Fear and Loathing in the Oval Office
Whereas Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong were autocrats of savage and serious purpose, Donald Trump is a kind of dilettante despot, the Roman emperor of reality TV. But the three men do have one thing in common: reliance on ritual humiliation, not only to keep subordinates subordinated but also to entertain themselves.
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NEW YORK – US President Donald Trump has swiped another page from the authoritarian playbook. His verbal assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before camera-wielding media in the Oval Office amounted to precisely the kind of ritual humiliation autocrats have long used to elevate and amuse themselves – and intimidate everyone else.