Interviews
“Trump is a marketing master…he’s very dangerous because he knows exactly how to communicate.”
“Trump is a marketing master…he’s very dangerous because he knows exactly how to communicate.”
“… authoritarians are continually testing the boundaries to see what they can get away with, and everything he does is a challenge to Democrats to mount some response against him,”
The Washington Post, May 6, 2019
“In the past, there was this idea that Mussolini copied Hitler, but it was actually the other way around for a very long time,” she adds. “Mussolini was in power 11 years before Hitler. He had things all worked out by the time Hitler came to power.”
Time Magazine, March 22, 2019
“The way Benito Mussolini got power in 1922 is a cautionary tale for the rest of the 20th century and today.”
PBS, January 23, 2019
“There is no doubt that Trump has authoritarian inclinations. His labelling of the press as the ‘enemy of the people,’ use of threat, … need for loyalty, humiliation of all those around him, and admiration of leaders who have stifled democracy, are merely some of the qualities that he has in common with authoritarians past and present.”
Business Insider, November 12, 2018
“The problem is that Trump has made it clear since the campaign that the public he is speaking to, the public he wants to impress, that he cares about, is a public that is not interested in human rights, in democracy and in loving one’s neighbor.”
CNN.com, October 29, 2018
“If you know the authoritarian playbook you are able to find almost nothing [Trump] does surprising.”
Background Briefing podcast with Ian Masters, October 25, 2018
“Trump and Republicans Settle on Fear and Falsehoods as Midterm Strategy”
The Washington Post, October 22, 2018
History Hit with Dan Snow – Mussolini and his inheritors
August 28, 2018
“He [Mussolini] was the first person to turn a democracy into a dictatorship.”
“We’re in a partly Berlusconi moment where….the spectacle of politics has taken over. And again, the big themes of conflicts of interest, of hiring family, of kleptocracy….It’s a debasement of civic life, of the tone of politics, of everything.”
Background Briefing with Ian Masters podcast, August 15, 2018
“Trump has been saying for a long time things like, ‘I am the only one who matters,’” Ben-Ghiat said. “The idea that his instincts are what guide him and he doesn’t need any experts is part of this … That’s all typical of the authoritarian way of doing things.”
The Washington Post, June 11, 2018
“It’s meant to introduce into public discourse unthinkable ideas, and to start working on the public to make those ideas acceptable.”
CBC News, August 5, 2018
“(Stephen) Miller enhances the president’s self-image – “leader glorification”, says Ben-Ghiat, underscoring a core message – “He’s your saviour.”
BBC News, January 23, 2018
“Every authoritarian needs to spread his own version of reality, and will invest time and resources to discredit anyone else’s.”
PolitiFact, January 22, 2018
Podcasts/ Featured Interviews
What Happens When a Megalomaniac Begins to Fail
The Political Scene Podcast
February 13, 2026
Autocracy in America Podcast
January 23, 2026
Ali Velshi
MSNBC
October 18, 2025
How to Fix It with John Avlon
June 22, 2025
Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins John Avlon in a conversation titled “Rules for Surviving Authoritarian Times.” Watch and listen here.
UpFront
Al Jazeera
May 23, 2025
Is the US sliding into authoritarianism? The Excerpt
April 27, 2025
“An Alarm Bell for American Democracy” – Apple News Today
April 25, 2025
Listen to the interview here.
Katie Couric
April 10, 2025
Democratic Emergency in Turkey
March 19, 2025
WIRED’s Tech Support
March 18, 2025
David Pakman Show
March 16, 2025
All In With Chris Hayes
October 25, 2024
Ana Cabrera Reports
October 24, 2024
PBS News Hour
October 14, 2024
Trump ramps up his dangerous political rhetoric in final weeks of the 2024 campaign. Watch the segment and read the interview here.
Strict Scrutiny Podcast
August 26, 2024
Trump’s Mental State Suddenly Takes a Darker Turn: “I’ve Gotten Worse”
July 29, 2024
“The European Elections: Discontent with Democracy”
June 11, 2024
Mediaite.com
April 11th, 2024
Authoritarianism Expert Talks to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway About Trump and ‘What’s Happened In America’
The Bulwark Podcast
April 4, 2024
The Politics of Everything Podcast
March 29, 2024
WDET| Is Donald Trump a Fascist?
February 23, 2024
Is Donald Trump a fascist?
The Lincoln Project:
Masochism and Ritual Humiliation
February 4, 2024
NPR: All Things Considered
January 4, 2024
Ruth Talks with Cult Expert Dr. Steven Hassan
December 11, 2023
KCRW: Press Play
November 22, 2023
The Weekend Show with Anthony Davis
August 6, 2023
Malcolm Turnbull, Defending Democracy, 2023
Meet the New Autocrats and Their Playbooks
Who are the new autocrats and what’s their playbook? We are now living in the era of the strongman – and every dictator has built on the accomplishments of his predecessors.
Listen to the podcast here.
WBUR, Here and Now with Deepa Fernandes
June 12th, 2023
The Deepening Radicalization of Donald J. Trump
May 24th, 2023
The former president’s positions and rhetoric have grown more confrontational and extreme as he seeks a second term. Listen here.
The Lincoln Project
Donald Trump’s Victimhood Complex Podcast
March 29th, 2023
Discussion on how the entire GOP has become an autocratic entity (not just the MAGA extremists), why Trump’s propaganda has turned into policy, and how Donald Trump’s victimhood complex is just another play from the standard authoritarian playbook.
Stay Tuned with Preet Podcast
October 13, 2022
The Rise of Global Fascism
Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast
September 27, 2022
Balance of Power, Bloomberg Radio
September 26, 2022
On Giorgia Meloni and the future of Italian politics
Balance of Power: What To Expect From Italy's New Government
KCRW
Press Play With Madeline Brand Podcast
September 26th, 2022
Fascist Giorgia Meloni is likely to become Italy’s first female prime minister and the country’s first far-right leader since World War II. And she could be out without 1 year.
PBS News Hour
July 18th, 2022
How some members of the Republican Party have normalized the use of violent rhetoric
Click here to watch the video podcast segment.
This is Critical with Virginia Heffernan Podcast
May 22th, 2022
Zelensky is the Antidote to Putin’s ‘Strongman’
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Renew Democracy Initiative
May 20th, 2022
Winter Is Here Podcast: Why Tyrants Should be Humiliated
Click here to listen to the podcast.
MSNBC – The Beat/ Ari Melber
May 18th, 2022
Busted: Tucker Carlson’s ‘Fascist’ Conspiracy Theory Cited By Shooting Suspect
MSNBC – The Rachel Maddow Show/ Ari Velshi
May 6, 2022
Ruth talks about what the lessons of history suggest will happen if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and empowers conservatives to criminalize previously private matters.
MSNBC – The Rachel Maddow Show
April 16, 2022
DeSantis is making Florida into his own mini-autocracy
BBC Radio, April 11, 2022
Thinking Aloud podcast
Strongmen: Laurie Taylor explores the global rise of authoritarian leaders.
Thinking Aloud podcast, April 11, 2022
NPR – 1A Podcast, March 8, 2022
Why is authoritarianism surging worldwide?
CNN Newsroom With Anna Cabrera
March 13, 2022
MSNBC – The Sunday Show
March 13, 2022
“Autocrats don’t negotiate, they do deals with other autocrats.”
Velshi, MSNBC
January 22, 2022
KCRW – Press Play with Madeline Brand – January 20, 2022
Putin signals he may soon invade Ukraine. How likely is it?
New Day With John Berman
October 11, 2021
Democracy in peril
SKY News – January 22, 2021
Trump’s Last Stand
MSNBC: The Choice – January 22, 2021
Going to Extremes
ABC News – The Breakdown
January 7, 2021
Extremism in America
WNYC, November 23, 2020
Podcast interview on A History Of Modern Authoritarians
David Pakman Show/ Free Speech TV, November 19, 2020
“How Authoritarian Strongmen Come to Power” interview
WBUR, November 12, 2020
Podcast interview on On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
Vox.com, October 23, 2020
Is Trump a fascist? 8 experts weigh in.
Call him a kleptocrat, an oligarch, a xenophobe, a racist, even an authoritarian. But he doesn’t quite fit the definition of a fascist.
Read the full article here.
CNN International Interview – November 15, 2020
NPR On Point Podcast
“What The ’Strongmen’ Of History Reveal About Modern Politics “
NPR 1A Podcast
“What is Fascism? Is Trump a Fascist?”
“A Scholar of Fascism Sees a Lot That’s Familiar with Trump,”
The New Yorker, November 4, 2016
Read the full article here.
Strange Days with Fernand Amandi
Two of America’s most prescient scholars on autocracy & fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat + Sarah Kendzior, sound the alarm on a must-hear #StrangeDaysPodcast.
Click to image below to listen:
Slate Trumpcast
A Historical Lens on Trump’s Authoritarianism