Andrew Sullivan: The Radicalization of Liberal Elites

I distinctly recall Andrew Sullivan’s sheer terror before Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election. “Fascism” was on the march and was coming to power in America.

“I have long had faith that some version of fascism cannot come to power in America. The events of the past year suggest deep reflection on that conviction. A political hurricane has arrived, as globalization has eroded the economic power of the white working classes, as the cultural left has overplayed its hand on social and racial issues, and as a catastrophic war and a financial crisis has robbed the elites of their credibility. As always in history, you still needed the spark, the unique actor who could deploy demagogic talent to drag an advanced country into violence and barbarism. In Trump, America found one for the ages. …”

Sullivan thought the cultural left had overplayed its hand.

He was right about that. He was completely wrong about Trump’s “fascism.” In reality, we got a reality television show presidency and a personality cult centered on a demagogue and the usual conservative policies combined with inept governance. It ended in a grift and a fiasco for all involved. Donald Trump was a just an opportunist and a narcissist with good marketing instincts, not a “fascist.”

The Trumpian fascists never came for Andrew Sullivan. Instead, it was his woke progressive allies who indicted him and found him guilty of “white supremacy” during the mania last summer.

Andrew Sullivan: