“Strongmen: Why Authoritarian Leaders Succeed and
How They Fall”
(Post program note: Many of us have wondered how so many women can support Donald Trump? Dr. Ruth Ben- Ghiat provides the answer!)
Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an international, award-winning, scholar on authoritarianism and fascism who told Don Lemon on CNN Tonight, during the October 2019 impeachment process that, “once authoritarians get into office, it’s very difficult to get them out.”
Dr. Ben-Ghiat’s new book is the first book to place Donald Trump in the context of a century of authoritarianism. Knowing that Donald Trump uses the same playbook as past rulers – corruption, machismo, propaganda, and incitements to violence – has allowed Dr. Ghiat to forecast his actions since 2016, including the possibility he would refuse to concede an election. And, as we’ve seen, hasn’t!
Listen to Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat for her help to guide us through this rocky transition and learn about her brief daily videos that comment on why Trump does what he does and what to expect from him in the coming weeks and months because he views “exit from office a kind-of psychological annihilation and is all to happy to drag others down with him.”
Interview Guest:
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, is an award-winning author and political commentator on fascism, authoritarian leadership, and propaganda.
She has received Guggenheim, Getty, Library of Congress, NEH, and other fellowships and she offers historically informed analyses of current events in regular columns for CNN.com and the Washington Post, and on radio, podcasts, and television. Her new, recently published, book is: “Strongman: Mussolini to the Present.” Follow her on Twitter @ruthbenghiat.
