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Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Trump, Orban, Xi/China and Whether She's Still Optimistic About American Democracy

Episode 509: Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Trump, Orban, Xi/China and Whether She's Still Optimistic About American Democracy

Professor, author, opinion columnist, MS NOW commentator, and fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Show notes

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships; an advisor to Protect Democracy; an MSNBC opinion columnist and television commentator; and publishes Lucid, a newsletter on threats to democracy. Her latest book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence, and machismo - and how they can be defeated.

Ruth's back with us again for a discussion on Trump's second-term autocratic overreach, including his latest brazen act of corruption, the $1.776-billion 'Anti-Weaponization' slush-fund and his IRS immunity 'settlement'.

So is Ruth as optimistic as she was back in December? Tune in to see where Ruth currently stands on Trump's threats to democracy; her takeaways from his recent China summit; Viktor Orban's defeat and it's impact on Trump and American politics; and more.

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Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud
@ Radio Free Rhiniecliff
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Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

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