The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify to hear more.
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.”
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