Are we? As Donald Trump was inaugurated last week, to a backdrop of tech billionaires, David Forde dives into the rise of the Far-Right in Germany and the United States.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”, these words by Mark Twain ring with more truth each passing month: rising inequality, housing crises, genocide and fascism. The inauguration of Donald Trump back into the White House has, hopefully, knelled the first bell for the end of the American Empire. The front row of attendees, all billionaires, or oligarchs as they would be called if it were any other country. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, a South African raised in the height of apartheid, standing behind the Presidential podium and hitting not one but two Nazi salutes in succession on live television.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, a South African raised in the height of apartheid, standing behind the Presidential podium and hitting not one but two Nazi salutes in succession on live television.
Maybe history is not rhyming, but actually just repeating itself. “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”. Some want us to believe that nothing ever happens, but I think that it might be safe to say that the weeks are here.
Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2025. During his first day in office, he signed a huge number of executive orders to fulfill his campaign promises and undo a small amount of work done by the Biden administration. According to Biden during his presidency, it is very hard for a sitting President to actually do anything with only his will, Trump seems to have disproven that on Day One.
Some of the executive orders signed in his first hours as President include a rescinding of 78 executive orders signed by Joe Biden during his presidency, and a pardoning of January 6th rioters who attempted an insurrection at the Capitol building in 202. He put a pause to the implementation of the TikTok ban in the United States, signed an executive order which attempts to revoke birthright citizenship (protected under the US Constitution), and declared a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico.
During the traditional presidential service at Washington Cathedral, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde asked the President to have mercy on LGBTQ+ children and immigrants during his presidency. Trump took to his ‘Truth Social’ account to respond to these calls. He said that “the so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump Hater” and that “she was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.” He followed these comments with “She and her church owe the public an apology.”
Another executive order signed by Trump suspended U.S. foreign aid for 90 days pending their approval based on their alignment with his ‘policy goals’. One recipient of this aid that will not be affected is Israel, which receives $3.3 billion per year (per PBS). A ceasefire in Gaza was reached on the 19th of January, with Israel exchanging thousands of Palestinian hostages for only a few Israeli hostages captured by Hamas. Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, violence and killings in the West Bank have continued due to so-called ‘counter-terrorism operations’ by the 'IOF'. The 15-month Israeli “military campaign”, or genocide, killed reportedly 46,600 people, most of whom were civilians. This number is estimated to be much higher, as one article in the Lancet from June claimed that “indirect deaths range from three to fifteen times the number of direct deaths”.
This number is estimated to be much higher, as one article in the Lancet from June claimed that “indirect deaths range from three to fifteen times the number of direct deaths”.
Applying the conservative estimate of four indirect deaths for every direct death with the figures reported by the health ministry total an estimate of at least 230,000 deaths. Only now that a ceasefire is in place, precarious at best, can the counting even begin. One would have thought that ADL, an organisation founded on ‘combatting antisemitism’, would have rightly called out Elon Musk’s Nazi salute. You would be wrong.
Hours after the incident took place, the organisation posted the following on Twitter/X:
“This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.
It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.
In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
Musk recently spoke by webcam to a rally of Alternativ fur Deutschland supporters. Alternativ fur Deutschland (AfD) are a far-right neo-Nazi political party in Germany, polling around 20% currently ahead of February’s elections in Germany. During his address, Musk criticised the German ‘culture of remembrance’. He stated that “German children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents” and that “multiculturism dilutes everything”.
AfD have come under strong criticism from the other parties in Germany and every party in Germany has agreed that it will not go into coalition with AfD due to their policy of ‘remigration’. ‘Remigration’ is a term used by AfD to mean the deportation of all immigrants and/or German citizens of non-German origin, another term to describe remigration that you may be familiar with is ethnic cleansing. Recently, German police have opened investigations into AfD flyers in the shape of plane tickets addressed to ‘illegal immigrants’ that were distributed to neighbourhoods of immigrant communities. Even the French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) leader, Marie Le Pen, broke their alliance with AfD in the European Parliament in the Summer.
While the far-right in Ireland remains a loud minority, the conditions here are increasingly giving fertility to their growth.
On 25 January 2025, approximately tens of thousands took to the streets of various cities across Germany marching against the far-right. Videos at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate showed thousands together holding flags, banners with anti-Nazi slogans, and singing anti-fascist songs. Some better news from Germany shows Die Linke polling at around 5%, which will guarantee them seats in the next parliament. Despite several left-leaning parties in Germany, unfortunately, they are all pro-Israel. While the far-right in Ireland remains a loud minority, the conditions here are increasingly giving fertility to their growth.
The rise of the Chinese app Xiaohongshu or ‘Little Red Book’ and its influence since it gained slight popularity can perhaps give us a small amount of hope in the fight against far-right propaganda, especially in the US.
So, yeah, we might be cooked.