Trump's Fascist Fantasies Evaporate Into An Incompetent "Sh-t Show"

The Trump transition worked for years to design a smooth transition, but Trump got involved and it became a "sh-t show."

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Since the New Deal era, Republicans have had a nearly singular mission: to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. For decades, they floundered and accomplished very little. In fact, Republicans like Eisenhower and Nixon actually did some things that expanded the federal government.

Photo by Suzy Brooks on Unsplash

Then Ronald Reagan came along. Reagan made some token gestures, but he didn’t shrink the size of the federal government. Since Reagan, the Republican Party has morphed into the party of big government and giving governments more power to do things like take away the rights of women.

The entire mission has been turned on its ear.

The Republican Party has reached the point where it no longer wishes to eliminate big government but transform big government into a tool to carry out its agenda.

Enter Donald Trump, who makes the far-right salivate due to his lack of core values and easy ability to manipulate. Finally, the far right had its tool, or so they thought.

It turns out their Trump tool is defective.

There were warnings from everyone from Joe Biden to Rachel Maddow that Trump was going to end democracy, but here’s the thing: fascists end democracies with competence and skill.

Trump has none of those traits.

The Trump Sh-t Show Is Back

For an example of how Republican dreams of a smooth Trump takeover have melted, let’s check in on his transition, as reported by Semafor:

One person close to the transition acknowledged the “curveballs” that Trump’s team has dealt with lately, but maintained that they’re “just par for the course,” adding: “Big picture, transition is in a good place heading into January 20th.”

Another person close to the transition, however, told Semafor that some aides are frustrated and feel as though the team’s pre-election preparations have gone to waste. This person said phrases like “shit show” and “dumpster fire” have been used to describe the process in recent weeks.

Trump has authoritarian impulses, but a combination of the country’s system of governance and the president-elect’s own issues makes him broken and ineffective, so let’s cut through the rhetoric and look at where things stand.