Well, we don't really know unless we know what a fascist is. The section on ideology attempts to define a variety of ideological terms, including "fascism." Apparently there's a dispute about whether Trump qualifies. The term can simply be used as a put-down, but that doesn't use the term in a rational, meaningful way.
Here are a handful of thoughts on the subject, most seem to support the claim:
- Donald Trump Is a Fascist: This isn’t a partisan attack. It is the political label that best describes what the GOP front-runner has become.
- Donald Trump is an actual fascist: What his surging popularity says about the GOP base.
- Donald Trump's alarming skid toward outright fascism.
I found the following especially useful - and it seems to suggestion that despite his rhetoric, Trump falls short of outright fascism - at least the type we can trace to Mussolini and Hitler. These were the guys who developed and perfected the concept.
- I asked 5 fascism experts whether Donald Trump is a fascist. Here's what they said.
The article points out the following key traits of fascism, areas where Trump falls short.
1. Fascism requires the rejection of democracy.
2. Fascism emphasizes violence for its own sake.
3. Fascism is anti-individualist — and Donald Trump is an arch-individualist.
4. Fascism doesn't really have much to do with economics
So there.
