So now that we know definitively that Charlie Kirk’s assassin was influenced by propaganda that called Trump and his supporters fascists (via his engravings on the casings of the bullets in his rifle), I thought it might be helpful to know who perpetuated this false narrative in order to hold them accountable.
From ChatGPT:
It’s hard to identify definitively the very first person (politician or media) who called Trump or his supporters “fascists,” because many early references were private, vague, or not widely noticed. But I can list some of the earliest verified examples — both media and politicians — at various levels, along with dates, to give a sense of how this rhetoric developed.
Some of the earliest examples
| Name | Position / Role | When | What they said / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerrold Nadler (D‑NY, US House) | Federal politician | April 2017 | At a town hall, Nadler said: “Donald Trump is the first major candidate in American politics … that I think really deserves to be called a fascist.” He compared certain of Trump’s statements (e.g. blaming scapegoats, strongman rhetoric) to Mussolini. Observer |
| Ilhan Omar (D‑MN, US House) | Federal politician | July 2019 | In a video, Omar said she believes Trump “is a fascist.” The Guardian |
| Barack Obama (via Tim Kaine’s account) | President at the time | 2016 (during campaign) | According to Tim Kaine, Obama told him (in a phone call) that they needed to keep a “fascist” out of the White House. This is private / behind‑the‑scenes. The Hill |
Some early media / pundit examples
- The Nation published in 2024 an article “Finally, the Democrats Call Trump the F‑Word” discussing how only more recently (2024) some Democrats have begun openly calling Trump a fascist. But media and pundits had been raising comparisons or warnings about strongman / authoritarian patterns for years before. The Nation
- Ken Burns (documentarian) in 2016 used very strong language, comparing Trump to Hitler‑esque fascism. Vanity Fair
State/local examples
- Vermont: Jim Dandeneau, Executive Director of the Vermont Democratic Party, in October 2024, called Trump “fascist” and his supporters “extremists.” Vermont Daily Chronicle+1
- Connecticut: State Representative Bob Godfrey in 2024 said that people don’t like the idea of a “fascist dictator,” in reference to Donald Trump. Connecticut Centinal
If I had to pick the “earliest fully documented” public usage by a Democrat politician, Jerrold Nadler’s April 2017 might be among the first in the federal legislative arena. But clearly, other less prominent figures or local politicians, as well as media/pundits, were using the language somewhat earlier or around the same time (2016‑2017).
Early / Private References (~2016)
- Barack Obama (then‐President) is reported (via Tim Kaine) to have called Trump a “fascist” in a private conversation during the 2016 campaign. Kaine recounts that in a documentary. euronews+1
- Hillary Clinton echoed that sentiment in that same conversation, saying she “echo[s] that sentiment” when Kaine repeated it. euronews+1
Public / More Visible Instances After 2016
- Joe Biden used the term “semi‑fascism” in August 2022 when describing Trump’s philosophy and parts of the MAGA movement. Politico+2The Washington Post+2
- Nancy Pelosi more explicitly said (in 2024) that Trump is using tactics of a “fascist government.” Newsweek
- Kamala Harris explicitly agreed with calling Trump “a fascist” in October 2024 during an interview, saying “Yes, we can say that.” ABC News+1
Reasonable Ink 
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