By WILL WEISSERT and LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris asked this week if he thought Donald Trump was a fascist and replied, “Yes, I am.” He later told her the same thing, saying voters did not want “a fascist US president who admires dictators.”

So what exactly is a fascist? And from a historical or political perspective, does the meaning of the word change, especially this close to the end of a fraught presidential race?

Here’s a closer look:

What is fascism?

An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and is characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to suppress political and civil dissent.

The two most famous fascists in history were Germany’s Nazi chief Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or “The Duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, symbolized by an eagle holding a fascia consisting of a bunch of sticks with an ax between them.

In October 1922, at the urging of Mussolini, thousands of “Blackshirts” or “squadristi” formed armed fascist militias who marched on Rome promising to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on militias known as the “Brownshirts”. Both men eventually imposed one-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used troops but also fueled civil unrest that pitted loyalists against political rivals and broader segments of society.

Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and published sophisticated propaganda. They expressed racist fears and manipulated not only their active supporters but also ordinary citizens.

Today, the term fascism has taken on a looser political definition and is often referred to as a set of efforts to spread oppression and racism, as well as efforts to condemn dictators or leaders who embrace totalitarian tactics.

It’s not just the left that uses this term to condemn movement to the right in the United States and many parts of the world. some conservatives condemned the lockdowns applied during coronavirus pandemic as “fascist”

What are other historical examples of fascism?

Hitler and Mussolini are its two biggest names, but things get darker from there.

Are military dictator Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year iron-fisted rule in Chile appropriate? What about Indonesian dictator Suharto or Spanish Francisco Franco? Were the regimes of Ferenc Szálasi in Hungary and Plínio Salgado in Brazil fascist? Where does American neo-Nazi leader David Duke fit in?

Indeed, critics sometimes describe extremist groups in the modern United States. applauded Trumplike Proud Boys – as fascists or neo-fascists. These labels may have more to do with political ideology than clear historical parallels.

Why is Harris calling Trump a fascist?

The vice president has long criticized Trump as mentally unstable and not a true believer or defender of the country’s founding democratic principles.

He states that Trump suggested this deploy military targeting political opponents, including those he described as “enemies from within.” The former president had long talked about attacking his enemies, and announced to his fans He said it would be their “punishment”.

“He’s talking about the American people. “He’s talking about journalists, judges and non-partisan election officials,” Harris said at a CNN town hall Wednesday night.