The GOP has spent years cultivating this support through relentless propaganda, weaponizing right-wing media to create an alternate reality where Trump is the savior, immigrants are the enemy, and any opposition is a deep-state conspiracy. The effectiveness of this propaganda machine cannot be underestimated. Millions of Americans now genuinely believe that democracy is a threat and that a strongman leader who ignores the courts and silences opposition is necessary to “save” the country. This is how fascism takes hold, not through brute force alone, but through manipulation, fear, and the gradual erosion of norms until the unimaginable becomes acceptable.
It is easy to look back at history and ask, “How did people allow this to happen?” But we are living through the answer to that question right now. We are watching as a major political party embraces open authoritarianism, and much of the country either cheers them on or shrugs in indifference. The warning signs are no longer subtle. The Republican Party is no longer a party of democracy. They are a party of authoritarian rule, and if they are not stopped, the United States will become unrecognizable. The next steps are clear: more mass arrests, more suppression of rights, more political persecution. The groundwork for a true police state is already being laid, and history has shown us what comes next.
The question now is what the American people will do about it. We can no longer pretend that this is just normal politics or a difference in opinion. This is a direct assault on democracy, and it requires an equally forceful resistance. Every person who values freedom must recognize the stakes and act accordingly. The fight is not just about elections, it is about exposing the truth, dismantling the propaganda machine, and making it impossible for the GOP to continue down this path unchecked. We must support organizations that fight for civil rights, show up in every way possible to oppose their policies, and refuse to be complicit in any way. That includes the so-called leadership of the Democrat Party. They must not go along with anything the GOP proposes. Nothing. They must call out every lie, vote against every action. Resist no matter the cost.
This is a moment of reckoning. We have a choice: we can either allow history to repeat itself, or we can stop fascism before it fully takes hold. The time to fight is now, before the detention centers of today become the death camps of tomorrow.
