COULD AMERICA AND THE WORLD SURVIVE TRUMP 2.0?

It's at home that a Trump victory would have a devastating effect on the country, with grim repercussions. Although he endlessly repeats the MAGA mantra, 'Make America Great Again', Trump's ambitions clearly begin and end with himself.

- JOHN DOBSON

"I am not a fascist", insisted Donald Trump at a rally at Madison Square Garden last Sunday. Surrounded by his supporters he was responding to Vice President Kamala Harris's claim that as a fascist, Trump wants "unchecked power and a military loyal to him." This followed allegations by several members of his former staff that Trump repeatedly voiced admiration for Hitler when in the White House. Harris pounced on the charge after The Atlantic reported that in an interview with Fox News on 13 October, Trump called his opponents "the enemy within"-Americans he described as "radical left lunatics." According to Trump, these adversaries are "far more dangerous than Russia or China" but could be "very easily handled by the National Guard or the US military".

This wasn't the first time that Trump has suggested the use of America's armed forces as his personal guard. He regularly fantasised about commanding "his generals" to crush dissent, according to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, in a conversation with the distinguished investigative journalist, Bob Woodward.

Trump is "fascist to the core", Milley reportedly said.

Retired Marine General John Kelly, Trump's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, agrees with Milley, telling the New York Times that Trump actually did fit the definition of a fascist. "He commented more than once that 'Hitler did some good things too"," said Kelly. In his opinion, "Trump would rule as a dictator if elected again". Last week, no less than 13 former Trump administration officials released an open letter amplifying Kelly's warnings.