Commentary Fascism gains a foothold in the White House

Poll: Canadians no longer regard U.S. as a force for good in the world

manager during the presidential campaign and was an integral part of Trump’s presidential transition team. Bossie is also a close friend and long-time acquaintance of Steven Bannon, chief political strategist to the president.

Bannon’s widely reported neo-fascist ideology includes, among other things, the promotion of extreme ethno-nationalism by targeting non-white immigrants and his assertion that the U.S. is in a global war against “an expansionist Islam” and “an expansionist China” in what he calls a “global existential war”.

Bannon also believes in the wacky notion that the “alt-right” represents a quasi-mystical “great Fourth Turning” in U.S. history—after the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression and Second World War."

The Los Angles Times defines the “alt right” as “a far-right ideology that promotes what many consider to be white nationalism, racism, anti-semitism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny.”

And let’s not forget Trump’s shady and opaque financial ties to “white” Russian oligarchs and Kremlin officials that are currently under criminal investigation by federal authorities.

Once upon a time in America, it would have been illegal or politically untenable for a president to openly and flagrantly enrich himself at the expense of the American public.

Once upon a time in America, if a president openly maligned and enacted punitive measures against immigrants, religious minorities and refugees, he would be considered a racist.

Once upon a time in America, if a president viciously and systematically attacked the free press by calling it the “enemy of the people,” he would be considered a demagogue.

Regrettably, the demagoguery under the “celebrity fascist” is confirmed on a daily basis, by his incendiary tweets and by his destructive policies, much to the dismay of the majority of Canadians.

For the first time, in a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, most Canadians no longer regard America as a force for good in the world. Just 43 per cent of Canadians have a positive view of their neighbour.

The majority of nations polled worldwide think Trump is “arrogant, intolerant and even dangerous.” There are only two major countries expressing faith in Trump’s ability to be a force for good – Russia and Israel.