“This Is Deeply Fascist”: People Are Floored That This Banner Was Actually Placed On A Government Building In DC

A large banner of Donald Trump’s official portrait now hangs prominently on the U.S. Department of Agriculture building in Washington, D.C. It is set against text that reads, “USDA, Growing America since 1862.”

The installation coincided with the USDA’s 163rd anniversary. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins shared images of the banner’s installation on social media alongside a message declaring that after 163 years, “the best is yet to come.” She credited President Trump’s “bold vision” for “ushering in a Golden Age for our farmers.”

The portrait hangs alongside a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, who founded the department in 1862.

Online, however, the reaction has been intense. Many say that the prominent display of the nation’s highest-ranking public figure bears an unsettling resemblance to imagery familiar in authoritarian regimes, where portraits of leaders are used to assert dominance and remind citizens of their power. Think “Big Brother” of George Orwell’s book 1984.

Historical parallels quickly followed. One example: Adolf Hitler, whose image became a symbol of the Nazi regime in similar public displays. Here it is on the UFA headquarters, a Berlin-based film company central to Nazi propaganda, in 1939 for his birthday.

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Or, the portraits of Stalin that loomed over Soviet streets, elevating him to an almost god-like status who is always watching — like this one in Leningrad.

As one commenter pointed out, this kind of visual dominance is also common among today’s controversial leaders. Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro have all displayed their likenesses prominently in public spaces.

That’s not to mention those in history — Mao Zedong’s image at Tiananmen Gate, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and Fidel Castro of Cuba — who’ve all also done the same.

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The comparisons have struck a nerve online.

“Yeah right ..” one person wrote in response to Sec. Rollins’ tweet of the banner. “Different country different century but the same vibe,” they continued, attaching a propaganda poster of Stalin.

“This is deeply fascist,” wrote Fred Wellman, an army combat veteran and the host of the On Democracy podcast, in a viral tweet.

Political commentator and MSNBC analyst Tim Miller added, “Its interesting that these freedom loving MAGA alpha males want to institute this deeply creepy 3rd world culture where we have a national daddy that must be obeyed.”

Brian Tyler Cohen, a prominent progressive political host, wrote, “Trump is spending $92 million on a birthday military parade and plastering his face on the sides of government buildings. Washington, DC is becoming Pyongyang, North Korea.”

Not everyone finds the display troubling. Some supporters have drawn comparisons to Obama’s iconic “Hope” posters from his 2008 presidential campaign, viewing it as just another example of political imagery.

Still, those were campaign posters, not banners draped over government buildings.

But let me know what you think — is this just a simple celebration of leadership, or a nod to authoritarian aesthetics? Let us know in the comments.

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