Red hats and red flags by John Reid

In one of his increasingly unhinged social media rants, President Donald Trump took time out from his usual self-aggrandizing echoes to mock the primary victory of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and vocal advocate for marginalized communities in New York. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous...” he posted, no doubt between bites of a cheeseburger and gulps of grievance.

But what’s truly ridiculous isn’t Mamdani’s win. What’s ridiculous... no, dangerous, is that the United States has entertained, coddled, and in many cases encouraged the political reign of a man who continues to flirt openly with fascism while cloaking himself in the red, white, and blue of faux patriotism.

Let’s be honest. Trump’s America isn’t about unity or greatness; it’s about nostalgia for an America that never truly existed, unless your idea of a golden age involves segregation, misogyny, xenophobia, and bootlicking authoritarianism. His tirades are not just dog whistles; they are sirens, wailing the anthem of white grievance and cultural supremacy.

Zohran Mamdani, on the other hand, is a brown-skinned, first-generation American immigrant from Uganda, a Muslim, and a progressive. He represents everything Trump’s vision of America cannot tolerate. In Trump’s world, someone like Mamdani is not a legitimate leader, but a threat to be neutralized, mocked, or erased.

This is not about differing political ideologies. This is not liberal versus conservative. This is about democracy versus demagoguery. Trump is not just a polarizing figure, he’s a destabilizing one. He doesn’t challenge the system to improve it; he tears at its foundations to rebuild it in his own image, and that image has all the depth of a gold-plated hotel lobby and the empathy of a sledgehammer.

Let’s get real: Trump is a xenophobe, a homophobe, a misogynist, and a man who openly admires autocrats. His language toward immigrants echoes the fever dreams of fascist rhetoric, talk of “infestations,” “invasions,” and “vermin.” His disdain for LGBTQ+ rights is not policy; it’s prejudice. His casual racism is no longer veiled, it’s paraded with pride and claps from sycophants who claim they “don’t see color” but sure as hell vote for it.

He speaks of law and order, yet incites chaos. He condemns “radical leftists” while cozying up to Proud Boys and QAnon lunatics. He calls Black athletes “sons of bitches” for kneeling in protest, but praises white supremacists as “very fine people.” If that’s not textbook fascism, then someone should revise the textbook.

But here’s the real kicker: Trump doesn’t even believe in half the venom he spews. He’s an opportunist, not a true believer. He peddles division like a late-night infomercial sells diet pills, knowing it’s snake oil, but also knowing the desperate will buy it anyway. And still, millions do.

That’s the truly terrifying part. Trump may be a political arsonist, but there’s an entire crowd cheering him on, gasoline cans in hand, ready to burn down the institutions that protect them simply because they don’t want to share them. The MAGA movement isn’t about policy, it’s about identity, and the preservation of a fragile ego disguised as national pride.

So when Trump mocks a progressive immigrant who wins an election by the people, for the people, what he’s really mocking is democracy itself.

Let’s not pretend this is normal. Let’s not pretend this is just politics. It’s fascism with a spray tan. And it’s time we all say so. Loudly. Unapologetically.

Because what’s truly ridiculous is not that someone like Zohran Mamdani won, it’s that someone like Donald Trump ever did.