Reading, Watching 10.27.24

That's Hitler!

This is a regular feature for paid subscribers wherein I write a little bit about what I’ve been reading and/or watching. Hope you enjoy!

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The fascism debate or “thesis” has spilled the bounds of academic discussion and entered the political discourse. And public figures are no longer qualifying it with “semi-” anymore: they are just dropping the f-bomb. First, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley calls Trump “fascist to the core. ” On Wednesday, Trump’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, White House Chief of Staff, and retired Marine Corps general John Kelly said that Trump met the definition of a fascist. And then, at a CNN townhall Thursday evening, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said she agreed with the assessment of the generals: Trump’s a fascist. On Friday, 13 former Trump officials signed a letter urging the public “to listen closely and carefully to General Kelly’s warning.” In today’s New York Times, Peter Baker, perhaps not always known for the hardest-hitting coverage, dedicates a long feature to the accusation. In the Times magazine, there’s a profile of the great historian Robert Paxton, detailing his thoughts about Trump’s fascism.

I’m privileged to know Dr. Paxton a little bit and I’m very proud that it was this little newsletter that broke the news of Paxton’s volte-face after January 6th. Here is our correspondence from January 7th: