The thing is, here in the US the transnational white power movement / white Christian nationalist movement features all the indicators of fascism (there are multiple lists. Choose one. I like Umberto Eco’s). We could argue that it’s incidentally fascist, that it’s developed these features as symptoms in the process of coming out as an autocratic, identity-focused culture. But that doesn’t change that it is dangerous and is stripping away civil rights from the people of the United States, and is engaging in efforts to neuter the already meager democratic features of the US, in order to hedge out the other party.

So whether or not the Republican party is a fascist party, whether or not some states have fascist elements, they are behaving in those ways historic fascist regimes have that cause harm. And as such it is doing harm to their respective publics.

And that means our attention should be focused not on what to call them, but how to stop the harm.