If Antifascists Are the Enemy, Then Fascism Is the Friend
Declaring antifascists the enemy is not a legal act. It is a political confession.
By Christian Amato
Originally published in Outspoken on October 14, 2025
Donald Trump’s September executive order did not just target “antifa.” It showed exactly where his administration stands. By declaring antifascists a terrorist threat, the White House chose its ally. If those who resist fascism are the enemy, then fascism itself has been welcomed as a friend.
The word antifa is short for anti-fascist. That is not up for debate. People argue about tactics, organization, and identity, but the meaning is clear. To be against antifa is to be against antifascism. Trump has put that in writing.
The order carries no legal weight. A president cannot designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization. Courts and the FBI have said it again and again. Antifa is an idea, not an institution. But legality was never the point. This was a signal to law enforcement, to state governments, and to allies abroad.
The results were immediate. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton launched undercover investigations to root out so-called “leftist terror cells.” He tied antifa to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and added transgender activists as if ideology itself were evidence of crime. Across the Atlantic, the European far right repeated Trump’s lines, calling for antifa to be treated as terrorists in their own countries. A meaningless order became a weapon to criminalize opposition.
Then the public played along. Google searches for “what is antifa” hit record highs in September and October. People were looking for clarity. Trump provided a definition: terrorists. It was simple, powerful, and wrong.
This is how authoritarian narratives work. They flip reality upside down. If opposing fascism is terrorism, then the state has already chosen the side of fascism.
History offers plenty of warning. McCarthy painted critics as communists. Hoover labeled civil rights leaders as radicals. Power has always tried to frame its challengers as threats to national security. Trump’s antifa order is the newest version of that playbook. But the language is even starker. It is not an implication. It is a blunt declaration.
The danger is not only the criminalization of dissent. It is the normalization of its opposite. When antifascists are terrorists, fascists are treated as allies. When resistance is outlawed, repression is legitimized.
That is the choice this administration has made: to align itself not with those who stand against authoritarianism, but with the forces of authoritarianism itself. The order may be legally empty, but politically, it is full of meaning.
And the meaning is clear. If antifascists are the enemy, then fascism is no longer a threat. It is the plan.
This essay first appeared in Outspoken, my political commentary series. Subscribe here to get new essays directly.