Thread by @SteveSchmidtSES

Trumpism is an American autocratic movement with Fascistic markers. There are seven specific parts that comprise its core 1. THE LEADER. Donald Trump is the unquestioned leader of this movement. It is a cult of personality and there are no serious challengers against his (1)

leadership. (2) Thugs. The Proud Boys are but one example in a toxic stew of heavily armed Militia’s, White Nationalists and other right wing extremists. As is always the case, their ranks are filled with people on the fringes of society; the lonely, dispossessed, aggrieved (2)

and resentful. Not so long ago, there would have been a near societal consensus around describing these people as losers. These people bring the menace of violence to politics and are kin to the same thuggish rabble that were wearing brown and black shirts 100 years ago. (3)

3. ELITES.All Autocratic movements fuse an unholy alliance between society’s elites and losers. It is a coalition of convenience between two groups who despise each other yet need each other. The boundless cynicism of the elites and the endless grievances of the losers become an

Unbreakable cement. @HawleyMO and @SenTedCruz are perfect examples. Hawley graduated from Stanford and Yale Law School. He taught at Oxford and clerked for the Chief Justice of the United States. @SenTedCruz graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School. They have become (5)

Completely faithless to their oaths and American democracy in the name of their ambition. They have no convictions, only self interest. 4. PROPAGANDISTS. Autocratic movements are built on and sustained by lies. Political lying and Conspiracy theories have become billion dollar

businesses. Fox News, Newsmax, Oann, Social Media, Talk Radio dividers, Infowars ect. ect have poisoned the American polity and created the conditions for Trump to create an alternate reality that is now a lethal threat to American liberty. (7)

5. FINANCIERS. This autocratic movement is financed by donations from some of America’s largest and best known companies and brands in the form of millions of dollars of donations to the entities that fund the political careers of the men and women who will soon be rising on the

Floor of the United States Congress to betray American democracy. @ATT and @CharlesSchwab are two such companies. The list includes some of America’s wealthiest and most powerful individuals. Mostly they are disconnected from any interest or idea of the public good other than (9)

The selfishness of self interest. 6. RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS. Trump has surrounded himself with a group of loony, corrupt, hateful, sacrilegious charlatans that make a mockery of decency and goodness with every public utterance. 7. SHEEP. None of what is happening could happen (10)

Without the silent complicity of a legion of men and women who lack the conviction, guts and integrity to stand up against Trumps mean tweets and thousands of indecent, corrupt, cruel and incompetent acts. These men and women are no different than all of their predecessors (11)

Who found collaboration with what they knew to be immoral or evil as more convenient than resisting it. They are the weaklings and appeasers. They are the fools and the naive. They are the blind for whom what is obvious and true is far less preferable to delusion and pretend. (12

In order to win the fight we must understand 1. Why are we fighting ? 2. Who are we fighting? We must be clear eyed about this. The stakes are too high 13#