NPR Didn’t Compare Trump to Mussolini
The Claim
National Public Radio – which is publicly funded – compared U.S. President Donald Trump to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
News posted on
Emerging story
On September 6, 2020, NPR published an article entitled “Fascism Scholar Says U.S. Is 'Losing Its Democratic Status.”
In the article, a reporter conducted an interview with a scholar who studies fascism. Right-wing publications spread the article around, adding their own headlines.
The claim was soon picked up by users on social media, who expressed fury at NPR.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar found that NPR never compared Trump to Mussolini. In the article, the person being interviewed explained why he thinks that the U.S. is becoming less democratic. He notes the similarities between the rise of authoritarian regimes – especially fascist ones – and the current political climate. This not only includes Trump's administration, but the popularization of conspiracy theories, an increasing nationalist population, and other factors.
The article does state that some historians say that Trump has similarities with some fascist leaders, but makes it known that the definition of fascism isn’t cut and dry. The part of the article that mentions Mussolini is below.
NPR itself never compares Trump to Mussolini – a significant distinction, as the news network isn’t supposed to have any bias since it is government-funded. So, while NPR interviewed a scholar who associates Trump with nationalist movements, it never compares the two directly.
