“Fascist” is overused, and there are a lot of definitions, because the self-identified fascist regimes from last century began so differently, and adopted different characteristics. I’ve never been that satisfied with any definition until reading Umberto Eco’s 1995 article in the New York Review of Books. He lists quite a few general traits of what he calls “Ur-Fascism”, and Trump’s speech—at his rallies, on Twitter, on tv—perfectly aligns with this list. Trump is a fascist. The U.S. isn’t automatically fascist because he’s president, of course, and Trump may not care whether he succeeds at creating a totalitarian ethnostate dependent on him. But we need to stand up to his xenophobia and racism, his dark simplifying of reality and conspiracy-mongering, his narcissistic authoritarianism, and the many ways he’s trying to change the system to benefit him and his cronies. This is our democracy, if we can keep it.
I highly recommend reading the piece, and reflecting on Eco’s list: Ur-Fascism.