This is too important, and frightening, not to share:
The speaker is Tad Stoermer, an academic historian who suggests he is:
- Torching lies
- Teaching resistance
- Explaining revolution.
He is the author of 'A Resistance History of the United States' (Steerforth Press, 2026). He is a
lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and a visiting scholar at the University of Southern Denmark.
This is a summary of the transcript, produced by AI:
Summary — Trump declared “Antifa” terrorists
(video by Todd Sturmer)
TL;DR: Todd Stoermer argues that after Trump labelled “Antifa” terrorists, major institutions (media, corporations, universities, unions) rushed to demonstrate loyalty — voluntarily pre-empting dissent in a pattern he likens to the Nazi-era tactic of coordinated self-submission (Gleichschaltung). That vagueness — designating an idea rather than an organisation — creates a chilling, pre-emptive machinery of repression where everyone polices everyone else.
Key points
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Trigger event: Trump labels anti-fascist activists (“Antifa”) as terrorists; within days ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel and other outlets pre-empted or altered programming, Sinclair even scheduling a tribute special and demanding apologies/donations.
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Corporate race to comply: Media owners (and other institutions) aren't being ordered — they're competing to show loyalty (partly for reasons like pending FCC approvals/mergers), demonstrating the speed and voluntariness of the response.
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Historical analogy — Nazi playbook: Sturmer invokes the Nazi tactic of making examples and letting the rest of civic life align itself voluntarily. He stresses the mechanism: ambiguity + fear = institutions self-purging to prove loyalty.
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Ambiguity weaponised: “Antifa” is, he says, a mentality or way of thinking rather than a formal organisation, so declaring it a terrorist threat lets institutions define the danger loosely and punish or ostracise anyone perceived as connected.
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Social enforcement: Celebrities, sports teams, corporate boards and HR departments issue identical statements and policing, while activists launch campaigns to get people fired, producing pre-emptive censure without legal definitions or trials.
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Universities and workplaces at risk: Examples of firings/audits are cited; academic syllabi and social media histories become grounds for punishment if someone is marked “Antifa-adjacent.”
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A faster, digital danger: Sturmer warns this process is quicker and more absolute than 1933 because digital records, corporate liability, and social media accelerate detection and punishment — institutions “volunteer” repression rather than being forced.
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Closing warning: The constitution and institutional safeguards are weakened not by a single violent purge but by institutions racing to prove allegiance — creating the infrastructure of repression through compliance rather than coercion.
Tone/intent: The video is a polemical, alarmed warning — drawing historical parallels to warn that voluntary institutional compliance driven by vague accusations can erode civic freedoms rapidly.
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Scary, very scary.
And as I said yesterday, here in the UK, we are sleepwalking into the same fate.
Craig
P.S. I do think that there is some resistance in the US but Trump and his ilk will try to crush and remove that
The time of the Weimar Republic to when Hitler declared his word to be the law was about 7 years. Trump has got there in 7 months. By that measure outright repression and potential war is less than a year away.
Hopefully the rejection of totalitarianism can advance on an equally accelerated schedule.
I would quite like to visit the US at some point, but not while Trump or MAGA are running the show.
Excellent. A warning to all of us that should resonate throughout these islands. Could the same happen here? Or is it in fact happening now?
I fear it is happening now.
A v powerful analysis. He’s right.
But – there is hope, and fear mustn’t paralyse us.
What occurs to me for us in the UK is the need for us to identify the “self-surrender” moments that are relevant in the UK, to publicise them in banner headlines, to stand firm and be stubborn – which is costly, but also fruitful.
A related example – in the face of effective “Just Stop Oil” protests blocking the traffic, the question is asked, “shouldn’t ordinary decent people be able to get to work?”. If we answer, “yes, but…” we have already surrendered.
Where I have learned this is by listening to Palestinian Christians like Munther Isaac, talking about the decades of injustice and oppression in the Holy Land. And a few years ago, listening to Jeremy Corbyn talking about “terrorism” while he was being slowly destroyed.
The question always comes, “But surely you condemn Hamas?” – “do you call for the unconditional release of the hostages?”. And Munther Isaac has always advocated peace and eschewed violence. He is a man of peace but he is also angry, and he understands justice. He and many others, including me, refuse to be led by the nose through someone else’s pre-planned surrender agenda. When his interlocutors try and lead him into “both sidesism” statements he refuses, and goes on the attack with questions they don’t want to think about.
Why do we have to answer the “do you condemn the shooting of ****?” question? There are more important ones. Why is that question even being asked? Was anyone bothered about gun violence when mass school shootings were taking place or black men were shot for ringing the wrong doorbell?
We need to school each other on how NOT to surrender in advance, to refuse to yield the argument to fascism. We need to say NO right at the very beginning and to go on the attack with important questions of our own. We need to share what those “surrender” issues are here in the UK and help each other spot them coming and say, “NO!”, loudly and firmly, and grab the steering wheel back.
Thank you
I might blog on this issue. Thanks for pointing out the need.
Not just America we have our very own Conform (or else) party!
There’s another No Kings demonstration next month, set to be bigger than the last. We will see what happens after that. The Trump regime is quite weak, and can’t be easily compared to Russia. Putin had a country that was used to authoritarianism. It’s easier to get a country to revert to a political system than to change it. Even if America goes full fascist, it’s likely that democracy will be restored. Hopefully before too much damage is done.
Thank you. I shall watch it.
Analogies to the Third Reich can be overdone, as every example of fascism and authoritarian / totalitarian / nationalist autocracy is somewhat different.
That said, a similar process to this “coordination” is “working towards the leader”. The autocrat does not even need to make decrees that are followed if people around him (and those desiring recognition, approval, and a career advancement) anticipate his desires and voluntarily do what they hope he would want.
Right now I do not think that analogues to the Third Reich can be overdone
Shared three times with American friends.
Tim Snyder and his wife.
Yesterday I saw -I think Daily Express-a headline with ‘lefty lawyers’ which echoes part of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXR9PByA9SY
They have already left
to Canada. Hope it’s far enough
Canada, unfortunately, is not going to be a safe haven. Carney and his Liberals are doing what Starmer and his Labour did. Lied his way into the leadership, lied his way to the Prime Ministership, went back on everything he said he stood for. Now bowing to Trump, introducing Bills C-2 and C-5 which will send refugees back to the USA to be deported to who knows where, and will allow much more intrusive spying on Canadians (to be shared with USA police forces), and has now banned Kneecap with the Minister announcing it spouting demonstrable lies about them. Carney is in a hurry to crawl into the fascist bed with Trump and Starmer.
Responding to the video link posted by Ian Stevenson… The democratic institutions – the media, the universities and the courts are exactly what Project 2025 wants to control. And they are getting there!
I think that this gentleman is spot on. The digital dimension – known about from the inception of computer mass communication – is very powerful – that is now why they call it social media – the social bit has nothing to do with a benefit – it is an observation of something that can be exploited.
At work, I see a lot of ‘virtue signalling’ amongst workers and co-workers on email and Teams – demonstrating compliance, popping up during the less important conversations about work etc., – ‘being seen to be a part of it’ seems even more important than what you are actually doing.
I hate that signalling
Richard this is very interesting and on a more simpler level I was talking about this on my dog walk this morning. I went into a supermarket checkout the other day and there was clearly a very unwell lady in her 40s serving at the checkout. I said you look awful I think you should be in your bed. She replied that she was very unwell but it just wasn’t worth it to be off. Fear …. Fear of being singled out ….put on a warning … fear of being sacked … fear of not being able to provide for your family… fear of
Losing your home… fear of not getting another job. This isn’t the way to treat people… when we treat people with compassion, care and empathy we have a more healthy workforce in so many ways. It breaks my heart what is happening to our communities… our country .. our world.
A great deal to agree with.
I will never understand why employers do not get this. As an employer, I did.
A very fine post. I have a good friend who lives in the USA, I am urging him to leave – while he still can.
The dead silence from SCROTUM (supreme court republican of the United Maga) is predicatable.
I wonder what will happen in the UK? Starmer and his puppet master McSweeney need to go – but what then? to counter the lies of fart-rage & co?
Good questions
On a more positive note, I leave it to the Dutch – as ever .. erm…. direct.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX-BQAjeE&t=2s
(assorted US outlets have been spreading the vid).
🙂
Lessons from an earlier time in the US.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/20/red-scare-echo-kimmel-tv-00574226
And this, also from Politico:
Over the past week, UC Berkeley has faced backlash over its decision to disclose the names of 160 students, faculty and staff to Trump administration officials investigating claims that Berkeley administrators have allowed a culture of antisemitism to take root. Union representatives argue that by choosing not to resist the government’s demand for names, the Berkeley administration has betrayed the school’s “legacy of free speech” and, in an open letter to Chancellor Rich Lyons, warned the university was inching toward becoming an arm of an “authoritarian regime.” Judith Butler, one of the university’s most influential and famous faculty members, said the school has descended into “Kafka-land” while others warn of a “chilling of academic freedom.”
When I talk to friends and family it is almost unanimous that people around me say they are boycotting American goods. No-one told them to I believe, it is a natural response to American threats of trying to force us to do what Trump wants. This resistance is not led by anyone it is a natural response to being pushed. Individual resistance to Trump and his supporters feels like a do-able way to respond.
I would love to boycott US goods (including those made in UK or EU where ultimate ownership is US) and have considered it. Easier said than done, though (said he, typing on his iPad). US tentacles reach everywhere, as Angus Hanton’s ‘Vassal State’ elaborates. (You can get a Kindle version on Amazon )
Watching the Trump visit to the UK this week with all its associated pomp and ritual was quite sickening as it represented everything described in this video; the self abasement of a nation to a fascist leader. (the horses were nice)