In the 1930s, with storm clouds growing over Europe, as the rise of Fascism, which was started in Italy with the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, grew immense and to dangerous proportions in Germany with the rise of Hitlerian Nazism. In America a movement also started to arise. The American First Movement, championed by many, had its most popular spokesperson in the personage of Charles Lindbergh. It was an appeal to isolationism, American populism, racism, and anti-Semitism.  Interestingly, its appeal went across the board to many segments of the population, and in many respects, it would include people who were moderates and later, even prominent liberals. Populism, ala Trump, reflects back to many Pied Piper movements that have eventually led people right into the sea. It’s always easy to create scapegoats as a way to mobilize others into a so-called majority. Lindbergh was not a very educated individual, he probably saw himself as a victim of his German heritage in the American wave against anything German during the First World War. He was, in his own way, part of the revisionism of the 1920s which tried to reverse that earlier anti German trend. As an advocate of flying he was enamored by the air power of Germany and the “order” brought to the German people by Hitler. By the 1930s, the Depression, the New Deal and the problems of recovery, moved the halcyon days of the Roaring 20s and their “beau ideal” Charles Lindberg, well back into the recesses of the collective memories of most Americans. In the political reality of the time, the Republican Party’s conservative wing was hugely backed by the 10s of millions of American’s of German heritage. Thus, he saw his role as a herald of the people through isolationism and Americanism. Is this any different from Trump? He has a Germanic and racist background through his father, who was involved with the KKK.  He loves to fly around the country on his own plane, and he identifies his so-called business success and wealth with the triumphs of Lindbergh. By the way, it was discovered that Lindbergh was an adulterer with a number of German mistresses and had in Germany a whole other family. Is that much different from the adulterous life of Donald Trump and his various extra-marital affairs? http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/30/charles-lindbergh-s-secret-german-mistresses-in-truth-and-fiction.html

The GOP has been pitting the lower middle class against the poor for a long, long time. It has made the greatest crime in America being poor, and with that in mind it does nothing to alleviate that continuing blight on the richest country on earth. Is this another policy of Trumpism? As for anti-Semitism, Trump has encouraged all sorts of rightest and hate groups to find a place in the legitimate political dialogue of America. When as he decried their support? Never! His attack on the media, Hollywood, the arts, (PBS, the NEA) and liberalism in general, is a not so veiled threat at Jews and their role in the arts, the media and the world of opinion and criticism. Hitler had a long history on the edge of art, and his regime was instrumental in the degrading, the mocking and the destruction of much of the modern art (he called it Jewish art) that dominated the late 19^th Century, and the period up and through the Depression. He was a proponent of “realistic” state-oriented art that appealed to “his” masses. The book burnings of the early days of his regime were aimed at Jewish (alien) culture through their writings and the literature of ideas. He attacked psychiatry and psychology, and believed only in Aryan science and medicine. Is the first week of Trumpism going in the same direction? Is it a harbinger of the things to come? My guess is that like Hitler, he is suffering from an extreme case of narcissism. He thinks of himself as the most beloved, the smartest, and that only he can solve the problems of “his” people. Both “Divide and Conquer” and the “Ends justify the means!” are examples of Nazi/Fascist tactics and rationalization. Is this much different from the early stages of Trumpism?

On Facebook, and other social media, the support for him is incredibly irrational and solid at the same time.  These folks believe that the news is biased against Trump in a conspiratorial way. They accept only his version of the facts, and as with the Hitler regime, he has the full employ of “alternate facts” from his true believers, sycophants, idolaters, propagandists, and, yes, worshippers. Every day, with many, this “Cult of the Personality” grows. Americans must find ways to stop it now. Never forget, that the Nazis also barely controlled their Congress (the Reichstag), and Hitler never achieved in the two elections of 1932, a majority of the vote. But, by intimidation, and the removal of his opposition, the Nazis were able to pass all the laws they needed to give Hitler unlimited power as a dictator (Der Fuhrer –the Leader) to deal with the so-called “crisis at hand.” Today, we hear daily about the “crisis at hand” that faces America. Are we really in a crisis, except a political one, with a deranged “Leader!” Ask yourself. Just remember, it was on January 30^th, 1933 when Hitler took power. The 30^th is only a few days away. But, also remember, that Hitler’s greatest foe, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was also born on January 30^th.