Republicans have become “lackeys” for Donald Trump, a fascism expert explained on Monday.
“Hey all, it’s later than usual, but it’s never too late to talk about collaborationism,” NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat said in a video posted on Monday evening.
“Authoritarians are nothing without their enablers,” she explained. “And here we have the GOP, which played the classic role of the elites who bring the extremists into the system, thinking they can control him. I call this the ‘pivot delusion’ — that if they give him power, he’ll calm down.”
“Over and over in history, such elites have struck ‘authoritarian bargains’ as they’re known,” she continued. “They are loyal to the leader and he supports their causes.”ON THE PODCAST: Election Day 2000… all over again?
“For many in the GOP — whether it’s [Bill] Barr or [Mike] or [Mike] Pompeo — this means supporting white Christian hegemony,” Ben-Ghiat warned.
Why do so few people also fail to notice the obvious – that authoritarianism is a byproduct of patriarchy? The “strong” alpha male leader can brag about “grabbing women’s pussies”, call his Hispanic voters “rapists and murderers”, and brag openly about how he could get away with shooting someone and his (Christian) followers wouldn’t mind, and still they follow him. That toxic male, authoritarian archetype permeates our culture, from endless shows about the rape and torture of women, to 60% of our national budget devoted to the military, to the rantings of Donald Trump.