The Trumpublican Party

On Aug. 25, when President Biden branded the MAGA Republicans semi-fascist, outraged Trumpublicans demanded that he apologize.

On Oct. 16, when former President Trump warned American Jews that they should "get their act together" and "they better start showing him some gratitude before it is too late," not a single Trumpublican dared to protest.

Fascism is identified with the regimes of Mussolini, Hitler and Franco. It is characterized by militarism and nationalism, with the dictator's cult. Fascist regimes are prejudiced against marginalized groups (Jews). Their leaders reject liberal democracy, insist on social and economic control, and promote the use of violence to crush political opponents.

Trumpublican Party's mindset resembles that of fascist regimes: Inequality ("all are not equal"), extreme nationalism ("America First"), national humiliation ("Remember 911!"), economic distress ("Inflation! National debt!"), creating chaos/social unrest ("Insurrection"), undermining democratic institutions ("Defund the FBI"), filibustering bills ("too expensive"), fearmongering ("communists, socialists"), scapegoating ("ban critical race theory"), propagandizing lies ("the election is rigged!"), and encouraging political violence (Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, etc.).

Can anyone blame President Biden for calling Trumpublicans semi-fascist?

If anyone wants to know in real-time how a robust secular democracy is rapidly descending into a semi-fascist regime, let them visit India. A letter such as this criticizing Prime Minister Modi and his Hindu Nationalist Party would land the writer as well as the publisher in prison within a day. Christians and Muslims now live in fear of Hindu right-wing goons. My friends, that is what is called semi-fascist.

K.P.S. KAMATH, Cape Girardeau