Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Israeli attacked a residential building in Gaza City and, according to Al Jazeera, killed and injured more than 70 civilians with most of them still under the rubble.

Things authoritarian states do.

Today, I drove an hour and a half with my wife and a couple friends to pick up a neighbor who was summarily, inexplicably arrested by ICE at a check-in ten days ago and then just as inexplicably released, 100 miles from home today. It was a happy occasion, all things considered, but...

Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday, accordin...

In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...

YouTube video by Democracy Docket SCARY: Trump Knows What He's Doing | Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Donald Trump knows what he is doing in attacking democracy. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat shares a warning about Trump's next authoritarian moves and we discuss how we can fight back.

Please watch and share. youtu.be/ovorLE6E494

Rough Seas Ahead

Carrie A Lee: It underscored the admin’s intention to shift its focus... toward homeland issues, and provided the clearest indication yet that US partners and allies will have to contend with a military increasingly operating outside of international law. www.gmfus.org/news/rough-s...

YouTube video by Democracy Docket SCARY: Trump Knows What He's Doing | Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook

Fascism expert @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

youtu.be/ovorLE6E494?...

Trump's War on America To allow Trump's autocratic allies to prosper, our military and intelligence must take on new roles at home. We can sound the alarm with those who serve.

Called it last week: The true rationale for the change to Department of War is the war Trump is waging on America:
lucid.substack.com/p/trumps-war...

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present Ours is the age of authoritarian rulers: self-proclaime…

"Strongmen" by @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social is an invaluable read right now. The whole playbook we're seeing in the US is laid bare for all of us to see.

"On Tyranny" & "On Freedom" by @timothysnyder.bsky.social are also both must reads given the current moment.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/53...

PSA: A "Major Terrorist Organization" (MTO) is not a thing. The Immigration and Nationality Act *delegates* power to the State Department to designate *FOREIGN* terrorist organizations (FTOs) based on certain criteria. It doesn't apply to domestic orgs.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

They don’t have the power to do what they’re threatening on a grand scale.

But they want us to think they do.

Once Donald Trump gets the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law – what comes next?

Missouri House Democrats plan to continue sit-in over weekend Missouri Democrats have surpassed 24 hours of their sit-in on the House floor protesting a special session.

Don’t say “Dems aren’t doing anything.” There’s just little attention to the courage of these Missouri Dems resisting the extreme gerrymandering of Republicans desigmed to increase Republican numbers in the House.
www.kfvs12.com/2025/09/05/m...

Alt text here: bsky.app/profile/alt-...

My collaboration with Ivan Ehlers for the @latimes.com

Trump's War on America To allow Trump's autocratic allies to prosper, our military and intelligence must take on new roles at home. We can sound the alarm with those who serve.

Called it last week: The true rationale for the change to Department of War is the war Trump is waging on America:
lucid.substack.com/p/trumps-war...

This excellent essay is published by Lucid but it is written by @marceldirsus.com

true!

While our podcasts are on a summer break, we’re re-posting our fav eps of the year so far. In May, @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social joined us to discuss Trump’s authoritarianism:
prospectmagazine.sub...

For more on the international parallels between Trump and other authoritarian regimes I recommend subscribing to @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social's Lucid.

This from today's newsletter:

lucid.substack.com/p/trumps-war...

The news from the past few days is a stunning example of what happens when the state decides it wants to crush just one guy

Pentagon Fires the Defense Intelligence Agency Chief

Things delusional authoritarians do. They create the self-serving reality they need for their ego. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...

oh

Appalling and also on brand for Trump/Miller

@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social 👏👏👏

“Trump is deploying classic strongman tactics in Washington D.C.: inventing a crisis to justify his expansion of power, and turning the capital into a laboratory for state repression.” @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social

💯

Another shakedown, the more you cave to the autocrat the more empowered he feels.

Economist Amartya Sen won a Nobel in part for asking: Why did India avoid the mass famines that killed tens of millions in China? His answer: a free press. Journalists could expose suffering and shame governments into action. Silence and avoidance, by contrast, can be deadly.