--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trump, like that canary in the coalmine…" description: "\"Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what elements of fascism are really like. Let's be honest. The racism, the ignorance, the stupidit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg" --- # Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what… ![“Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what elements of fascism are really like. Let's be honest. The racism, the ignorance, the stupidity, the baiting, the great-man affect, this notion that he exists in a circle of certainty that can't be doubted, this kind of perverse hatred of…” quote by Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg) > “Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what elements of fascism are really like. Let's be honest. The racism, the ignorance, the stupidity, the baiting, the great-man affect, this notion that he exists in a circle of certainty that can't be doubted, this kind of perverse hatred of the other. We've seen this before. This legacy is not new. What we have to recognize is the different form that it takes at a different moment in history.” [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that modern political figures can embody classic fascist traits, repackaged for today’s context, urging awareness of their underlying hatred and manipulation. **In simple terms:** Modern leaders can hide old fascist ideas in new forms. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge disguised hatred. Themes politics fascism media identity power Mood critical concerned analytical Type commentary political observational When to use this quote - elections - public discourse - activism - education - policy making Key Concepts authoritarianism cult of personality propaganda social division Questions to Reflect On - How do we differentiate genuine populism from fascist revival? - What signs indicate hidden hatred in leadership? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex political dynamics and ignore non‑fascist motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Fascism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascism/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) ## Related quotes > [American fascism will not be really dangerous until there is a purposeful coalition among the cartelists, the deliberate poisoners of public information, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/american-fascism-will-not-be-really-dangerous-until-there-is-a/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/fascism-was-really-the-basis-for-the-new-deal/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [To know what Fascism really is we must first of all know what it is we are fighting, what the Fascist regimes really are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-seldes/to-know-what-fascism-really-is-we-must-first-of-all-know-what-it-is/) [George Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-seldes/) > [Racism is nothing more than ignorance, we are in the dessert together at one time in our lives, we got segregated by peoples beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-assaraf/racism-is-nothing-more-than-ignorance-we-are-in-the-dessert-together/) [John Assaraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-assaraf/) > [“The demand to be intimate or honest with a public can be invasive when the experiences of racial others are commodified as stories or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-thi-nguyen/the-demand-to-be-intimate-or-honest-with-a-public-can-be-invasive/) Mimi Thi Nguyen > [Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/racism-is-about-education-racism-is-ignorance/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [Many people in America throw the term "fascism" around, particularly for Middle-Eastern terrorists, but in fact what fascism really is is a close alliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/many-people-in-america-throw-the-term-fascism-around-particularly-for/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Have you doubted your progress, regretted your choices, put yourself down? Remember that you are doing just fine. Remind yourself right now that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/have-you-doubted-your-progress-regretted-your-choices-put-yourself/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [He whose faith never doubted, may justly doubt of his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/he-whose-faith-never-doubted-may-justly-doubt-of-his-faith/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [Her underwear, her jeans, the comforter, my corduroys and my boxers between us, I thought. Five layers, and yet I felt it, the nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/her-underwear-her-jeans-the-comforter-my-corduroys-and-my-boxers/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Redtail was a brave warrior. His loyalty to ThunderClan could never be doubted. I always relied on his judgment, for it bore witness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/redtail-was-a-brave-warrior-his-loyalty-to-thunderclan-could-never-be/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [I was given the gifts of the artist, and the trouble that goes with them: So I have that blessing, and there was never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/i-was-given-the-gifts-of-the-artist-and-the-trouble-that-goes-with/) [Louise Berliawsky Nevelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/) > [The purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced - the just demands of peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-purposes-of-the-united-states-should-not-be-doubted-the-security/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“For the longest time, Cinderella had doubted Friedrich was ever serious about her. Now, as she saw the way his fingers twitched with nervousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-shea/for-the-longest-time-cinderella-had-doubted-friedrich-was-ever/) [K.M. Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-shea/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Henry Giroux > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As politics is disconnected from its ethical and material moorings, it becomes easier to punish and imprison young people than to educate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-politics-is-disconnected-from-its-ethical-and-material-moorings-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What must be addressed in the most immediate sense is the threat that the emerging police state in the United States poses not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-must-be-addressed-in-the-most-immediate-sense-is-the-threat-that/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Today's neoliberalism has a number of byproducts. We have massive forms of inequality developing because there are no longer any concessions. There's a war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/today-s-neoliberalism-has-a-number-of-byproducts-we-have-massive/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [At the start of the second decade of the 21st century, young people all over the world are demonstrating against a variety of issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/at-the-start-of-the-second-decade-of-the-21st-century-young-people/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [America is at war with itself because it's basically declared war not only on any sense of democratic idealism, but it's declared war on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-is-at-war-with-itself-because-it-s-basically-declared-war-not/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [All too often the worst thing that can happen to the young is to depoliticize them. When that happens, not only are young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/all-too-often-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-the-young-is-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The generation of youth in the early 21st century has no way of grasping if they will ever be free from the gnawing sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-generation-of-youth-in-the-early-21st-century-has-no-way-of/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [History remains an open horizon that cannot be dismissed through appeals to the end of history or end of ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/history-remains-an-open-horizon-that-cannot-be-dismissed-through/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I mean, we're not talking about simply racism, we're taking about white supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/i-mean-we-re-not-talking-about-simply-racism-we-re-taking-about-white/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Historical memory is a potent weapon in fighting against the desert of organized forgetting and implies a rethinking of the role that artists, intellectuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/historical-memory-is-a-potent-weapon-in-fighting-against-the-desert/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The fight for education and justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic equality, human dignity and security, and the challenge of developing American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-fight-for-education-and-justice-is-inseparable-from-the-struggle/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If the ongoing struggles waged by young people are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-ongoing-struggles-waged-by-young-people-are-to-matter/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many conservatives see higher education as a threat to their reactionary and corporate oriented interests and would like to defund higher education, privatize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-conservatives-see-higher-education-as-a-threat-to-their/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Everyone is now a customer or client, and every relationship is ultimately judged in bottom-line, cost-effective terms. Freedom is no longer about equality, social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/everyone-is-now-a-customer-or-client-and-every-relationship-is/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) [Explore all 323 Henry Giroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) Maynard Ferguson > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [ The opening for solid waste is very small \[in the space ship\]. It's not toilet-bowl size. And aim is critical. To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [We live in a world in which the only utopian visions arrive in commercial breaks: magical visions of an impossibly hospitable world, peopled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-the-only-utopian-visions-arrive-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 1,333 Being honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what elements of fascism are really like. Let's be honest. The racism, the ignorance, the stupidity, the baiting, the great-man affect, this notion that he exists in a circle of certainty that can't be doubted, this kind of perverse hatred of the other. We've seen this before. This legacy is not new. What we have to recognize is the different form that it takes at a different moment in history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Giroux" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-makes-clear-what-elements-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-makes-clear-what-elements-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/henry-giroux-945_being-honest_trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-m_234444.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Trump, like that canary in the coalmine, makes clear what elements of fascism are really like. Let's be…” — Henry Giroux", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henry Giroux", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Trump, like that canary in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-makes-clear-what-elements-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/trump-like-that-canary-in-the-coalmine-makes-clear-what-elements-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```