The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Joe Biden is now the 46th president of the United States, and Donald Trump becomes a figure in history. But where and how does Trump fit into that history? Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University, explains that Trump now defines a new kind of media-savvy — but ultimately failed — strongman leader. She is the author of “Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present.” “Trump is a 21st century strongman. He’s a showman and manipulator,” says Ben-Ghiat. “Trump mastered misinformation and connecting emotionally with people. … But his populist stuff was just B.S.”
