The United States on path to fascism, on verge of collapse: Ron Paul

File Photo of Former House representative Ron Paul (R) along with his son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

Former US congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul says a year of apparent economic growth under President Donald Trump is an illusion and that the American political system is on the verge of coming apart similar to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. 

In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, Paul said huge heaps of debt, inflation, and inequality could cause turmoil in the US.

“We’re on the verge of something like what happened in ‘89 when the Soviet system just collapsed,” he said. “I’m just hoping our system comes apart as gracefully as the Soviet system."

The former Republican lawmaker from Texas said he does not necessarily believe the US will break into separate countries, but instead forecasts a complete overhaul of US monetary policy and an end to what he considers the US “empire” overseas.

“We have ownership of these countries, but it’s not quite like the Soviets did,” he said. “I think our stature in the world and our empire will end, and that’s when, hopefully, the doors will be open and [people will] say, ‘Hey, maybe these libertarians have some answers to this.’”

Paul said “the country’s feeling a lot better, but it’s all on borrowed money” and that “the whole system’s an illusion” built on corporate, personal, and governmental debt.

“It’s a bubble economy in many many different ways and it’s going to come unglued.”

Trump’s 2020 GOP primary challenge

Paul, who served in the US House of Representatives from 1976 until 2013, contended that Trump could face a strong challenger in the 2020 Republican primary presidential elections, especially if “things are really much worse."

“The appearance of the libertarian movement has been set back partially because of Trump, but intellectually we’ve been doing well,” Paul said, describing a large "hardcore nucleus" of conference-attending enthusiasts.

On Sunday, Republican senator Jeff Flake had also warned that Trump may face inside GOP competition as nominee for the 2020 presidential election if he decides to pursue a second term.

"I do believe if the president is running for re-election, if he continues on the path that he's on, that that's going to leave a huge swath of voters looking for something else," Flake, one of the few Republican lawmakers to publicly condemn Trump, said in an interview on ABC's "This Week."

Trump foreign policy ‘a total disaster’

Paul also said he's disappointed with Trump's foreign policy, especially his approach toward North Korea and his support for Saudi Arabia's military role in Yemen.

“I think the foreign policy is a total disaster. Trump’s approach sounds good one day but the next day he’s antagonizing everyone in the world and thinks we should start a war here and there."

US on path to fascism

Paul, who sought the US presidency in 2008 and 2012, said he continues to view the US as being on a path to fascism.

“This time when we have a permanent war on terrorism there’s no backing off — and with the war on immigrants, and the borders,” he said. “Anybody who thinks we’re not doing too badly has not been flying on an airplane lately. That’s about as authoritarian-fascism as you can get.”