We just talked live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat and nearly 2,000 of you, about Trump’s recent moves to realize his authoritarian dreams.
We talked about how the demolition of the White House’s East Wing reflects a long tradition of authoritarians as wannabe builders (and is also made possible by the fact that Trump doesn’t have a wife who wants to live with him).
We also talked about the flip side of demolition — rebuilding — and how Trump has unwittingly created opportunities to reimagine America that would have been impossible after more normal presidencies.
We discussed how the soft launch of the pipe dream of a third Trump term steals a page from Mussolini’s playbook; how strongmen dig in because they have no offramp back to private life once they’re forced out of office; and how Zohran Mamdani may represent a new direction for the Democratic Party — an “antinflammatory progressivism” that focuses on quality-of-life issues at the expense of nearly all else.
Don’t miss any of this conversation. Just click on the video player above to watch.
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Join us for more Live conversations this week!
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 28, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, we’ll be talking to Faiz Shakir, the veteran organizer, strategist, advisor, and executive director of More Perfect Union. Then join us on Wednesday, October 29, for two important conversations: at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, we’ll talk to David Hogg of Leaders We Deserve; then at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, we’ll be joined by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. And on Thursday, October 30, at 12:30 p.m., we’ll speak with messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio.
To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you’ll get an alert once we’re live, and you can watch, chat, and even participate in the conversation during our Book Club meetings from your iOS or Android mobile device. If you’re using a computer, you can also watch (and ask questions in the text chat) on our homepage.
