BENITO MUSSOLINI: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

TRUMP’S AUDACIOUS BANNING OF REPORTERS WHO DISAGREE WITH HIS ACTIONS is yet another step in his striving for fascist rule. Ava Berger reports, “CNN, MS NOW, Politico Reporters Denied Access to White House Following Trump Ban,” NPR, September 19, 2026.

Berger recounts, “Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday he was banning these outlets from the White House, citing negative coverage of his administration and saying media outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly report ‘FICTION and LIES’ when they cover the president of the United States. He warned other news outlets would follow. It’s Trump’s latest move in an ongoing battle against the media.”

“FICTION and LIES”?? Who’s he kidding?

“He also said,” Berger reports, “ ‘They purposely write negative news, and they do that because they want to try and diminish the Republicans and a Republican administration.’ Trump said there was no specific news story that led to his decision, instead it was a frustration that had built up over the last two years.” 

Geez. What About Our Frustration? See “Seeking Rationality Among Republicans,” SimanaitisSays, August 9, 2026: What about the Trump/Netanyahu war, the Hormuz Strait and now the Bab el-Mandeb counterpart and their effects on the world’s energy supplies? What about the soaring costs of diesel, jet fuel, home heating oil, and other inevitable influences on our economy?

Trump’s Own “Fake News.” His U.N. rant about climate change being a “con job.” (As counterexamples, note record-breaking high temperatures throughout the world. The el Nino-affected Pacific coastline damage. And what about Mar-a-Lago’s future?) And then there’s Trump’s promoting fossil fuels and gutting U.S. EV progress (coincidentally after he and Musk had their falling out. And remember when Trump Turned the White House Lawn into a Tesla Showroom.)

A Historical Perspective: Daniel Costanzo describes Benito Mussolini’s “Fascism: Rise to Power and Media Manipulation,” Italian Culture, April 27, 2023: “His regime was characterized by a cult of personality and strong emphasis on propaganda. The Fascist Party controlled all media forms and used them to spread a myth of Mussolini as a heroic veteran and leader who’d unify Italy and restore it to prosperity like during the Roman Empire.”

Costanzo has also offered three other Italian Culture essays: “Fascism in Italy: Rise and Fall of Benito Mussolini,” October 26, 2020; “How Mussolini Used the Legend of the Roman Empire to Create Fascist Italy,” April 28, 2021; and “The Power of Dress: How Fashion Was Used in Fascist Italy to Promote a ‘New Italian Identity.’ ” Each is worth reading.

I’m reminded of Trump’s split-screen image with George Washington, though it’s not nearly as whacko as Trump kissing a golden crucifix.

All Content Reviewed. Costanzo recounts, “Soon after Mussolini’s appointment as prime minister [1922], the newspapers across the country became tightly State-run so that all content would be reviewed prior to being printed and dispersed.”

RRNG: Rendiamo Roma di Nuovo Grande (Make Rome Great Again). Costanzo describes, “The regime even went so far as to create radio stations like ‘Radio Rurale’ and ‘Radiobalilla’ to specifically target the rural and children populations…. They persecuted those who wrote against the regime and on many occasions raided bookstores that sold ‘contraband.’ ”

Costanzo describes “a war-torn Europe with dead citizens on the street, blaming America and Great Britain for the death and destruction.” This was typical of propaganda fed to the Italian people of the era.

A Son-in-Law’s Tale. Wikipedia describes that Galeazzo Ciano, married to Mussolini’s daughter Edda, served briefly as Minister of Press and Propaganda 1935-1936 prior to being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs 1936-1943 and Ambassador to the Vatican 1943.

Sound familiar? But wait….

Wikipedia continues, “In July 1943, Ciano was among the members of the Grand Council of Fascism that forced Mussolini’s ousting and subsequent arrest. Ciano proceeded to flee to Germany but was arrested and handed over to Mussolini’s new regime based in Salò, the Italian Social Republic. Mussolini ordered Ciano’s death, and in January 1944, he was executed by firing squad.”

Benito Mussolini was executed by firing squad on April 28, 1945.

How the mighty have fallen. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026