{"id":3811,"date":"2026-07-23T17:08:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=3811"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:08:32","slug":"authoritarian-expert-unveils-trumps-new-maga-propaganda-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=3811","title":{"rendered":"Authoritarian expert unveils Trump\u2019s ‘new MAGA propaganda theme’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

According to a leading expert on authoritarianism, President Donald Trump has seized on a \u201cnew MAGA propaganda theme\u201d that has been used by autocrats for over a century. The \u201ctrick<\/u>\u201d is \u201cnot subtle,\u201d and involves labeling everyone and anyone who opposes Trump as \u201ccommunists.\u201d What\u2019s more, she warns, the president and his allies may use this as a justification for a \u201ccrackdown\u201d on their opponents. <\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Trump adviser corners GOP senator for \u2018bumbling everything\u2019 ahead of midterms<\/a><\/p>\n

This is according to fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University and the author of Strongman: Mussolini to the Present<\/em>, who via a series of posts on Wednesday explained why Trump and the Republicans have renewed old Red Scare, communist-baiting tactics. <\/p>\n

Ben-Ghiat began by sharing a video of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), in which he declared that \u201cthe Bolshevik takeover of the Democratic Party is in full swing\u201d and that \u201ccommunism is on the ballot this November.\u201d \u201cBolshevik?\u201d mused Ben-Ghiat<\/u>. \u201cHow retro, a return to the original Fascist counter-revolutionary rhetoric and action \u2026 Conjuring Communism in all its forms is apparently the new MAGA propaganda theme.\u201d<\/p>\n

She followed this with a clip of Trump claiming that communists are trying to blow up Mount Rushmore. According to Ben-Ghiat, the president\u2019s intention was \u201cnot subtle<\/u>.\u201d As she explained, the \u201cnew party line is to associate Communists with every crime, every offense. Create a sense of Communist threat to justify a rightwing crackdown. Old playbook used with coups and Fascist takeovers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump chronicler sees \u2018new loser mood swirling around\u2019 president<\/a><\/p>\n

Next came a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio ranting about communists. As Ben-Ghiat explained<\/u>, \u201cPropaganda is about repetition: the group you want to smear must be mentioned negatively over and over again. When you are conjuring a largely imaginary enemy, you must redouble your efforts. That’s what is happening here.\u201d This was followed by an all-caps repost from House Republicans that declared, \u201cWE WILL STOP COMMUNISM,\u201d to which Ben-Ghiat replied, \u201cAre we getting the point about propaganda requiring repetition with tiny variations in messaging?\u201d<\/p>\n

With the November elections looming, in which the Republicans are expected to take major losses, Ben-Ghiat warns that such talk suggests Trump and his allies are willing to take extreme measures to stay in power. As she writes, \u201cAgain<\/u>, all of a sudden commies are The Enemy. Students of propaganda, track the diff in messaging from a month ago. Goal is likely to justify a crackdown for \u2018national security\u2019 reasons, conveniently staged just before the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s list of political liabilities just keeps growing: political strategist<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a leading expert on authoritarianism, President Donald Trump has seized on a \u201cnew MAGA propaganda theme\u201d that has been used by autocrats for over a century. The \u201ctrick\u201d is \u201cnot subtle,\u201d and involves labeling everyone and anyone who opposes Trump as \u201ccommunists.\u201d What\u2019s more, she warns, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAuthoritarian expert unveils Trump\u2019s 'new MAGA propaganda theme' - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=3811\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Authoritarian expert unveils Trump\u2019s 'new MAGA propaganda theme' - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to a leading expert on authoritarianism, President Donald Trump has seized on a \u201cnew MAGA propaganda theme\u201d that has been used by autocrats for over a century. 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