Historian Robert Paxton’s Insights on the January 6 Capitol Riot

The Reflections of Historian Robert Paxton on Jan. 6, 2021

The esteemed historian Robert Paxton found himself captivated on January 6, 2021, as he observed the events unfolding live on his television screen. At his Upper Manhattan apartment, he watched a mob advance toward the Capitol, breaching security barriers and overwhelming police defenses before storming the building itself. Among the crowd, many donned the iconic red MAGA baseball caps, while others wore bright-orange beanies that identified them as members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist organization. In the midst of the chaos, Paxton couldn’t help but question the identities of those dressed in camouflage and adorned with antlers. “I was absolutely riveted by it,” Paxton recounted during our summer meeting at his home in the picturesque Hudson Valley. “I never imagined such a spectacle could unfold.”

At the age of 92, Paxton stands as one of the foremost authorities on fascism in America and is widely regarded as the preeminent living scholar of mid-20th-century European history. His landmark 1972 book, “Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944,” meticulously examined the internal political dynamics that led France to collaborate with its Nazi occupiers, compelling the nation to fully confront its complex wartime legacy.

As Donald Trump edged closer to securing the Republican nomination in 2016, Paxton’s work took on renewed significance. Articles began emerging that drew parallels between American politics and Europe’s tumultuous 1930s. Among those who set the tone was Michiko Kakutani, then the chief book critic for The New York Times, who cleverly transformed a review of a new biography of Hitler into an allegorical critique of contemporary politics, characterizing Trump as a “clown” and a “dunderhead,” an egomaniac and a pathological liar adept at exploiting vulnerabilities.

In The Washington Post, conservative commentator Robert Kagan also weighed in, suggesting, “This is how fascism comes to America. Not with jackboots and salutes,” but rather “with a television huckster.” In a subsequent column for a French newspaper, which was later republished in early 2017 in Harper’s Magazine, Paxton cautioned against hastily applying the term ‘fascism’. He urged readers to exercise caution, stating, “We should hesitate before applying this most toxic of labels.”

While acknowledging that Trump’s “scowl” and “jutting jaw” bore a resemblance to “Mussolini’s absurd theatrics,” Paxton also noted that Trump frequently scapegoated “foreigners and despised minorities” for what he termed “national decline.” These elements, Paxton pointed out, were indeed hallmarks of fascism. However, he argued that the term had been used so liberally—“everyone you don’t like is a fascist,” he remarked—that it had begun to lose its analytical potency. Despite some superficial similarities, the dissimilarities were far more pronounced. The original fascists, he explained, sought to overcome perceived national weaknesses by reinforcing the state and prioritizing the community’s interests over those of individuals. In stark contrast, Trump and his allies appeared intent on subordinating societal interests to those of wealthy individuals.

Following Trump’s inauguration, a deluge of articles, scholarly papers, and books either embraced the fascism analogy as essential and pertinent or criticized it as misleading and counterproductive. This intense discourse, especially prevalent on social media, soon became known among historians as the Fascism Debate. By this time, Paxton had been retired for over a decade from his position at Columbia University, where he had taught history for more than 30 years. He chose to remain disengaged from, and uninvolved in, the lively online discussions.

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