Authoritarian propaganda is full of empty promises of unity. Of uniting the nation under a leader who alone can fix it. Authoritarian expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat and I had this conversation BEFORE the events at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania, but the facts remain the same if not more poignant now. The shock and awe we’re seeing is a tactic to distract us from what this party plans to do to our country, our democracy, and to anyone who doesn’t pledge absolute fealty or fit into their limited box of “acceptable” Americans. What happened at the Trump rally changes nothing about who Trump is or what he will do to this country if he and his party gain power. If anything, Ruth’s warnings of how a strongman comes to power, are more dire now. We are witnessing the playbook of authoritarianism unfold, we can not simply go along.   As always, if you find worth in what we do, please consider SUBSCRIBING to PoliticsGirl Premium. You’ll get this podcast ad free, along with a bunch of other perks, like the rants directly to your inbox and the knowledge that you’re making this kind of highly researched, factual information possible. If that interests you, please go to https://www.politicsgirl.com/premium and subscribe today!! Thank you so much! xoPG Guest social: Twitter: @ruthbenghiat Website: https://ruthbenghiat.com As always, please RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward!   All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl   This episode is sponsored by… https://lumen.me/politicsgirl https://rhone.com/politicsgirl code: PoliticsGirl Vibes Only Podcast:  https://couriernewsroom.com/vibes-only-podcast-trailer/