It's time for Trump's instincts to be called what they are: fascist

There is a good chance that on 5 November, Americans will elect the first fascist president of the United States.

- Jonathan Freedland

It sounds hyperbolic, it sounds hysterical. Indeed, for exactly those reasons, many of his opponents long held back from using that word about Donald Trump. But the hour is late. Voting is already under way. It's time to spell out what Trump has said and done, what he threatens to do, what he is.

Put aside the personal grossness, on display again in recent days with his reference to the size of the late Arnold Palmer's manhood. Put aside the fact that he's a twice-impeached, four times indicted, convicted felon who has been found liable by a court for rape.

Focus instead on the F-word. In recent days, the taboo on that word has been broken, starting with a warning from a former head of the US military, Mark Milley, that the president he once served is a "fascist to the core". In an interview a few days later, the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi told me she shared that view, and Kamala Harris herself has spoken in similar terms. But last week came perhaps the most detailed, and therefore persuasive, deployment of that term.

It came from a man who worked exceptionally closely with Trump, serving as his White House chief of staff: General John Kelly. Like Milley, Kelly did not use the word "fascist" to mean racist or really rightwing, but rather to describe Trump's attitude to power.