Trump’s “Fight” Cry at RNC Sparks Backlash and Comparisons to Authoritarian Regimes

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, received a hero’s welcome at the Republican National Convention (RNC) following an assassination attempt on July 13. Sporting bandages on his right ear, Trump was greeted with cheers and a coordinated chant of “fight” from supporters, echoing his own cry after being shot at.

As videos of the convention circulated online, reactions were swift and critical. One social media user remarked, “That ‘unity’ thing lasted about 30 seconds.” Another commented, “I thought we weren’t doing violent rhetoric?” Sarcastic posts followed, with one user writing, “RNC bringing a strong ‘We need to stop the violent rhetoric.'” Another user noted, “When I want ‘unity and peace’, I always embrace the ‘Fight!’ mantra.” A particularly scathing comment likened the scene to Nazi Germany: “If it looks like the Third Reich, swims like the Third Reich, and quacks like the Third Reich, well….”

Further critiques emerged, with a user quipping, “Of course, they meant to fight with love, empathy, and understanding. Right?” Another dismissed the notion of unity: “Unity, my a**.” Some mocked the relationship between Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, predicting internal conflicts: “The irony is that they will be fighting each other more than us.” Others reiterated, “Did they forget about that unity and no rhetoric thing?”

In reference to President Joe Biden’s recent call for a calmer political atmosphere, one user sarcastically commented, “They’re lowering the temperature.” Another quipped, “Are you sure they weren’t chanting Fraud? Oh wait, that was me and millions of Americans from their sofas.” A Democratic supporter opined, “They can’t synchronize a single syllable chant and they want to run the country,” while another warned, “If this doesn’t scare the shit out of you, then you haven’t been paying attention.”

Radio host Dean Obeidallah shared the video and asserted, “Bone-chilling to see at #RNCConvention people were chanting ‘Fight’ in unison with one arm punching in the air. Instantly conjures up rallies from 1930s Germany. There is no other way to put it.” An expert on authoritarianism voiced similar concerns over the crowd’s aggressive reactions. “You know what to do, Americans. We can avoid this nightmare. Never become resigned or fatalistic. That’s what they want,” she wrote, according to The Salon.

In an interview with The Guardian, historian and professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat likened Trump’s ascent to that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. She explained that authoritarians often portray democracy as the “real tyranny” and their violent platform as the path to freedom. “Any aggression that Trump does is because he’s the defender of freedom, and the Democrat represents real tyranny… So it’s very seductive rhetoric, but it’s an inversion, so that democracy becomes the threat and tyranny and fascism, or whatever we’re calling Trumpism, becomes freedom,” Ben-Ghiat explained. This, she noted, is how history has seen mass repression hailed as something positive.