, 81 tweets, 28 min read Read on Twitter
1/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

By now, we've all seen this. It's a souvenir sold in the gift shop at the US Holocaust Museum outlining the 14 early warning signs of fascism.

Let's go through them, one by one...
2/
Why do #CoolKidsResist

The First early warning sign:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
3/
Donald Trump uses "America First" to insinuate that the original, white, colonists from Western Europe are the only "real" Americans, under the pretense that the US is "losing its identity".

businessinsider.com/republican-vot…
4/
In July, he told four members of Congress, all women of color, to go back to the countries they came from. Three of the four were born in the US and the other has been in the US since she was 10 years old.

vox.com/2019/7/15/2069…
5/
The El Paso shooter, motivated by Donald Trump's rhetoric,
killed 22 people and wounded 24, specifically targeting a location likely to contain immigrants and Mexican citizens.

nytimes.com/2019/08/04/us/…
6/
President Trump proudly wears the "nationalist" label, which came to prominence in the early twentieth-century, under right-wing figures like Francisco Franco, Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler. Obviously, this loaded term comes with racial undertones

usatoday.com/story/news/pol…
7/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The second early warning sign:

Disdain For Human Rights
8/
Undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers are being held in inhumane conditions, rife with disease, fed inadequate and spoiled food, and housed in squalid conditions. At least 24 have died in these camps thus far.

salon.com/2019/07/09/ins…
9/
Stephen Miller, a prominent White House advisor and the architect of many of the Trump administrations most heinous policies, has a history of making light of torture.

news.vice.com/en_us/article/…
10/
Since taking office, the Trump administration has rolled back dozens upon dozens of laws and regulations meant to protect civil and human rights.

civilrights.org/trump-rollback…
11/
The Trump administration's latest attack on human rights comes in the guise of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights". This commission is made up of members who advocate ending US advocacy of LGBTQIA, reproductive and immigrant rights.

nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
12/
Trump has spend his entire political career expressing admiration for world leaders who have no respect for human rights: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Rodrigo Duterte and Mohammed bin Salman.

cnn.com/2019/06/29/pol…
13/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The third early warning sign:

Identification Of Enemies As A Unifying Cause
14/
The villainizing of immigrants, especially immigrants from Latin America, is an obvious example of this early warning sign.

From the very first day of Trump's campaign, he painted immigrants as different from his overwhelmingly white audience:

theguardian.com/us-news/2019/j…
15/
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. ...They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."

Us vs. Them. Good, law-abiding Americans vs. drug dealers, criminals and rapists from Mexico.

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
16/
Over the past three years, other groups have seen themselves added to the list of enemies against Americans: Muslims and the press, most prominently.

aclu-wa.org/pages/timeline…
17/
At a July rally in North Carolina, Trump supporters chanted "Send her back!", in reference to Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born US citizen elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. The chant referenced tweets by Trump attacking #TheSquad.

thedailybeast.com/trump-lauds-gr…
18/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The fourth early warning sign:

Supremacy of the Military
19/
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly called for a massive military buildup.

businessinsider.com/trump-defense-…
20/
In something not seen since the Eisenhower administration, President Trump held a July 4 military parade reminiscent of what you might have seen in the Soviet Union or North Korea.

esquire.com/news-politics/…
21/
In an unprecedented move, Trump has sent military personnel to the border with Mexico in a civilian law enforcement capacity.

washingtonpost.com/world/national…
22/
Trump has threatened, on occasion, to pardon US troops accused of war crimes.

apnews.com/1b76890a47414e…
23/
Such pardons can undermine military leadership's ability to prevent indiscriminate killing of civilians and prisoners. This allows the proverbial bad apples to blacken the eye of the US armed forces, both domestically and internationally.

stripes.com/pardons-for-wa…
24/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The fifth early warning sign:

Rampant Sexism
25/
From saying about women "You have to treat 'em like shit", to calling a woman "Miss Piggy" after a minor weight gain, to the Access Hollywood tape, Trump has demonstrated appalling sexism.

telegraph.co.uk/women/politics…
26/
Trump's nominees are just as sexist. Corey Lewandowski, Rob Porter, Herman Cain, Stephen Moore, Bret Kavanaugh and Vice President Mike Pence all have a history of sexist behavior. Just last month, Patrick Shanhan was forced out due to spousal abuse.

cnn.com/2019/06/18/pol…
27/
Not only do Trump's nominees tend to have a history of sexism, they're also overwhelmingly male. Not since the Reagan administration have so few women been nominated for administration positions.

theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
28/
Trump's sexism isn't contained to this side of the Atlantic. Theresa May and Angela Merkel have borne the brunt of Trump's attacks on US allies. He has attempted to bully both May and Merkel as he has no other international leaders.

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
29/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The Sixth early warning sign:

Controlled Mass Media
30/
Since announcing his candidacy for President, Trump has waged a war on journalists and the media, beginning with encouraging violence against reporters covering his campaign.

vox.com/2019/2/22/1823…
31/
The Trump administration has failed to hold public press conferences and other types of public communication that have been standard practice for all Presidential administrations in living memory.

stripes.com/news/us/pentag…
32/
In November, Trump decided it was a good idea to move beyond controlling media coverage through hostility to proposing a global state-run media empire.

businessinsider.com/trump-suggests…
33/
Now, the Trump administration is apparently drafting a troubling social media executive order meant to combat "anti-conservative bias", but will in practice lead to government control of social media.

vanityfair.com/news/2019/08/w…
34/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The seventh early warning sign:

Obsession With National Security
35/
The Trump administration has declared the southern border a national security crisis, going so far as to send US troops to the Mexican border for "fence-painting". This, to "protect" Americans from refugees fleeing violence in Central America.

slate.com/news-and-polit…
36/
By scuttling the Iran nuclear deal without a backup plan, Trump deliberately created a national security crisis in the Middle East. It is seemingly inevitable that this will lead to military action by the US in Iran.

nbcnews.com/politics/natio…
37/
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly asserted that defense spending wasn't high enough, despite it being at its highest level in real dollars since the end of the Cold War. This culminated in a proposal for a $750 billion defense budget.

cnn.com/2019/03/08/pol…
38/
The Trump administration has gone so far as to declare auto imports from Europe and Japan to be national security threats.

reuters.com/article/us-aut…
39/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The eighth early warning sign:

Religion and Government Intertwined
40/
The Trump administration's Justice Department, in the guise of protecting religious freedom, is strengthening the ability of evangelical Christian churches to participate in the political system.

vox.com/identities/201…
41/
Regulations proposed by the Trump administration would allow medical providers to discriminate against transgender individuals. This is a policy entirely driven by promises made during the campaign to Trump's evangelical base.

thehill.com/policy/healthc…
42/
The Trump administration, along with numerous states, have passed legislation and created regulations that prevent or severely curtail the reproductive rights of women, based almost entirely on religious beliefs.

usatoday.com/story/news/nat…
43/
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made clear that his status as an evangelical Christian is the driving force behind State Department policy.

theguardian.com/us-news/2019/j…
44/
Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and other evangelicals in the Trump administration view US foreign policy as a conduit for bringing about the rapture. Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and war with Iran are parts of that.

newrepublic.com/article/153387…
45/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The ninth early warning sign:

Corporate Power Protected
46/
Citizens' United predates the Trump administration, but it was the first salvo in the effort to embed corporate power in the political system.

opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/c…
47/
From the very beginning of the Trump presidency, his administration has been all about increasing corporate power, reducing corporate taxes and giving corporate entities a bigger voice in how the United States is run.

huffpost.com/entry/presiden…
48/
Trump and his cronies have spent the past 2 1/2 years systematically undermining consumer protections from corporate power.

citizen.org/article/tracki…
49/
In June, Mick Mulvaney has fired the entire advisory board of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

alternet.org/2019/06/a-huge…
50/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The tenth early warning sign:

Labor Power Suppressed
51/
Trump has worked to undermine labor protections for federal employees via executive order.

vox.com/2018/8/27/1778…
52/
Despite court victories against these executive orders, federal employees at the Social Security Administration have seen their union rights eroded in the most recent contract. Other federal agencies will likely follow suit as more contracts come up.

theguardian.com/us-news/2019/j…
53/
Trump's National Labor Relations Board has made it a mission to undermine, damage or remove all Obama-era labor protections. The Obama administration was the first period of real labor improvements since the 1970s.

slate.com/news-and-polit…
54/
In response to NLRB actions, labor unions are choosing to forgo taking cases of unfair labor practices before Trump's National Labor Relations Board for fear that their cases will be used as a precedent to further undermine labor rights.

news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-re…
55/
Trump's latest pick for Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, has a long history of fighting court battles against worker's rights, as well as opposing health & safety regulations.

pbs.org/newshour/polit…
56/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The eleventh early warning sign:

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
57/
Donald Trump has put forward nomination after nomination of people utterly unqualified to perform the jobs to which they are assigned. You might ask yourself why?

cheatsheet.com/money-career/l…
58/
From the earliest days of his Presidential campaign, Trump has attacked expertise and knowledge.

politico.com/blogs/2016-gop…
59/
Trump trusts his gut instinct over the analysis of experts who have spent a lifetime studying a subject. From the economy to climate change to Russian election meddling, Trump ignores the evidence right in front of his face.

indy100.com/article/donald…
60/
Additionally, as so many Republicans before him, Trump has also attempted to defund the National Endowment of the Arts.

nytimes.com/2017/03/15/art…
61/
The behavior of the Trump administration re. expertise has led people, like in this article by Catherine Rampell, to ask if experts are the "swamp" that Trump promised to drain.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump…
62/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The twelfth early warning sign:

Obsession With Crime and Punishment
63/
"Lock Her Up". Trump has spent his entire term in office threatening to put his political enemies in prison. Hillary Clinton, his 2016, opponent, is most prominent among these.

theweek.com/speedreads/837…
64/
Trump has continually highlighted supposedly rising crime rates, especially crime committed by immigrants. Homeland Security's Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement is one such example.

theguardian.com/us-news/2017/a…
65/
The Trump administration has also proposed laws that further protect corporate interests from state laws and protesters. Most recently is a proposal to impose a maximum of 20 years in prison for disrupting the construction of an oil or gas pipeline.

fortune.com/2019/06/04/pip…
66/
Trump has also been advocating increasing the use of the death penalty, expressing admiration for China, Singapore and the Phillippines for their use of the death penalty in nonviolent drug cases.

motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
67/
Attorney General William Barr has recently announced that the federal government will resume executions after a 16-year hiatus.

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
68/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The thirteenth early warning sign:

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
69/
There have been at least 30 cases during this administration in which career security vetting personnel had rejected security clearances for White House officials, only to be overruled by a political appointee.

nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
70/
Despite the fact that the emoluments clause of the Constitution is pretty clear that members of the government cannot receive benefits from foreign governments, foreign governments are spending massive amounts of money at Trump-owned properties.

time.com/5581308/trump-…
71/
Dozens upon dozens of Trump administration officials and advisors stand accused of conflicts of interest. Leading the way are Trump's children and son-in-law.

bloomberg.com/graphics/trump…
72/
Both before he ran for President and during his administration, Donald Trump's biography is full of corruption, graft, nepotism and money laundering.

globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/c…
73/
Just yesterday, a new story has come out about how the Secret Service spent thousands at Trump properties protecting Donald Trump Jr. during a hunting trip in Canada.

politico.com/story/2019/08/…
74/
Former lobbyists abound in the Trump administration. Many of them work for the very agencies they were paid to lobby.

salon.com/2019/06/24/tru…
75/
Why do #CoolKidsResist?

The fourteenth early warning sign:

Fraudulent Elections
76/
This last sign is the most problematic for our democracy. After all, if our votes aren't counted, how can we hope to change our path?

aclu.org/issues/voting-…
77/
Trump began his presidency appointing a Voter Fraud Commission, meant to undermine Hillary Clinton's popular vote total. Although it failed, it set precedents that are being followed up on by other GOP-controlled states.

npr.org/2018/08/04/635…
78/
Most notably, the state of Georgia, led by its Secretary of State, now governor, Brian Kemp, have set up innumerable roadblocks for voters, particularly those in Democratic areas of the state.

vox.com/policy-and-pol…
79/
As election security writer @jennycohn1 has been pointing out for years, handmarked paper ballots are the only voting method that are secure. Even children are able to hack electronic voting machines.

theguardian.com/technology/201…
80/
Despite Robert Mueller testifying that Russians, among other foreign actors, are still targeting US elections, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith have blocked all bills addressing election security.

cbsnews.com/news/mitch-mcc…
81/
Five methods the GOP use to suppress votes:
1. Gerrymandering
2. Make it difficult to vote
3. Disenfranchising those with criminal records
4. Voter ID laws
5. Voter purges

medium.com/s/story/five-a…
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Cool Kids🆘
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!