Stop Fighting Fascism Like It’s a Debate

Trump lies, the GOP cheers, and Democrats fumble. It’s time for relentless offense.

Trump’s recent congressional address was a masterclass in authoritarian propaganda. It was a relentless stream of historical revisionism, economic falsehoods, and outright fascist rhetoric. And how did Democrats respond? With a chaotic, uncoordinated mess of half-hearted resistance. Some boycotted, some wore vague resistance-themed shirts, and others simply sat there as if democracy wasn’t actively being dismantled in front of them.

This was not just a moment of weakness—it was a damning indictment of a party that still doesn’t understand the stakes. We are not in a policy debate. We are not in a normal election cycle. We are in an existential fight against an authoritarian movement that thrives on spectacle, obedience, and the relentless repetition of lies.

Yet time and again, Democrats fall into the same trap: responding to fascism with performative dissent instead of direct, coordinated counterattacks.

Here’s what should have happened—and what must happen moving forward.

Trump’s Speech Wasn’t Just Lies—It Was Reality Construction

Trump’s address wasn’t a collection of exaggerations or spin; it was a deliberate act of reality manipulation. He didn’t just misrepresent the economy—he rewrote history in real-time. He didn’t just attack his enemies—he painted them as existential threats to America. And Republicans? They stood, clapped, and cheered like members of a personality cult, reinforcing the illusion that this alternate reality was real.

This is how fascism cements itself: not just through brute force, but through the construction of an alternate version of history, repeated until it becomes truth in the minds of its followers.

This is not mere misinformation. This is propaganda warfare. And Democrats showed up to a war without weapons.

The Democrats’ Response: A Disjointed, Powerless Display

Instead of meeting Trump’s lies with coordinated, overwhelming resistance, Democrats did what they always do: fragmented displays of protest that lacked any coherent strategy.

Some boycotted—giving Trump a propaganda win by making it seem like only his allies were present.

Some wore shirts saying “Resist”—but resist what, exactly? The word is meaningless without a direct, pointed accusation.

Some engaged in scattered, individual acts of defiance—one even got kicked out of the chamber but achieving nothing in terms of narrative control.

The result? A complete messaging failure.

What Democrats Should Have Done

Imagine if, instead of a disjointed response, every single Democrat had walked in wearing the exact same message—a shirt that said "Goebbels Speaks." Imagine if, every time Trump told a lie, all of them stood up and said, in unison, “Goebbels speaks!”

The effect would have been immediate and unforgettable. The entire speech would have been drowned out by a powerful, simple message: Trump is a fascist propagandist. Every clip, every news segment, every viral video would have carried that theme.

That is how you fight propaganda: with clear, coordinated, offensive messaging that disrupts the narrative and forces the enemy to respond on your terms.

But here’s the real genius of this move: there is no scenario in which we don’t win.

If Speaker Mike Johnson had chosen to allow all these Democrats to remain in the chamber, wearing “Goebbels Speaks” shirts and chanting in unison, then the entire night would have been an uninterrupted humiliation for Trump. Every single speech segment, every GOP applause line, every camera angle would have included a wall of defiant Democrats, branding Trump with the label he fears most: a fascist.

But if Johnson had thrown them out? That would have been even better.

Expelling every Democratic member in coordinated protest would instantly expose the GOP's free speech hypocrisy, juxtaposing their authoritarian censorship with their constant claims of being “free speech absolutists.” Suddenly, the news cycle shifts: Trump isn’t just a fascist propagandist—he’s a fascist propagandist who is silencing the opposition.

This is the kind of messaging chess we need—where we either win or we win harder.

The GOP’s entire strategy relies on controlling the spectacle. The only way to break that control is with a strategy that forces them into a no-win scenario. Either they endure a relentless, inescapable counter-message that brands Trump as a fascist in real-time, or they react in a way that reinforces that message even more powerfully.

That’s how you fight fascism in the modern information war. Not with timid resistance that lets them dominate the narrative—but with a deliberate, high-risk, high-reward strategy that forces them into a corner where every possible move deepens their loss.

The Path Forward: Relentless, Unified Offense

Trump has already begun his second term by flooding the zone with lies, just as he did before. We have a choice: we can spend the next four years chasing each deception, trying to fact-check propaganda in real-time—or we can fight smarter.

His first term taught us a brutal lesson. Trump told 30,000 documented lies. Can anyone name even 1% of them? And if they could, what good would that do? His supporters don’t remember the individual lies—they remember the overarching story he told them. Meanwhile, the opposition scattered its messaging across thousands of corrections, each one requiring mental effort, nuance, and context that most people simply don’t have time to process.

We cannot make that mistake again.

One Message. Relentless Repetition. No More Playing by Their Rules.

If Trump is going to tell another 30,000 lies, then let everyone who's against him—all 70 million of us—call him a fascist propagandist 30,000 times.

We are where we are today because of his repeated lies.
We win by repeating one single truth just as many times.

And let’s take it further. Along with the truth that he is a fascist propagandist, we must repeat the one truth that unites ALL Americans:

We are at our best—our strongest, our closest to our ideals—when we are CRUSHING FASCISTS.

Does this seem too aggressive? I could have said “'America is at its best when we are defeating fascism” or something softer like that. But this is exactly the kind of weakness in messaging we need to abandon. Fascists don’t hesitate. They don’t soften their words. They wield language like a weapon. If we are serious about stopping them, we must do the same.

This is not just history—it’s our identity. From the battlefields of World War II to the civil rights movement to every moment in our history where we faced down authoritarians, we have always been defined by fighting and defeating fascism.

This time is no different.

If You Believe in This Fight, Help Keep It Alive

There’s still more below, I just need a moment of your time.

The American Manifesto isn’t backed by corporations. There are no ads, no paywalls, no billionaires funding it.

It’s just one person, fighting like hell to expose the truth and give you the weapons to push back.

If you value this work—if you want this movement to keep growing, keep calling out fascism without fear, and keep fighting for the future we deserve—then I need your support.

Join the fight. Become a supporter. Every contribution keeps this mission alive.

Because silence is surrender. We do not surrender. We are #TheRelentless.

This Is How We Fight Back

🔴 One Message, Relentless Repetition. No more scattering our focus across 30,000 fact-checks. Say it over and over again: Trump is a fascist propagandist. America crushes fascists.

🔴 Disrupt the Spectacle. Trump’s movement relies on staged propaganda moments. Break them. Every event, every rally, every press conference should be met with coordinated, inescapable counter-messaging.

🔴 Use Symbols and Visuals That Cannot Be Ignored. Imagine every Democratic senator wearing prison jumpsuits to symbolize Trump's felony convictions. Imagine every House member wearing duct tape over their mouths at the next session to symbolize the death of democracy. Make sure every camera captures the truth.

🔴 Never Let a Lie Stand. When Trump speaks, don’t fact-check individual lies—label it fascist propaganda. When he plays the victim, remind America: We are at our best when we’re crushing fascists.

But disrupting the spectacle isn’t enough. The right has built an empire of disinformation, while the left is still playing whack-a-mole with fact-checks. We don’t just need better messaging inside their media ecosystem—we need to create our own.

Lady Libertie from The American Pamphleteer (right here on Substack), spells it out. Disrupting the spectacle isn’t enough—we need to seize control of the entire battlefield:

Yes, to coordinated messaging. Yes, to disrupting the spectacle. That’s how you break their propaganda machine. AND let’s not keep playing defense in their media ecosystem. While the right has built a disinformation empire, the left is still stuck fact-checking in real time. Enough. We need to fund, launch, and amplify our own unapologetically pro-democracy platforms—ones that don’t just push back against lies, but set the terms of the conversation from the start.

So yes, we take the fight to the spectacle. Yes, we control the narrative. AND we make sure that behind every powerful moment of resistance, there’s an equally powerful plan to dismantle the authoritarian infrastructure that got us here in the first place.

This is at heart a messaging war. Let’s make sure we’re waging it on every front.

She’s absolutely right. It’s not just about how we fight back—it’s about where we fight back. We can’t just keep fact-checking their propaganda in their house—we build our own stage, dictate the terms, and flood the zone with truth before they flood it with lies.

This isn’t about relitigating his first term. This is about stopping his second.

Fascists win when their opposition is fractured, defensive, and reactive.
We win when we set the terms of the conversation and refuse to deviate.

Conclusion: Stop Being Weak

Trump is not a politician. He is a fascist movement leader. The GOP is no longer a party—it is a cult. And Democrats are still treating this like a normal political fight.

If we don’t fight back, this is what happens: Journalists jailed. Protesters beaten. Democracy dismantled. Free speech replaced by loyalty oaths. The U.S. becomes another Hungary, Russia, or Turkey. This is not alarmism—that’s what happens when fascists take power unopposed.

Every time Trump lies, call him a fascist propagandist in replies, comments, and real-life conversations. If millions of us do this, it sticks. This isn’t just about Democrats in Congress protesting—it’s about ALL OF US protesting. Every time a right-winger defends Trump, we must reply (not hide, block, or ignore). Frame every reply as an attack on fascism and their defense as a defense of fascism. If they want to stand with a fascist propagandist, make them own it. Make them feel it.

Start today. Every Trump lie you see, reply: “This is fascist propaganda.” Every MAGA defense, counter: “So you’re defending fascism now?” Do not let them escape it. Make them answer for it. Every. Single. Time.

Stop letting them control the conversation. Stop treating fascism like just another policy debate. The time for passive resistance is over. The only way to stop Trump’s second term from becoming America’s final term as a democracy is to fight like we mean it.

Join the Fight, Amplify the Truth

Because silence is surrender. We never surrender. We are #TheRelentless.