Calling the trump administration fascist has become a cliché, but some federal departments seem keen on the comparison. Consider the administration’s messaging on social media.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Facebook account recently posted a recruiting notice for ICE under the banner “WE’LL HAVE OUR HOME AGAIN”—the title of a white-nationalist anthem by the Pine Tree Riots (“By blood or sweat, we’ll get there yet”). The Department of Labor recently posted a video montage referencing American battle scenes under the tagline “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American”—a slogan close to the Nazi-era Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer.
Many of these posts borrow overtly from Christianity. In December, the DHS and White House accounts shared Christmas-themed posts celebrating mass deportations and encouraging self-deportation. One featured videos of armed agents performing night raids, with a caption quoting Matthew 5:9 in black-letter type: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Read: The Trump administration is publishing a stream of Nazi propaganda
Macho displays and transgressive memes mark a significant shift in how the federal government sees and promotes its mission—and sanctions state violence. It may be tempting to see this change as an organic or bottom-up phenomenon, as if federal agencies are appealing to Proud Boys to lure more ICE recruits. But the reality is that this transformation is the culmination of years of work by niche groups of conservative intellectuals who have long rejected America’s liberal traditions—and now dominate the halls of power.
-Lauren K. Field in The Atlantic