“It is well documented that strongmen are at their most dangerous when they feel threatened,” Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian and scholar of authoritarianism, wrote in a New York Times guest essay. “That is why, as popular discontent with the Trump administration’s actions deepens, Americans should brace for heightened militarized domestic repression and more imperialist aggression abroad.”
Ruth wrote that on February 1st, nearly a month before Donald Trump and Netanyahu launched their illegal war on Iran.
In the past three weeks, Trump has doubled down on his catastrophic decision, and there are no signs of a plausible off-ramp. As civilians and soldiers die, Trump now threatens Cuba and engages in daily victimhood on his broken social media platform. He says he can “take” Cuba, and he alone has “the absolute right” to impose tariffs. He has also said he is only restrained by his own mortality and mind, and he doesn’t need international law.
There’s a reason Ben-Ghiat wrote the book Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present in 2020, because Trump’s rhetoric and actions reminded her of authoritarian leaders in the past who attacked their critics, removed guardrails, surrounded themselves with incompetent Reeks, and embarked on escalating, reckless policies as they began to lose popular support.
History, sadly, is rhyming and repeating. On her Substack, Ben-Ghiat wrote a piece yesterday analyzing the latest events through a historical lens and concludes that we are now witnessing a case study of “autocratic backfire.” She joins The Left Hook to connect the thoughts and expand on her argument.
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Thank you Natasha K., Mandy Ohman, Just Breathe, Marnie Screams Into the Void, Jill Jonassen, and many others for tuning into my live video with Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Francesca Fiorentini! Join me for my next live video in the app.
