There is a word the current administration does not want you to use. They have threatened those who say it out loud. That word is fascism.
But this analysis is not about a word; it’s about a warning. And it is not the opinion of a “blue-haired progressive” or a “bleeding-heart liberal.” The analysis you are about to read comes from a document drafted 80 years ago by the United States War Department. It is a warning, written in the blood and clarity of the generation that stared fascism in the face—and defeated it.
In 1945, as American soldiers fought to liberate the world, their own government sought to arm them not just with weapons, but with knowledge. The result was Army Talk, Fact Sheet #64: “FASCISM!”.1 This document was designed to teach our soldiers what they were fighting against and, more importantly, how to recognize it if it ever took root back home.
These words do not belong to us. They belong to the generation that saved the world—the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, who fought in the Ardennes, and who sacrificed their lives not for a political party, but to rid the world of the fascist cancer that threatened all of humanity. They knew fascism better than anyone who has ever lived, because they met it on the battlefield. We owe the very freedom we enjoy today to their sacrifice. Consider this article, then, as their voice reaching us from their hallowed graves. It is a last, desperate warning to those of us who still refuse to see the blaring red lights flashing in our faces.
That 1945 document provided a checklist, a litmus test for identifying a native American fascism. It predicted, with chilling accuracy, exactly what it would look like, how it would speak, and the tactics it would use. We will use their words, their test, to analyze the political movement that has captured our nation today. We must rise to the occasion and honor their sacrifice, not with statues, but with action. We must understand the warning they left us: unless we are willing to defeat fascism as an ideology, here and now, in peace, we will be forced to fight it by other means—or surrender the dream of American Democracy forever.
Let’s begin.
Test #1: The “Convenient Scapegoat”
Eighty years ago, the U.S. Army taught its soldiers how to spot fascism if it ever rose in America. In a section titled “Can We Spot It?,” the guide laid out a chillingly specific warning. It predicted that native fascists would launch a “well-planned ‘hate campaign’” against a “convenient scapegoat,” and explicitly stated
‘Any fascist attempt to gain power in America… work under the guise of “super-patriotism” and “super-Americanism.” … In the United States, native fascists have often been… anti-foreign-born… Interwoven with the “master race” theory of fascism is a well-planned “hate campaign” against minority races, religions, and other groups… fascists will use any one or a combination of such groups as a convenient scapegoat.’ — Can We Spot It? - Page 4
That was the warning in 1945. Now, hold that thought and look at the evidence from today.
The “hate campaign” began with rhetoric. The administration’s policies are built on the pretext of an “invasion”. The Department of Homeland Security itself has taken to social media to claim that anyone who questions ICE’s actions is “siding with vicious cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals”. But this is a manufactured narrative. As of September 2025, over 71% of all ICE detainees have no criminal convictions.2 They are being scapegoated, just as the Army predicted 80 years ago.
But this campaign is not just words. The 1945 document also warned that American fascist methods would include:
‘…instances of mob sadism, lynchings, vigilantism, terror, and suppression of civil liberties… All of them, in the name of Americanism, have used undemocratic methods and doctrines which experience has shown can be properly identified as “fascist.”’ — Can it happen here? - Page 4
Now, witness that prediction brought to life on the streets of Los Angeles. The video evidence is undeniable. Masked agents in battle fatigues jump out of unmarked vans. Carrying assault rifles, they swarm Latino men at their jobs, on farmland, and in their communities. The process is brutal and arbitrary. Warrants? No. Due Process? Why bother. Who are these masked vigilantes (because ignoring the Constitution isn’t law enforcement—it’s vigilantism)? We may never know.
These aren’t isolated incidents. This is a systematic campaign of terror playing out in communities across the country. In Los Angeles alone, one such operation rounded up over 1,600 people in a single month. It is the very “suppression of civil liberties” the document warned of—so blatant that a federal judge reviewing identical raids in a neighboring district declared they “likely violated the constitution”.
The ACLU is now filing lawsuits, arguing these tactics bear the “unmistakable hallmarks” of unconstitutional operations. The architects of this strategy are brazen. One of its chief enforcers, Border Patrol Chief Gregor Bovino, dismisses any distinction between a farmworker and a fentanyl dealer. His chilling justification: “If they cross the border illegally, then they’re coming with us”.
He ends with a promise—or a threat—for all of America: “Better get used to us now because... this is going to be normal very soon”.
The U.S. Army in 1945 told us to watch for a government that manufactures a “hate campaign” against the “foreign-born.” They told us it would be a clear sign of native fascism. The evidence of today speaks for itself. But creating a scapegoat was only the first test in their field manual. The second warning they gave is just as critical, and it exposes the next layer of the playbook being run against us today.
Test #2: A Perverted Nationalism
Having created a scapegoat at home, a native fascist movement then turns its attention to the world. The second test the Army gave its soldiers was a warning against a rising tide of ultra-nationalism, a deliberate rejection of global teamwork. The 1945 guide states:
‘Fascists deny the need for international cooperation. These ideas contradict the fascist theory of the “master race.”’ — Can We Spot It? - Page 4
The document explains what this rejection is replaced with: a worldview that breeds contempt for other nations.
“In place of international cooperation, the fascists seek to substitute a perverted sort of ultra-nationalism which tells their people that they are the only people in the world who count. With this goes hatred and suspicion toward the people of all other nations.” — Can We Spot It? - Page 4
Again, the men of 1945 gave us the blueprint. Let us see if it matches the reality of today.
The evidence of this “perverted sort of ultra-nationalism” is overwhelming. The administration has systematically withdrawn the United States from its position of global leadership, abandoning key international agreements like the Paris Climate Accord3, the Iran Nuclear Deal4, and the World Health Organization5. This isn’t just policy; it is a practical execution of “deny[ing] the need for international cooperation”.
This rejection of cooperation is paired with active hostility and suspicion toward our oldest democratic allies. President Trump has repeatedly attacked NATO6, questioned the treaty’s mutual defense clause, and unilaterally pulled 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany7, a move that stunned our allies and directly benefited Vladimir Putin’s Russia. While treating allies with contempt, the administration has cozied up to authoritarian adversaries, further isolating America from the democratic world.
The 1945 document observed that when dealing with other nations, fascists use the same methods they use at home:
“intimidation, terror, and force”. Today, we see this played out through punishing economic warfare. The administration’s widespread tariffs have cost American consumers an estimated $88 billion through August 20258 while threatening European allies with crippling 100% tariffs on their goods.9 This is not diplomacy; it is intimidation.
This ultra-nationalist mindset sees the world not as a community of sovereign nations, but as a collection of assets to be dominated. It’s a worldview where the President of the United States can attempt to buy Greenland and then insult the Prime Minister of Denmark when she calls the idea “absurd”.10 It’s a worldview where he can assert that the Panama Canal still belongs to America because “we built it,” casually dismissing international treaties signed decades ago.11
The men who wrote this guide were not just describing a political preference; they were diagnosing a pathology. They saw this path as a direct threat to global stability, stating plainly in their introduction that
“fascism inevitably leads to war”.
Having rejected the world and pitted Americans against each other, a fascist movement needs one final tool to consolidate its power: a way to silence all domestic opposition. The Army’s third and final test warned us of that, too.
Test #3: The “Red Bogey”
The final test from the 1945 field manual is a warning about a rhetorical trick as old as fascism itself. Having created a domestic scapegoat and isolated the nation from its allies, the movement needs a way to justify its aggression against all remaining political opponents. The Army called it the “Red bogey.”
“Indiscriminate pinning of the label ‘Red’ on people and proposals which one opposes is a common political device. It is a favorite trick of native as well as foreign fascists.”
— Can We Spot It? - Page 5
The goal, the document explains, is to create a false and dangerous choice for the public. By framing all opposition as a communist threat, fascists position themselves as the only alternative.
“Many fascists make the spurious claim that the world has but two choices—either fascism or communism, and they label as ‘communist’ everyone who refuses to support them.” — Can We Spot It? - Page 5
This tactic, the Army noted, was convincing enough to help Hitler seize and maintain power. With that final warning in mind, listen to the language of today’s political leaders.
The evidence is clear and undeniable. President Trump himself has cast his political movement as “the final battle” against sinister forces he explicitly labels “Marxists” and “communists”.
Senior Advisor Stephen Miller refers to the ideas of his political opponents as “cancerous communist woke culture that’s destroying our country” (9:11) and promises the admin will “not let our society devolve into communist woke DEI strangulation” (3:11).
This is not a coincidence. It is the “indiscriminate pinning of the label ‘Red’” that the U.S. Army warned us about 80 years ago. It is a coordinated strategy to paint all political disagreement as an existential, subversive threat, thereby justifying their own authoritarian actions as necessary to “save the country.”
This rhetoric is not just talk. It is the necessary pretext for action. The administration has now taken the final, most dangerous step. On September 22, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order designating “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization”.12
Let the chilling irony of that sink in. The administration has officially declared an ideology whose very name means “anti-fascism”—and which has no formal organization—a terrorist group. This is the “Red Bogey” made law. It is the full commitment to naming your opposition as an enemy that must be destroyed, using the full power of the state under a false pretense to do it. The order provides the legal justification to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle” not just a group, but anyone deemed to hold an opposing ideology.
The generation that defeated fascism left us a final warning. This article is our attempt to deliver it. But a message is not enough. We need a movement. The American Manifesto is where we turn their warning into our weapon. It’s the arsenal for the information war they knew would one day come to our shores. Every subscription helps us reach those who need to hear this message most. Every share is an act of resistance. Join the fight to honor their legacy.
Honor the Warning. Join the Fight. The future depends on it.
The Verdict and The Warning
The generation that fought World War II left us more than a victory; they left us a field manual. They told us to watch for three clear signs of native fascism: a “well-planned ‘hate campaign’” against a scapegoat, a “perverted sort of ultra-nationalism” that scorns allies and rejects cooperation, and a “Red bogey” used to demonize all political opposition. We have presented the evidence. On all three counts, the movement that dominates American politics today has met the criteria. The verdict is in.
Those who wrote this guide knew the terrible price of underestimation. They understood that identifying the threat was only the first step. Let us end where their field manual begins:
“Fascism is not the easiest thing to identify and analyze; nor, once in power, is it easy to destroy. It is important for our future and that of the world that as many of us as possible understand the causes and practices of fascism, in order to combat it.”
The men of 1945 fought and won their war. This is ours.
The Warning Has Been Delivered. Now It’s Your Turn.
I want to hear from you in the comments:
When you read the U.S. Army’s 80-year-old description of native fascism, what was your immediate reaction? Did the parallels to today strike you as powerfully as they did me?
Of the three tests—the scapegoating of the “foreign-born,” the perverted nationalism, and the “Red bogey”—which one do you see playing out most dangerously right now?
The article provides several examples. What other events or rhetoric have you witnessed that align with the Army’s 1945 warnings? Point to the examples that hit you the hardest.
The document warns that fascism thrives on “indifference and ignorance.” Why do you think so many people are still unwilling or unable to see these clear warning signs?
Do you see this historical comparison differently? If you believe this analysis is flawed or that I’ve missed a critical piece of the puzzle, I want to hear your reasoning.
This isn’t just a historical debate. It’s about recognizing the present. Let’s keep the conversation focused and unflinching. We are bearing witness, and every voice matters.
Fighting Fascism: The Battleplan to Break the Regime
Now that you see the threat for what it is—the very fascism we defeated 80 years ago—here is the battleplan to help defeat it!
U.S. War Department, “FASCISM!,” Army Talk, Orientation Fact Sheet #64, 24 March 1945. Accessed via the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ArmyTalkOrientationFactSheet64-Fascism.
This official U.S. Army document from 1945 was used to teach American soldiers how to identify the characteristics of fascism. Its eerily predictive description of how a native fascist movement would appear in the United States serves as the foundational evidence for this article.
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), “Immigration Detention Quick Facts.” Current as of September 21, 2025. Accessed via TRAC Reports, https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts.
University-based repository that compiles ICE’s own weekly detention snapshots. On Sept. 21, 2025, TRAC reported 42,755 of 59,762 detainees (71.5%) had no criminal conviction, which underpins the statistic referenced in this article.
Congressional Research Service, “U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Process and Potential Effects,” R48504, 14 April 2025. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48504.
Documents the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement (formally effective Nov. 4, 2020) and the legal mechanics of exit and re-entry.
The White House (archived), “President Donald J. Trump is Ending United States Participation in the Unacceptable Iran Deal,” Statement, 8 May 2018. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/.
Official announcement terminating U.S. participation in the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and beginning the re-imposition of sanctions.
The White House, “Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization,” Presidential Actions, 20 January 2025. Accessed via whitehouse.gov, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-the-worldhealth-organization.
Official presidential order announcing the United States’ intent to withdraw from the WHO; revokes the 2021 retraction letter and Executive Order 13987, directs State to notify the U.N./WHO, pauses U.S. funding and personnel support, and halts negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
Brookings Institution, “Trump’s NATO Article 5 problem,” 17 May 2017. https://www.brookings.edu/.
Explains Trump’s long-running questioning of NATO’s Article 5 commitments. For a more recent on-the-record example, see CBS News (Mar. 7, 2025) reporting he would not defend allies that don’t “pay.”
U.S. Department of Defense, “DOD Proposes Removing More Than 11,000 Troops From Germany,” 29 July 2020. https://www.war.gov/.
Pentagon briefing announcing a plan to reposition ~11,900 U.S. troops from Germany (widely summarized as “about 12,000”), a move that unsettled allies.
Yale Budget Lab, “State of U.S. Tariffs: September 4, 2025,” 4 Sept. 2025. Accessed via budgetlab.yale.edu, https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/state-us-tariffs-september-4-2025.
Academic estimate that the 2025 tariffs increase consumer prices by ~0.5% in the short run, equivalent to a household cost of about $642–$663 in 2025 dollars (pre- and post-substitution), with passthrough assumptions detailed in the paper. A companion update tallies about $88 billion in additional tariff revenue through August 2025.
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “Conclusion of USTR’s Investigation Under Section 301 into France’s Digital Services Tax,” 2 Dec. 2019. https://ustr.gov/.
USTR proposed tariffs of up to 100% on a range of French goods in response to the French digital services tax, a threat aimed at a core European ally. See also Reuters coverage.
Reuters, “Trump calls Danish PM’s rebuff of Greenland idea ‘nasty’ as trip cancellation stuns Danes,” 21 Aug. 2019. https://www.reuters.com/.
Confirms Trump’s attempt to buy Greenland and his public description of the Danish prime minister’s “absurd” comment as “nasty,” followed by cancelation of his visit.
Time, “Read Full Transcript of Trump’s 2025 Speech to Congress,” 5 Mar. 2025. https://time.com/.
Transcript quotes Trump: “The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others…,” asserting a U.S. claim despite the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (with additional inaugural-day remarks about “taking it back”).
The White House, “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization,” Presidential Actions (Executive Order), 22 September 2025. Accessed via whitehouse.gov, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/.
Executive order designating Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization,” directing federal departments and agencies to use applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle illegal operations linked to Antifa, and ordering publication in the Federal Register. Dated September 22, 2025.
Everything tRump has done starting tRump 1.0 & when I said years ago our reproductive rights were in serious danger but I was told that would never happen… the fact that tRump commuted so many criminals sentences, the January 6 insurrectionist, the targeting of anyone not white & the general disrespect for women & the constitution are just some of the things I don’t know why so many have been unwilling or not seeing what the hell is happening.