“I don’t use the phrase “fascist tactics” lightly…But there is no more accurate way to describe this (Trump’s) administration’s repeated resort to and incitement of racism, xenophobia, and violence.”
(Josh Kaul in July 2020)
Trump may have gone, but his ideology in the form of Trumpism is here to stay for a while. After the attack on Capitol Hill, former President Donald Trump lost his integrity, not only as a politician but also as a human being.
During this entire episode of the Congressional siege staged by Trump, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul burst out against Trump and even used some inappropriate words for which certain society segments are condemning him. He is one of the few individuals who saw the fascist agenda of Donald Trump far before the Congressional siege.
Kaul was very vocal in terming the former president a fascist, driven by the Nazi agenda, while Republicans came out to defend their leader. It was jarring for some to see a top law enforcement officer in an American state accuse a president of using fascist tactics. However, he was extremely practical in labeling these allegations and substantiating his accusation.
This whole scene started after former President Trump deployed federal agents in Wisconsin. In the times when no one dared to speak against the fascist Donald Trump, being too vocal against the sitting president was nothing less than a miracle, as he was firing everyone crossing odds with him.
Let’s explore how Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke against Trump’s fascist agenda when no one else dared.
Josh Kaul: A Nightmare to Fascist Trump:
“During this (Trump) administration…we have witnessed the president (Trump) employing fascist tactics.”
(Josh Kaul)
Donald Trump left the office with the second-worst presidential approval rating, just after Richard Nixon. Most of this happened in the aftermath of the Capitol Hill attack, as his popularity nosedived even in the Republican circles.
He is often mentioned as the ill-intentioned president across the media outlets; however, no one anticipated the events that happened during the tenure of Donald Trump.
Owing to the sweeping executive power, Donald Trump was not going easy on the public office bearers; a prominent example is the firing of the United States Attorney General William Bar and the CISA director.
Josh Kaul has been a strong critic of Donald Trump, but he has never been harsher on him after Trump sent federal agents to crack down on the Black Lives Matter protestors.
This was a serious violation of democratic conventions on the part of Donald Trump and an outright act of fascism as Governor Tony Evers called on the president to take back the action in a letter.
The Wisconsin attorney general was not wrong to call it a fascist tactic, much like what we may see in autocratic countries like China, Iran, or Russia. More importantly, it became irrelevant for the United States to speak against those countries when it was propagating these practices itself.
This was not the only incident that compelled Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to use this strong language against Donald Trump. President Trump has been involved in the demonization of immigrants, attacks on minorities, urging racism for personal gain, blatantly using illegal force against the protestors near the White House, and the deployment of the National Guard to Portland.
These were the allegations made by Kaul, but since then, former President Trump continued to promote his fascist narrative, including his baseless claim of voter fraud, delaying confidential briefing to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, refusal to concede, and not to forget, his attack on Capitol Hill.
All of this proves that although Josh Kaul was the first one to use this term for Trump, it became the second name of Trump as most Americans disapproved of his presidency.
Josh Kaul: A Prominent Name Against Violent Ideologies:
“Every day he (Trump) remains in office is a threat to the republic.”
(Josh Kaul)
Josh Kaul was among the first to call on Congress to remove President Trump after the Capitol Hill attack. According to him, all those responsible should be held accountable for the conspiracy against the state under federal law.
The Wisconsin Attorney General also recovered around $856,609 with help from the Wisconsin Department of Health. This money was recovered after three providers failed to comply with the basic standards of prescription and dispensation of blood clotting medicines.
After the victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, the Trump administration called for a recount. Being the attorney general, Josh Kaul openly declared that the state was ready for the recount.
He said that the election was closely monitored, and there was no chance for any kind of mismanagement; still, they would recount to satisfy the Republican Party.
Kaul was involved in the investigation over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He investigated with independent agencies and did everything to protect the integrity of the investigation and make it as transparent as possible.
He even asked the president not to come along Governor Tony Evers to Kenosha, which would have brought more tension to the situation.
He has always called on the leaders to work together to end the vigilante violence in the country. He also wanted to heal the communities to bring people together by calling for justice in condemning violence everywhere in the country.
Josh Kaul, along with the Attorney Generals of Illinois, New Jersey, and other states, wrote a letter to Facebook asking them to take strict action against using the platform to spread violence and hate speech. The letter also made some recommendations, which are as follow:
- Aggressively enforce policies against fake speech and organized hate organizations.
- Allow public audits of hate content.
- Commit to independent analysis of the content population.
- Expand policies that limit vilification of minority groups.
- Offer real-time assistance.
- Make information about harassment and intimidation readily available.
- Strengthening filtration.
Today, as Facebook and other social media outlets blocked Donald Trump from posting his radical ambitions on the Internet, big credit for this goes to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.
Josh Kaul has also been subject to criticism along with Senator Tammy Baldwin for not openly condemning police support to the right-wing vigilantes, and the inability of the police officers for not arresting the man who shot two people in anti-police protests. Many critics said that if Kaul wants his rhetoric of police reforms to be considered seriously, he should have an aggressive stance on the issue.
The Wisconsin Attorney General has been aggressive regarding the fascist tactics of President Trump and his administration. He openly criticized Trump when he sent the National Guard against Black Lives Matter protestors.
In democracies, people have the right to protest against injustice in the country, and curbing these protests with the National Guard is a fascist strategy. Josh Kaul did not play on the back foot while policing Trump for his fascist agenda in the United States.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.