FORMER PRESIDENT MARY Robinson has said that elements of fascism are clearly  present in the administration of US President Donald Trump, while condemning the government’s “barrage of lies” about the killing of a man by immigration agents in Minnesota. 

Nurse Alex Pretti was shot dead by a federal immigration officer during a protest in Minneapolis over the weekend and video evidence has directly contradicted the claims made by US officials. 

Pretti’s parents have issued a statement condemning the administration’s “sickening lies” about their son. He is the second person to have been shot and killed by an immigration agent in Minnesota this month, after Renee Good was killed on 7 January. 

The deaths have led to large-scale protests in Minneapolis but aggressive raids by immigration agents have not let up.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio this morning, Robinson was asked if categorising the Trump administration as fascist was accurate. 

“I’ve certainly seen the elements that were certainly what built up fascism in Germany (in the 1930s),” Robinson said.

“The elements are there. There’s no doubt about it.” 

Robinson said she has been following the situation and the reaction to the two killings closely, “and how the lies were instant by President Trump himself and his administration”.

“Actually, I think we may be seeing what the governor called an inflection point, because President Trump and his administration have used a barrage of lies to muddy every scene,” she said, referring to a statement made by Minnesota governor Tim Walz following Pretti’s killing.

“Everything is now lies upon lies, and they’re not supposed to be believed. They’re supposed to just confuse people,” Robinson said. 

However, she said that “now these lies are no longer confusing people because they’re looking at the videos” of the shootings. 

“Those lies cannot stand up to the video evidence in both cases. People see, and I think this is the moment when the lies are not as effective as they have been up to now, in causing a massive confusion.”

In the same interview, Robinson also condemned Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, saying it was “a board of power for one person”. 

“How could Ireland join such a board?” she asked, adding that Trump “has become power obsessed now”.