Ross Douthat of the New York Times does not specifically argue that Trump is not a fascist, but did state that Trump "isn't really an ideological conservative."
Trump "clearly doesn’t care a whit for limited government or libertarianism, and he’s delighted with a hyperactive state so long as it’s working hand-in-glove with corporate interests," Douthat wrote in a New York Times column picked up by the National Post.
Douthat stated that the "absence of a real American fascism" can be explained in part by some elements in the "American conservative tradition," including: "libertarian skepticism of state power, a stress on localism and states’ rights, a religious and particularly Protestant emphasis on the conscience of an individual over the power of the collective ..."
In a separate column in the Washington Post, titled Why you should stop calling Donald Trump a fascist, Max Ehrenfreund also addresses arguments that equate some of Trump's ideas to fascism.
"The key aspects of fascism are at odds with Trump's persona and his message," Ehrenfreund wrote. "For all his bluster, a President Trump wouldn't pursue the authoritarian, collectivist agenda that characterized Germany's Nazi Party and Italy's Benito Mussolini, at least not according to what he's said so far about his political views."
