Revenge of the Sith: MAGA Edition

Donald Trump and MAGA's use and misappropriation of pop culture isn't just trolling, but a deliberate strategy used by fascists of the past to demonize critics and rationalize authoritarian rule.

Leave it to Donald Trump to corrupt, distort, and ruin everything he touches, including the beloved Star Wars franchise. “May the 4th” is an annual tradition celebrating the Star Wars universe and its multibillion-dollar global industry by playing on the film’s most popular quote, “May The Force Be With You.”

Instead of using the pop cultural reference to win over Americans, Trump and MAGA decided to unintentionally portray Donald Trump as an evil Sith Lord with a red lightsaber, complete with movie villain dialogue that revealed their utter contempt, fear, and dehumanization of anyone who opposes their regime of cruelty. They want us to disappear to foreign gulags in El Salvador or Alcatraz Island, which Trump wants to reopen as a prison.

If you’re unfamiliar with all this terminology, don’t worry, I have your back. More importantly, I’ll explain why Trump co-opting popular culture isn’t just the usual, immature trolling, but another troubling sign of MAGA’s fascist tendencies.

In the Star Wars universe, the Jedi are essentially Sufi warriors who are charged with restoring order, justice, and peace. They use the light side of the Force, a metaphysical energy, not only to enhance their senses and powers, but also to create empathy and connection with all living beings. The Sith Lords, however, use the dark side of the Force and feed off of rage, bitterness, and fear to amass and maintain power. They thrive off of oppression, dread, and division.

Star Wars is even more apt for current times because the series warns of a “phantom menace” who pretends to be a leader and steward of the democratic Republic but is secretly plotting an authoritarian takeover by manufacturing crises and ultimately declaring himself an Emperor.

Sound familiar?

Unlike Emperor Palpatine, the evil Sith Lord who cosplayed for years as a Senator while hatching his insidious plot, Donald Trump doesn’t even pretend to care about democracy or the rule of law. He has already incited a violent insurrection against our free and fair elections, and to this day, repeats the lie that he won the 2020 election. Once gaining power, he pardoned these violent criminals and is now open to compensating them. He has said he wants to terminate the Constitution and is open to being a dictator for a day. In February, he quoted Napoleon and posted, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

When pressed, his cult-like followers said he was just joking and trolling the libs. That’s the same excuse he offered today when told by a reporter that the image he posted of himself as the next Pope was offensive to Catholics. “You mean they can't take a joke?” he responded. “You don't mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it. I had nothing to do with it. Maybe it was AI.” So, “The Catholics” can’t take a joke, but then again it was fake news, but then it wasn’t because “The Catholics” loved it, but he isn’t responsible for it, and maybe someone else used AI.

Got that?

If you recall, Trump was joking at first when he repeatedly said he’d run for President again. Well, color me shocked, Trump is now selling 2028 merchandise and openly saying he’ll have JD Vance run as President, win the election, and then step aside and elevate him back to the Oval Office again. (He backed down from the claim over the weekend, but do you believe him?) Perhaps the leopard that eats faces isn’t a vegan. Perhaps a criminal and a lying vulgarian who praises authoritarian leaders and openly quotes Hitler by warning he will unleash the military and National Guard on “the enemy from within” should be taken literally and seriously. Those enemies, by the way, include immigrants, Muslims, feminists, LGBTQ+ people, the press, judges, Democrats, Republicans who don’t bend the knee, law firms, foreign allies, and anyone who disobeys or offends Trump.

Since we live in the United States of Amnesia and have the attention span of gnats, Donald Trump again told everyone over the weekend he is an aspiring fascist during his interview with Meet the Press. When asked by host Kristen Welker if he, as the President, needs to uphold the Constitution, Trump replied, “I don’t know.” When asked if he agrees with Secretary of State/Head of NSA/ Head of USAID/ Permanent Reek Marco Rubio that noncitizens were entitled to due process in the United States, Trump replied, “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”

Just sit with these answers for a moment. Don’t glaze over them or rush to the next scandal and distraction. The Sith Lord is in the White House, replacing the black robe with a gaudy Blue suit and red tie, but with the same contempt for the rule of law, human rights, a representative government, and a majority of the country that opposes him. If he sounds a lot like Emperor Palpatine, that’s because filmmaker George Lucas based the supervillain on dictators of the past, including Hitler, whom Trump loves to quote.

Another fascist leader who attempted to co-opt and corrupt pop culture to spread his authoritarian agenda was Italy’s Benito Mussolini, who portrayed himself as a strong, masculine “Il Duce” or supreme leader. Trump’s latest plan to make American movies great again by imposing a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies is a play from Mussolini’s playbook. Just like then, this plan will be disastrous and only harm the economy and make the US more politically and culturally isolated.

Unfortunately, the Jedi aren’t coming to save us. Yoda and Luke Skywalker aren’t real. It’ll be up to the rest of us, the average “nobodies,” just trying our best to get by and survive during a tanking economy and rising prices. However, the “nobodies” were the unsung heroes in the Star Wars universe that helped topple the seemingly insurmountable and all-powerful Empire. In the current acclaimed TV series, Andor, the heroes don’t wield lightsabers or use telepathic powers. They organize, unite, and get to work, using whatever levers of power they have to resist and break a fascist regime.

“A rebellion is built on hope.” That was the wisdom of Jyn Erso, who wasn’t a Jedi, but a formerly selfish loner who sacrificed herself for a great cause and helped bring down the Empire.

That’s a lesson for the rest of us, and a warning to Donald Trump and his MAGA cult.

Danielle and I break down all this BS in today’s episode of Democracy-Ish. Give us a watch!