Okay here’s an idea: maybe stop using rhetoric that mirrors literal Nazi propaganda structures in your official communications? Putting out a statement so closely mirroring the infamous “Ein Volk, ein Reich, Ein Führer” nazi propaganda slogan, is either implausibly incompetent, or one of the most brazen dog whistles. If you want to believe an administration who’s been called fascist many times before and disagrees with that sentiment happens to put a message like this out on purpose, that strains credibility.

Maybe while you’re at it toning down that message, also stop doing any or all of these these types of things which clearly resonate with fascist and/or authoritarian dictators or regimes today and in the past:

• Calling the free press the “Enemy of the people” because they don’t agree with you.
• Using criminal investigations and threats of lawsuits rhetorically and politically against opponents.
• Shutting down legitimate criminal investigations into people you know and like, then firing people for just being involved in these cases as revenge.
• Publicly attacking judges, prosecutors, and journalists who you don’t agree with.
• Firing people for the sole reason of them not agreeing with you, contradicting your statements based on facts, or being involved ^[1].
• Demanding from your law-enforcement leaders not the truth, but absolute loyalty (loyalty oaths).
• Establishing a leader figure cult around Trump, where he can do no wrong.
• Calling other, predominantly black and brown countries, “shithole countries”.
• Telling black congress women they need to go back, even though they are US citizens
• Using targeted immigration tactics like family separation or the Muslim ban, while for some reason excluding white South-Africans specifically.
• Calling immigrants “invaders”, “animals” or “vermin”, and “poisoning the blood”, typical fascist purity language.
• Calling Somali immigrants “garbage” among other things, also tied to rep. Ilhan Omar.
• Spreading racist stereotype fake news, like Haitian immigrants “eating the dogs”.
• Applying morally equivalence to nazis by describing the Charlottesville tiki torch folks as “Very fine people” (“on both sides”).
• Ignoring or bypassing Congress (a co-equal branch) through emergency declarations and executive actions.
• Encouraging distrust of elections and legal outcomes.
• Refusing to accept the 2020 election results. Still calling it a “stolen election”
• Slow-walking or outright defying court orders.
• Firing up protesters to storm the Capitol to defend against a “stolen election”.
• Describing the ensuing storming of the Capitol where armed protesters vandalized the building, brutalized police, and tried to go after politicians, “peaceful” and blaming the police instead.
• Pardoning criminals if their crimes were done in your name (Jan 6th) or are “on your side”.
• Threaten to use military force on your own citizens if they don’t behave as you want them to.
• Tear gassing citizens at Lafayette Square for a Bible photo-op.
• Disparaging decades long democratic allies, while fawning over actual dictators like Kim Jong Un, Putin, Orban, even writing love letters with Kim.
• Openly praising authoritarian leaders’ strength and control.
• Portraying yourself as some sort of savior figure.
• Proposing mass deportation camps and military involvement in domestic enforcement.
• Suggesting the Constitution should be terminated to restore him to power.
• Privately expressing admiration for Hitler’s generals’ loyalty.

And on and on and on. I think this makes the point. None of these alone prove fascism. Together though, they describe a pattern that democracies historically fail to take seriously until it is too late. You don’t want to be called a nazi or fascist? Then stop with the fascistic tendencies. Also fun: Try to imagine what the right’s reaction would’ve been if someone like Obama or Biden had done all or much of the above.

[1] See Erika McEntarfer, Col.Susannah Meyers, Christopher Krebs, Robert K. McBride, James Comey, and many others.