Prior to being elected President in 1952, Dwight Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe in World War II, and the first Supreme Commander of NATO. The influential commentator and historian Walter Lippmann stated: “Eisenhower brought NATO its greatest ally—the Republican Party”.

It now appears that Trump is attempting to lead the Republican Party and U.S. policy away from our strong alliance with NATO and Western Europe as he attempts to channel Putin’s governing philosophy into Trumpo-Fascism in the United States.

At first, it seemed bizarre and ignorant when Trump expressed admiration for Putin’s strong leadership of Russia during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, along with other attacks on Republican orthodoxy. It also seemed absurd that he would favorably quote Mussolini (“did not know much about him”). It certainly is clear now that his admiration for authoritarianism is based on more than just having nice things to say about Russia’s autocratic leader.

Trump marches away from the historic bi-partisan American roles of leader of the Free World and the leading supporter of democracy abroad. His actions have already diminished the international power of the United States, and his abdication of the usual Presidential role as leader of the Free World will increase the power of Russia and China. We are now faced with the fact that America’s President is empowering the two nations that were our Communist adversaries for half a century to now be the dominant forces in world affairs. Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan are not alone in turning over in their graves in disbelief. They might have expected that from some Leftie, but from the leader of the Republican Party?

Every day brings new revelations of the Trump love affair with Russia and Putin. During the presidential campaign, he encouraged Russia and WikiLeaks to hack the emails and records of the Democratic Party and its candidate, and perhaps of the U.S. government as well.

His principal foreign policy advisor, General Michael Flynn (leader of the cheers at the Republican convention to lock up Clinton, an example of his love for Putin’s techniques) became National Security Advisor to the President.  But the free press uncovered his lies—concealing his deep financial involvement with Russia, and he was forced to resign. Paul Manafort, the director of Trump’s campaign, resigned when it became clear during the campaign that he too was closely connected with the Putin regime. Recently nearly daily reports have surfaced concerning the Russian connections of Trump allies and surrogates.

Jeff Sessions, the new Attorney General, whose long political career in Alabama was distinguished by his racism, met with the Russian Ambassador during the Republican National Convention, and perhaps more than once. As Trump’s strongest supporter in the U.S. Senate, what messages was he sending and getting from the Ambassador? And given those prior connections, how will he investigate the Trump-Russia matters?

House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes has distinguished himself as a lackey on Trump’s behalf, as if he were vying for Sean Spicer’s job as press agent. He is not appropriate to chair an important Congressional Committee investigating likely foreign interference in American elections by a rival and hostile power. (Update: He has now been removed from chairing that investigation) He is proving himself to be Trump’s Puppet, and in the process is defending Russia and Putin from investigation.

What is the connection on Trump’s behalf that led Putin to seek Trump’s election as President? Putin surely expects to get something for helping to get his man elected. Is Trump in debt to Russian oligarchs and banks? Is there really a most embarrassing (maybe not to the key participant) sex tape that Putin holds over his head?

As so many Nations more toward more authoritarian governance—not just Russia and China, but also Turkey, the Philippines, Poland, Hungary, and potentially others under siege—American leadership of the free and democratic world is absent, even moving in the direction of authoritarianism.  The reality is that Putin’s and Trump’s values are the same—they both seek autocratic authority and suppression of those who differ with them.

Trump is seeking to intimidate the free press, just as Putin and other dictators have done successfully. He attacks the mainstream press for “fake news” in order to convince his rabid supporters not to believe the mainstream media’s serious and factual attacks on him. He uses the Big Lie to accuse the press of exactly what he is doing—creating his own fake news with what his aides acknowledge are “alternative facts”. He seeks to inoculate his supporters from thinking that he is the creator of fake news by accusing others. After all, he has shown that it works—a large percentage of his supporters still believe his crazy “birther” claim that Obama was born in Kenya, only the first of his Big Lies.

His claim that the election would be rigged if he lost was designed to divert attention from his Russian allies doing that very thing—working to rig the election for him, as they had vast experience doing in Russia. And now there are reports of Putin’s trying to do that in European elections, and perhaps in concert with Marine LaPen in France.

He has attacked in both personal and political terms any judge who ruled against him, both in his personal capacity and as President. This is all straight out of the Fascist playbook. Will any judge in a Fascist country oppose the dictator? Trump is seeking to intimidate them in clear violation of our Constitutional separation of powers.

During the campaign, he encouraged violence, even suggesting that his supporters would revolt if he lost the election. The New York Times (March 24, 2017) reported that “A former Russian lawmaker who fled to Ukraine last year was gunned down on the sidewalk in Kiev, the latest in a string of politically hued murders of critics of the Russian government abroad.”  This is not the first, nor the last, assassination carried out against rivals and critics by Putin’s government. When there are no limits on Fascist governments, that is where it leads—from the encouragement of violence and locking up your political rivals to…..what? We may find out.

Warning from Cassandra—-Trumpo-Fascism is based on Putin’s Russian model.

–Cassandra