In on my Substack Show, “Amped Up,” David Shuster and I welcomed Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian of authoritarianism. Our convo concerned America’s ongoing flirtation with fascism in the form of a thin-skinned, senility-soaked, “President.” We discussed the calculated cruelty of Trumpism, and how elites always think they can “control the monster”—til the monster has ‘em for lunch.
We dug into Project 2025, which Ruth warned isn’t just a policy blueprint, but the actual roadmap to autocracy. She broke down how illiberal regimes like this hollow out democracy from the inside, replacing courts, the bureaucracy and independent watchdogs’ loyalty to law with loyalty to the leader–generally, one anti-social, grievance-soaked buffoon. Sound familiar?
One of the most powerful exchanges came when we discussed how MAGA’s eating itself alive over Iran. The grift, disinformation, wildly contradictory narratives, all starting to combust under their own weight. And yet, that’s precisely when these movements can be most dangerous…She had a hopeful message too, esepecially with the huge recent protests.
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