When President Donald Trump convened a roundtable today to warn against the dangers of “antifa,” he put on yet another made-for-TV performance about an issue without substance.
Trump said federal law enforcement will be “very threatening” as it goes after antifa, which he recently designated a “terrorist organization,” according to Reuters.
“They have been very threatening to people, but we’re going to be very threatening to them, far more threatening to them than they ever were with us, and that includes the people that fund them,” Trump said.
And yet defining “them” isn’t so easy. Although antifa is the MAGA enemy du jour, there is no hierarchical organizational structure, there are no leaders, headquarters or assets. There are no bank accounts or revenue streams.
“Antifa” is a rhetorical creation of Trump and other right-wing conspiracy theorists. It is not a single real thing.
“’Antifa’ is a rhetorical creation of Trump and other right-wing conspiracy theorists.”
Trump-loving conservatives have borrowed Trump’s false statements about antifa and accepted them as fact. The word itself means opposition to fascism. The word’s origins trace back to 1930 Germany, where “antifa” became a shortened form of the word antifaschistisch (meaning “anti-fascist”).
Today in America, conservatives hold a variety of ideas about antifa. They may see it as:
- A dangerous terrorist organization
- A violent group of protesters often wrongly assigned blame for the January 6 insurrection.
- An election conspiracy group that hijacked the 2020 election
- A group funded by George Soros
“Antifa” became a convenient scary-sounding word for conservative propaganda. This is how the term came to have such prominence in MAGAland.
Antifa is the political scapegoat du jour. The term now functions as a catchall for any perceived resistance to Trump. The 5150 protests, the No Kings protests, the Black Lives Matter protests — all have been labeled antifa.
The nebulous concept makes antifa the perfect fantastical enemy of conservatives. Label the opposition “antifa” and call it a night.
“The concept of antifa can mobilize people.”
Yet the concept of antifa can mobilize people, according to Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an American University professor who studies domestic extremism. It functions as an idea if not a unified organization.
In other words, it is a handy label for all the things that Trump fears. That’s why he recently announced on his social media platform: “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
What he’s doing, in reality, is attacking the free speech provisions of the First Amendment and federal law. His executive order is, in itself, illegal. Antifa turns out to be another Trump excuse for expanding his power and suppressing political dissent.
Antifa makes the perfect enemy. The definition is disembodied of meaning, lacking in identification, easy to apply to any opponent. It is a term “used by anyone and their grandma to describe somebody who was opposed to fascism,” according to Alexander Reid Ross, an instructor at Portland State University.
“As a populist movement, MAGA requires an endless supply of enemies.”
This, of course, plays well with conservatives. As a populist movement, MAGA requires an endless supply of enemies. Since these enemies are part of a collective fantasy, they always have short shelf lives. Enemies must, therefore, be replenished. They need to be disembodied of any concrete definition and capable of all kinds of frightening implications.
The Gospel Coalition, a conservative Christian organization, considers antifa a domestic terrorist group, a coalition of anarchists and a danger to our nation.
When The Gospel Coalition reported on a violent protest at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Park in Berkeley, Calif., they concluded antifa was at fault and therefore all violent protests are antifa. The Gospel Coalition then defined antifa as “a radical and often violent protest movement organized around ‘anti-fascism.’”
Since anarchists oppose government, they are a danger to the nation, so long as conservatives control government. This leads The Gospel Coalition to conclude: “Many activists associated with antifa are believed to be proponents of anarchism, viewing their anti-fascism protests as part of a larger action against authoritarianism.”
Here’s how sneaky the language can be.
Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas called out the January 6 rioters by saying, “Disobeying and assaulting police is a sin, whether it’s done by antifa or angry Republicans.”
Notice how Jeffress slips “antifa” into the mix even though there was no evidence of antifa presence at the riot.
“Antifa” becomes the perfect, never-ending enemy that authorizes Trump and his allies to respond with their own neo-fascist authoritarianism, useful to the grievances of the disaffected. By this understanding, “the enemy” has an unyielding commitment to destroying the American way of life and traditional values.
At his roundtable today, Trump was joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Antifa, they all said, is threatening law enforcement. And that, in turn, is why Trump has deployed National Guard troops to cities like Portland and Chicago.
Trump is a master of branding.
Rhetorical scholar Craig R. Smith notes Trump has put his name on every building he has constructed. The tower on the Chicago River bears his name in 20-foot letters. His demeaning nicknames, his sloganeering, his libelous attacks on his opponents are all examples of his branding. “Make America Great Again” is synonymous with the Trump brand.
No one uses negative branding as effectively as Trump. His branding works for MAGA, and “antifa” is part of the sales pitch. Antifa is now a universal designation for “the enemy.” The word sums up all MAGA fears — everything they fear is threatening to destroy “Christian America.”
The entire spectacle suggests an advertising campaign, a branding of an idea as evil, one more in a long list of MAGA conservative enemies. The enemy is always at the gates, always about to but not quite ever destroying the nation.
Rodney W. Kennedy is a pastor and writer in New York state. He is the author of 11 books, including his latest, Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit and Dissenting from Donald Trump While Listening to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”