Red Scare: Trump Embraces Putin to Justify His Own Dictatorial Impulses
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How does Trump's behavior reflect authoritarianism?
Okay, the president is calling himself a king, firing generals, empowering unelected oligarchs, and trying to silence the free press. And no, I'm not actually talking about Vladimir Putin. The good news is the American people are starting to push back loudly against wannabe dictator Donald Trump. Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice is gonna join me for an exclusive interview to talk about all of it. But there was chaos across Washington this weekend, as Elon Musk told every federal employee to justify their jobs in an email or resign. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich joins to talk about this brazen effort to intimidate and threaten the entire federal government. And later, I'll ask former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance about the ongoing saga surrounding New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Spoiler alert, it's not over yet. OK, so tomorrow marks three years since Russia launched their full scale invasion of Ukraine. And I remember very clearly where I was that night. I know Ali Velshi was just talking about this, too. And you may remember where you were.
I was sitting in Jake Sullivan's office in the West Wing waiting for an update on whether the war had actually begun. Just weeks earlier, remember, the national security team in the Biden administration had made this decision to declassify information, including Russian plans to attack Ukraine in order for the world to know what to expect and to kind of call them out. Point being, we knew it was Russia planning to illegally invade Ukraine. The world did, even before it started. But that night in February, it was clear something was happening on the ground, and we were waiting for updates from the military on what they were seeing, not knowing at the time how long Ukraine could hold Kyiv, how long Zelensky and his military could hold back the Russian forces.
But they did hold Kyiv, and they have fought every single day since then. Now, three years later, that war has killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and displaced far more. Cities have been destroyed. Ukrainian children have been kidnapped and trafficked by Russian authorities. And we've all watched it play out before our eyes. This is all important to remember, and I wanted to start here because we're all trying to digest what we saw happen this week. I mean, the current president of the United States railed against a man he called a dictator without elections, who he claimed should have never started this war. but he wasn't talking about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
He was referring to Ukrainian President Zelensky. It didn't stop there. He also falsely claimed that Zelensky bamboozled the United States into helping him pay for the war, that he had a rock-bottom approval rating, he doesn't, and that he didn't even deserve a seat at the negotiating table to end a war in his own country. And he said all of that while continuing to praise Putin and parrot Kremlin talking points, as he's been doing for years. Now, obviously, this embrace of Russia is not new for Trump, but it has immense implications for America's moral authority in the world. And I also think it's important to talk about what's motivating all of this praise of Vladimir Putin. There are obviously a lot of theories.
I'm not going to get into them all. But I think one of the reasons that's long been overlooked is this. If Trump can trick Americans into thinking Putin's way of doing things is acceptable, then maybe he can trick them into thinking everything he is doing is acceptable, too. I mean, if what Putin is doing in Russia is fine, and we definitely know Trump thinks it is, then what could be wrong with what Trump is doing in this country? What's wrong with empowering a handful of wealthy business leaders and giving them unprecedented influence? Or granting the richest man in the world free reign to do whatever he wants, like, say, threaten every federal employee to justify their work or resign. Or firing military generals who aren't sufficiently loyal to him. If Russian tactics are just the cost of doing business, then what's wrong with operating in an openly corrupt way?
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Chapters
2 chaptersSpeakers
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