Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Bill Blum is a retired judge and a lawyer in Los Angeles. He is a lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He writes regularly on law and politics and is the author of three widely acclaimed legal thrillers: Prejudicial Error, The Last Appeal, and The Face of Justice. He wrote an article How Trump Exploited The Legal Infrastructure To Advance Fascism In America Bill Blum Trump’s Fascism University of London professor Sarah Churchwell explained in a June 22 essay published in the New York Review of Books, fascism has deep roots in the United States, spanning the decades from the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s to the rise of the German-American Bund in the 1930s, the ascendance of Depression-era demagogues like Huey Long, and the election of Donald Trump in 2016. what about the legal structures that have permitted Trumpian fascism to take hold in a nation known for its resilient democratic institutions and traditions? Like other fascists before him, Trump's path to power was made possible not by outright violations of the law, but by fundamental flaws in existing law, These are the loopholes and voids in American democracy that were waiting for a would-be strongman like Trump to exploit. Although there are many such loopholes, Trump has benefitted from nine in particular. 1. The Electoral College 2. The Constitutional Design of the Senate 3. Abuse of Executive Orders 4. The National Emergencies Act 5. The Scapegoating of Immigrants 6. The Transformation of the Department of Homeland Security Into a Mobile Paramilitary Force 7. Abuse of the Pardon Power 8. Eroding Justice Department Independence; No fascist takeover can be complete without the steadfast loyalty of government prosecutors to the nation's supreme leader. Until the arrival of Trump, every president since Nixon had respected the operational independence of the Department of Justice." 9. Voter Suppression Whether Trump can pull off such a scheme remains to be seen. One thing, however, is certain: If Trump wins another term, the fascism we're seeing in America today will pale in comparison to the fascism we'll see tomorrow. Notes from the interview: Definition of Fascist Trump is a fascist—defined by Umberto Eco Jason Stanley, Professor at Yale who studies fascism say it’s performative fascism Sarah Churchwell article. History of fascism in US: Resurgence of KKK in 1920s Black shirts in 30s German American Bund US Nazi Party Neofascist movements The Constitution is not a Suicide Pact; No, the constitution doesn’t protect coronavirus deniers.
Bill Blum is a retired judge and a lawyer in Los Angeles. He is a lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He writes regularly on law and politics and is the author of three widely acclaimed legal thrillers: Prejudicial Error, The Last Appeal, and The Face of Justice. He wrote an article How Trump Exploited The Legal Infrastructure To Advance Fascism In America Bill Blum Trump’s Fascism University of London professor Sarah Churchwell explained in a June 22 essay published in the New York Review of Books, fascism has deep roots in the United States, spanning the decades from the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s to the rise of the German-American Bund in the 1930s, the ascendance of Depression-era demagogues like Huey Long, and the election of Donald Trump in 2016. what about the legal structures that have permitted Trumpian fascism to take hold in a nation known for its resilient democratic institutions and traditions? Like other fascists before him, Trump's path to power was made possible not by outright violations of the law, but by fundamental flaws in existing law, These are the loopholes and voids in American democracy that were waiting for a would-be strongman like Trump to exploit. Although there are many such loopholes, Trump has benefitted from nine in particular. 1. The Electoral College 2. The Constitutional Design of the Senate 3. Abuse of Executive Orders 4. The National Emergencies Act 5. The Scapegoating of Immigrants 6. The Transformation of the Department of Homeland Security Into a Mobile Paramilitary Force 7. Abuse of the Pardon Power 8. Eroding Justice Department Independence; No fascist takeover can be complete without the steadfast loyalty of government prosecutors to the nation's supreme leader. Until the arrival of Trump, every president since Nixon had respected the operational independence of the Department of Justice." 9. Voter Suppression Whether Trump can pull off such a scheme remains to be seen. One thing, however, is certain: If Trump wins another term, the fascism we're seeing in America today will pale in comparison to the fascism we'll see tomorrow. Notes from the interview: Definition of Fascist Trump is a fascist—defined by Umberto Eco Jason Stanley, Professor at Yale who studies fascism say it’s performative fascism Sarah Churchwell article. History of fascism in US: Resurgence of KKK in 1920s Black shirts in 30s German American Bund US Nazi Party Neofascist movements The Constitution is not a Suicide Pact; No, the constitution doesn’t protect coronavirus deniers.
