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Podcast: The Prospect Podcast
Episode: Trump’s 100 days, with Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Description: Has the United States become an autocracy? As Donald Trump marks his 100th day in office, Ellen and Alona are joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, scholar of authoritarianism and author of Strongmen: from Mussolini to the present (2020). She also writes a Substack called “Lucid” which focuses on autocracy.Ruth analyses the Trump administration’s rapid shift towards authoritarianism. She talks about Trump’s personality cult, how strongmen portray machismo and the potential for a female strongman figure. She also discusses how autocrats use corruption, violence and propaganda to stay in power, and how ICE roundups echo the past, rese...