Over the coarse of Trump's campaign and presidency a number of media sources and scholars along both American party-lines have questioned whether Donald Trump is fascist or shows fascist tendencies. Conclusions differ, with some stating that Trump's rhetoric and proposals are clearly fascist, while others make a firm distinction between Trump and any such views. Comparisons to known fascist dictators have been made, with some calling them apt and others dismissing the notion of similarity on the grounds that comparisons are weak and invoke Godwin's Law.
In a criticized move on the 28th of February 2016 Donald Trump quoted the former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in a tweet with:
"@ilduce2016: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” – @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain"
This drew criticism from a range of sources, with some defending Trump on the grounds that the quote was innocuous and that it was not clear that Trump knew it was by Mussolini.