I think a lot of the discussion about the fascism question is based less on the facts than on whether or not it's a good "party line" for the left, if it's strategically smart to focus on fascism as a threat or if it "lets liberals off" etc.

But Corey Robin points out that there is a huge upsurge of political participation and left movements are more galvanized than ever, and we've had a high turn out election etc. I think that's in part due people's perception that Trump represents an existential threat to democracy

Antifascism is probably one of the left's most attractive positions for otherwise normie liberals, and it can bring people into proximity with left wing thought and movements for the first time. I think this is part of the reason "antifa" is so reviled by the right.

Even if, strictly constructed, Trumpism is not fascism, the perception that it was or was the gateway to fascism can't really said to hurt the left or be a distraction. That argument makes very little sense to me.

I think the issue for a lot of people is that it's too imaginatively compelling and not "realistic" enough, as if that was a bad thing politically.

To be fair, a lot of the reasoning on both sides of this debate is politically motivated.

It's probably even more petty than politically motivated really: there are people who got a great deal of attention for screaming that Trump was literally a fascist, and now there are others who are getting attention for making fun of those people as hysterics and grifters

Partly it is no longer in fashion because it is too earnest, "a battle of good vs. evil, for the soul of democracy—who could believe that crap?" Sure, but as this election has shown, cringe wins

One more thing, a lot of these people are Bernie supporters, but Bernie's entire origin story is explicitly antifascist! He talks about the Nazis as the reason he got into politics. I think he's absolutely sincere, but that's also appealing!