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In the wake of the presidential inauguration on Monday, it is safe to say that things have certainly changed. Of all of Trump’s promises and policies, the clearest seems to be his newfound commitment to saying the quiet parts out loud. What else can you call it when your billionaire best friend and cabinet minister Elon Musk does not one, but two Nazi salutes on stage.
As someone with a degree in Ancient History, allow me to clarify something: this has absolutely nothing to do with the Romans. Even if it was the case that Musk’s gesture wasn’t what many have seen it to be, it would be hard to argue that everyone in the cheering crowd would have been able to distinguish between the two salutes. Certainly, to those who now feel vindicated, having seen the richest man in the world embrace fascist symbolism on stage, the weak defence of the ‘Roman salute’ makes no difference. They have been given the clearest possible go-ahead to enact violence in their communities. Very rarely have I found myself speechless watching political coverage, but like many around the world expressing their thoughts on social media, nothing seemed to do justice to the pit in my stomach.
In reality, America’s descent into oligarchy and (calling a spade a spade) fascism should not be surprising. In his speech, Trump solidifies the rhetoric he has been spouting for his entire political campaign, claiming ‘The golden age of America begins right now.’ Of course, for Trump, this ‘golden age’ includes mass deportations, a fundamentally unconstitutional ban on birthright citizenship, forcing the dissolution of DEI departments (diversity, equality and inclusion), and making it government mandate that there are only two sexes. The irony of the bill’s specification that sex is classed on conception, accidentally making everyone female at birth is not lost on me, but it is hard to find humour when Trump is being begged by clergy to have mercy on immigrants and trans and LGBTQ youth. Mariann Edgar Budde is incredibly brave for her actions and in the coming years, we will need to advocate for our communities in the way that she has.
This is not something to take lightly. The Lemkin Institute for genocide prevention, after Monday’s spectacle, have issued a red flag warning for the US. They are completely right when they warn that ‘The worst mistake any American can make at this time is to believe that Musk is stupid or to be pliant and timid in the face of this provocation.’
This extends beyond America. For anyone who maintains that because we are not Americans this will not affect us, open your eyes to the rise of far-right parties across Europe and ask yourself if you feel safe. Your gay, trans, non-white or female friends do not. Now is a time to get involved with your community and get to know your neighbours, put resources in place now should we need them. Watching the first week of Trump’s second term has been difficult from here in the UK. For those in America, the next four years (or more, should the bill to allow a president who has not served two consecutive terms the chance to run for a third fail), seems to be a genuine question of survival.
Image: Rioters outside the US Capitol building holding US flags and “Make America Great Again” flags, Tyler Merbler, 2021 // CC BY 2.0
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