Against the backdrop of the unpopularity of the Iran war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on July 15, 2026 that the Pentagon would begin testing male service members aged 30 and older for low testosterone levels. The department later said this would include assessing symptoms of low testosterone levels, such as “lower sexual desire, loss of spontaneous morning erections, erectile dysfunction, reduced energy and physical performance, difficulty concentrating, loss of muscle mass and depressed mood”.
The combination of aggressive masculinity and militarism, as well as the influence of tests such as the “spontaneous morning erection” necessary for war, is emblematic of the government’s tendency to combine fascist ideas and symbols with downright embarrassing messages, or what I call “cringe fascism.”
For some time, there has been debate among writers, historians, and public intellectuals about whether Donald Trump’s presidency can be considered “fascist.” Some believe this statement is exaggerated or inaccurate, while others believe it is a useful and accurate ideological label.
Either way, it’s hard to deny that the Trump administration frequently borrows fascist imagery and symbolism in its official messaging.
This is where the concept of “cringe fascism” comes in. In internet terms, cringe is a kind of surrogate embarrassment when someone posts something that should be embarrassing but doesn’t seem embarrassing to them.
For their part, members of the Trump administration have relied on language and symbolism borrowed from the fascist or authoritarian playbook, and have done so in ways often derided by commentators as patently absurd or embarrassing — or cringe-worthy.
But these seemingly silly ideas, like Hegseth’s testosterone policy, hide a more serious — and to some critics, fascist — reality. Furthermore, this is why deploying cringe can be effective: It can energize conservative voters by attacking the left, while reducing extremely serious policy debates to the level of Internet memes.
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Such considerations about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are being tested as Americans prepare for the midterm elections and what is sure to be a contentious presidential election in 2028. This is especially true as he continues to threaten the integrity of elections, deploys immigration and other federal law enforcement officers on U.S. streets in highly controversial ways, and attempts to target the media and restrict access.
Reshaping the image of fascism in the Internet age
As a scholar of conspiracy theorists, I am surprised by some of the blatant repurposing of fascist imagery by members of Trump’s inner circle.
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Consider, for example, the Department of Homeland Security’s use of nationalist and fascist “blood and soil” imagery in slogans, or its encouragement of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruits to “defend our country.”
Then came an attack on the media as the “enemy of the people” that echoed totalitarian leaders of the past, followed by Trump banning mainstream media from the White House and launching Trump TV as a national channel. Critics see this move to attack and restrict the media as a sign of fascist methods.
In an even more obvious borrowing of fascist tropes, Trump posted mockups of potential new Space Force uniforms on social media. The post claims to be inspired by Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers, in which the soldiers deliberately mimic the fascist aesthetic and ideology of the Nazis.
The rise of cringe-worthy fascism
Authoritarian and fascist tropes aside, the Trump administration can’t seem to avoid “cringe.”
Recent examples include the White House tweeting an image of Trump as a video game character on select screens, wearing a sleeveless blue suit and bulging muscles, or sharing an artificial intelligence parody of the new The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game and playing an embarrassing pixelated video of Trump running on the White House lawn. Or consider posts that depict Trump as a Green Lantern, using his magic ring to erect a spectral border wall, launch military attacks and repair American industry.
On the one hand, the Trump administration appears determined to keep his party in power and enact a transformative “Make America Great Again” policy agenda. Trump, on the other hand, seems unable to avoid embarrassing riffs, such as his digressions on the male body, in ways that seem at odds with his tough-guy persona. It was surreal to see the commander-in-chief wax poetic about Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s home front.
Trump’s seemingly incongruous comments, which come as the defense secretary promotes hypermasculinity in the military through testosterone testing, reflect the heady mix of masculinity and military supremacy that has long been a hallmark of fascism. Such a policy is also inconsistent with the performance of the professional military under previous administrations.
trudging into the midterm elections
The mix of fascist aesthetics and cringe-worthy posts highlights the internal contradictions of the Trump administration.
It’s hard for observers to dismiss critics as “fascist” when they see such embarrassing displays of stupidity online. When official communications from the White House and federal agencies are filled with tough talk, snark and winces, basic policies can get lost in the shuffle.
It’s hard to know whether this outpouring of cringe was always intentional, but it was certainly confusing and hilarious to both Trump supporters and opponents. But this masks the fact that many critics have decried the authoritarian behavior of this administration, and these comparisons to fascism continue to fuel public discussion.
Masked ICE agents continue to operate with some legal protection from the White House, in sometimes deadly efforts to track down and round up people widely accused of entering the country illegally.
Likewise, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it could deploy ICE agents to polling locations, and the agency has reportedly attempted to gain access to voter information through increased surveillance to investigate alleged voter fraud.
It seems absurd, even unconscious, for an administration to take a cold-blooded approach, as the five-day tenure of former press secretary Katie Zacharia illustrates, and the administration often leaves itself open to ridicule and caricature. Yet this is why using such a concept can be so strategically effective: it turns potentially deadly serious policy consequences and ideological choices into a game of memes and online gamesmanship.
Matthew N. Hannah, associate professor of rhetoric, politics and culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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