Back in early March, NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss observed that Florida Gov. "Rick" DeSantis — who notably would not announce his presidential candidacy for almost three more months — was working very hard "to turn himself into sort of a local Mussolini."
MSNBC pseudo historian @BeschlossDC on @GovRonDeSantis: "He has tried to turn himself into sort of a local Mussolini in FL with the book banning & the brutal tactics & even this suggestion that bloggers have to register with the state…this is fascism and authoritarianism…” pic.twitter.com/z9wBvYBHDi
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) March 6, 2023
Narrator: It wasn't fascism or authoritarianism.
But that didn't prevent Beschloss from getting all worked up anyway. And apparently he was even more worked up than we realized at the time, because just yesterday, around three and a half months after calling DeSantis a "local Mussolini," Beschloss was back on MSNBC rabidly ranting and raving about Republican Mussolinis once again.
He started off with Donald Trump, because Donald Trump was the original Mussolini (after the actual original Mussolini, that is):
MSNBC’s @BeschlossDC: “If you love Mussolini, you will love what Donald Trump is talking about for 2025 … Trump [is] the first major candidate in American history to say outright, ‘I want a presidential dictatorship’.” pic.twitter.com/oKUTGlIdfO
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 18, 2023
Now, to be fair, Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for modern-day authoritarians. We're talking about really, really bad dudes like Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un. And to listen to him speak, it's quite clear that he believes that the presidency is a dictator of sorts. He demands unwavering loyalty and views even the slightest criticism from underlings and allies as the ultimate betrayal. That's definitely dictator-y.
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But at least in practice, presidential-record-wise, Trump didn't really unlock the "Fascist" achievement. Likening Trump to Mussolini is still a pretty tiresome tactic and one would think that an alleged historian would know better than to embarrass himself with such an inane historical analogy.
Anyway, no matter what you think about Trump and his tendencies, it should at the very least be clear that Ron DeSantis is not a mini-Trump or mini-Mussolini. But that's not what Beschloss will tell you:
Beschloss: "You’ve got the front-runner of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, the number two candidate by polls, Ron DeSantis, or DiSantis or whatever it is, they’re both fascists." pic.twitter.com/Hnrplk8V0m
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 18, 2023
First of all, if anyone was being Trump-like during that discussion, it was Beschloss, who, like Trump has been wont to do, took a dismissive swipe toward Ron DeSantis' name (though he really missed another opportunity to refer to DeSantis as "Rick"). Beschloss' (and Joe Scarborough's) gross scaremonger-y exaggerations of Ron DeSantis's governorship is also very Trumpian.
And using words without any appreciation for what they actually mean ... well, that's pure Trump, too. Michael Beschloss, like so many shameless liberal hacks, loves to throw around a word like "fascism" as a substitute for "something I don't like." Meanwhile, as much as Trump has authoritarian aspirations, it's President Biden whose administration has a demonstrable record of authoritarianism. What is using the Department of Justice and the IRS to go after regular Americans if not authoritarianism? What is vowing to forcibly take people's lawfully owned guns and leave them at the mercy of the state if not authoritarianism? What is threatening people's jobs and livelihoods for being wary of complying with dubious mandates if not authoritarianism? What are end-runs around the U.S. Constitution if not authoritarianism? And yet Michael Beschloss doesn't have one harsh word to say about Joe Biden's own dictator-like behavior and belief that the rules of checks and balances and the rule of law don't apply to him.
So much projection they could open a movie theater. https://t.co/ZPRAwz069s
— GrizzⓎ (@Caffeineforall) July 18, 2023
Funny how that works, isn't it?
The MSNBC guide to political analysis. You can guess what they think of the No 3 and No 4 GOP candidates. pic.twitter.com/nD9ml2QkvJ
— Jake R. (@jaker1419) July 18, 2023
They've had this same conversation every show. For the last 7 years.
— PHummell (@Hummer53) July 18, 2023
And as long as Republicans (and conservatives) exist, it's never going to stop.
Every time one of these people throws around the word "Fascists", I just laugh at them.
— Mitch Mitchell (@MitchMi68122792) July 18, 2023
What you have in the WH right now is a Fascist tyrant, but they are too blinded to see.
Either that or they genuinely just don't care. The MSM see it as their main job to defend Democrats, and that's what they're gonna do. Honest journalism isn't even on their radar anymore. It hasn't been for a long time.
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Related:
NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss busted for his BS about 'Dr. Jill Biden'
NBC News' Michael Beschloss wonders if jury foreperson's media tour is deliberate sabotage
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