There’s a silly Monty Python sketch from a half-century ago that some of you surely remember, and it spawned an enduring meme — though we didn’t have that name for it then. In the scene, a hapless character who is annoyed about being asked a lot of baffling questions complains, “I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition,” at which point a trio of red-caped cardinals bursts into the room, with one exclaiming, “No-o-o-body expects the Spanish Inquisition!” The sketch became a recurring segment and the farcical phrase took hold. You hear it still, sometimes from people whose grandparents might have laughed at the original show, maybe in cannabis-fueled delight.
Back in 15th-century Spain, the actual Inquisition was no laughing matter, of course, and a lot of people actually did expect it – that is, they saw it coming. Plenty of direct statements foreshadowed what rulers were about to do to groups of people they considered infidels and heretics. Once Pope Sixtus IV gave his blessing to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the official campaigns of cleansing began. Few people in positions of influence stepped up to speak against the abuses; those close to the throne asserted that things would turn out better in the long run.
So agents of the crown forced hundreds of thousands to convert from Islam and Judaism and to embrace a rigid set of beliefs that remain the core of today’s Christianity. Perhaps 150,000 people were prosecuted and 5,000 executed. This reign of terror eventually drew to a close, especially owing to the expansion of knowledge and growing respect for individual liberty that flowered during the Enlightenment.
I’m sure you’ve figured out why I’m talking about this. Maybe you’ll think it’s a stretch to draw an analogy from the Inquisition to the Reign of Horror launched by President Donald Trump in January. But, in fact, Trump and his acquiescent mob are similarly taking aim at individuals, institutions and practices that aren’t in step with current orthodoxy — in this case, with the MAGA principles that have overtaken contemporary conservatism and obliterated the old Republican Party.
Trump has attacked institutions of higher education, demanding that they restrict free thought and change parts of their curriculum to fit what he considers appropriate. He has moved to deport people based on their expressed political views, without due process. He is trying to restrict the medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria. He’s punishing law firms that have tried to assert his opponents’ legal rights, and he has suggested that judges who have ruled some of his actions to be unconstitutional should be thrown out of office. He’s attacking truthful news reporting, of course, and punishing reporters who don’t use the words he dictates.
We don’t know where this will all wind up. But like the people of 1478, we’ve known that it was coming. Trump told us exactly what vengeance he would wreak, what powerful interests he would serve. Oh, he insisted throughout the campaign that he wouldn’t follow the radical Project 2025 playbook, but surely nobody believed him – he’s a habitual liar. So, no surprise: two-thirds of the executive actions he took during his first week in office flowed directly from Project 2025. Everybody who was paying attention expected the Trump Inquisition if he won.
So things are bleak. But let’s consider three points.
First, Trump is not as strong as he pretends; for all his braggadocio, his margin over Kamala Harris was just 1.62 percent, one of the closest elections since 1960. And a majority of voters say America is on the wrong track. We’re often told this is a 50-50 electorate. So let’s not consider the man invulnerable and bow so easily to his demands.
Second, our voices can make a difference. Even a Congress captive to Trump can be forced to pay attention. What Elon Musk is doing in Trump’s name is quite unpopular, and Congress can’t ignore it forever. People will be watching Democratic performance in upcoming special House elections, including the race in upstate New York to replace Elise Stefanik. American voters are not monolithically pro-Trump, so pushback can be effective.
Third, and most importantly, the inhumanity of Trump’s initiatives invites us to consider the power that acts of humanity can have as tools of subversion. Attacking gender-fluid children, turning career government officials out onto the street, raising families’ cost of living with inflationary tariffs, denying life-saving healthcare from millions of children worldwide: It’s simply cruel.
The Roman philosopher Seneca offers this notion: “All cruelty springs from weakness.” So we must meet Trump’s weakness and cruelty with our own acts of humanity and strength – day by day, in our own communities.
We each need to be a part of community efforts that speak today to the very ideas that powered the Enlightenment: projects that support the values of truth and reason and liberty, the power of science and education, the beauty of the arts, the dignity of each person.
The Spanish Inquisition wasn’t stopped in a day; nor will the worst excesses of Trumpism fade quickly. But day by day, each of us can engage in acts of humanity – and we can support those who are committed to making a difference – and in that, we will push back against Donald Trump’s Reign of Horror: the American Inquisition.
Rex Smith, the co-host of The Media Project on WAMC, is the former editor of the Times Union of Albany and The Record in Troy. His weekly digital report, The Upstate American, is published by Substack.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.