But political commentators who have a grounding in history are not so sure. Writing in The Guardian, Sidney Blumenthal calls Trump 'Hitlerian' and his rallies 'Naziesque', but stops short of calling him a fascist. Michael Tomasky of The New Republic understands the reservations, but he is tired spending time debating the difference between 'fascistic' and just plain 'fascist'. 'He's damn close enough,' Tomasky writes, 'and we'd better fight'. I have spent the past six years researching right-wing, authoritarian political communication in America. I can say with confidence how these kinds of labels can misfire. They can very easily be made to look like liberal hysteria, playing straight into the hands of the far right. Calling Trump a fascist, and then instantly adding, 'or close enough,' plays directly into the hands of the far right. 'See'' they might say. 'Anytime anyone steps outside the liberal consensus, they get labelled a fascist. This is how political correctness silences...
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