by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Feb 8, 2018 | Donald Trump And the GOP
CNN.com, February 8, 2018 (CNN) President Donald Trump loves a good show, especially if he’s the protagonist. He’s the first POTUS to have starred in his own reality television series, and, with President Ronald Reagan (a former actor), arguably the...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jan 23, 2018 | Gender Politics
January 23, 2018 She was sexually harassed in college. When she finished law school, at the top of her class, she only found a clerkship when her professor promised the prospective employer that he had a man in mind to take over if she didn’t work out. As a...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Dec 21, 2017 | Propaganda
The Washington Post, December 21, 2017 The strongman knows that it starts with words. He uses them early on to test out his plans to expand and personalize executive power on political elites, the press and the public, watching their reactions as they arrange into the...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Dec 9, 2017 | Donald Trump And the GOP
Former President Barack Obama was right to speak out Thursday at the Economic Club of Chicago to warn Americans about the fragility of our democracy. Signs abound that our freedoms are under siege, not only from foreign enemies such as Vladimir Putin but also from...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 30, 2017 | Donald Trump And the GOP
The Washington Post, November 30, 2017 Many have sought to diagnose President Trump’s mental health from afar, depicting him as delusional, narcissistic or a madman. Such an approach is understandable, since many of us struggle to make sense of his...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 8, 2017 | Propaganda
CNN.com, November 8, 2017 How does a democratic political culture turn into something more authoritarian? How do leaders persuade people to accept their repressive agendas, scapegoat targeted groups and disrespect democratic norms? In the year since his election as...
