Overview
- In a Feb. 1 New York Times op-ed, NYU historian Ruth Ben‑Ghiat argues President Trump is exhibiting classic strongman patterns she calls autocratic backfire.
- She cites historical precedents, including Mussolini’s Ethiopia campaign and Putin’s Ukraine invasion, to show how isolation and flattery fuel failed strategies.
- As evidence of a strongman mindset, she highlights Trump’s remark to the New York Times that the only limits on his actions are his “own morality” and “own mind.”
- Ben‑Ghiat notes Trump’s focus on Greenland, White House renovations, Caribbean military operations, and aggressive ICE tactics alongside falling approval and Republican unease within a still‑functioning democracy.
- She warns that threatened leaders often escalate repression at home and aggression abroad, while potential outcomes range from ouster to democratic renewal, framing the analysis as a caution rather than reporting new escalations.