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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMadeline Albright: Trump Is 'The Least Democratic President of Modern History'
Madeline Albright: Trump Is 'The Least Democratic President of Modern History'
The modern world provides a "petri dish" for fascism, the former secretary of state argues.
Isabel Fattal 7:00 AM ET Politics
I am an optimist who worries a lot, Madeleine Albright said Monday night when asked about the future of democracy. Its a quotable phrase, but the former secretary of state is seriousboth about her belief in the power of democracy and the fact that today, theres substantial reason to worry about it.
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But Albright seems most interested in what she thinks of as the preconditions of fascism. Asked about the state of democracy in the world today, she offered a metaphor: I am worried about the fact that there are conditions out there that provide the petri dish for something terrible to happen, where some of the definitions I gave of fascism would take hold.
Goldberg pointed out that Albright indirectly references President Trump several times in her book; she mentions, for example, that one of Benito Mussolini's mottos was drain the swamp.
Goldberg asked Albright directly: Is Donald Trump a fascist? He is not a fascist, she responded. I do think he is the least democratic president of modern history. Trump, it seems, contributes to the petri dish: His instincts are not democratic, Albright argued, pointing to his attacks on the press, how he treats the judiciary, and his tendency to create us vs. them divisions in his rhetoric. These are tendencies that make me very nervous, she said.
Albrights cautious pessimism seems colored, at least in part, by a life spent engaging with foreign leaders, and watching other nations approach the point of no return. While she seems sure that America isnt quite there, she seems equally sure that it could be.
The petri dish of fascism, Albright argued, requires several catalysts mixed together: It needs a leader with anti-democratic tendencies, as well as a populace that puts certain kinds of pressures on that leader. Albright calls the force of the populace a pressure from below; fascism, she argued, comes bottom up through people who feel theyve been discriminated against or denied job opportunities. And then, Albright concluded, theres a leader from above who takes advantage of disquiet and makes it worse by exacerbating the divisions in society. Asked if she sees in America today the same preconditions for fascism that shes seen in the other countries shes studied, Albright pointed to a few similarities: the sense of disenfranchisement among the American people, the anger over a lack of jobs and educational opportunity, and the instinct to blame foreigners for problems. Were operating on the fear factor, she said.
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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/madeleine-albright-conversation-fascism/558254/
milestogo
(16,829 posts)InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)...at least it's an ethos.
duforsure
(11,885 posts)Most corrupt criminal we've ever had in our government. McConnell has set himself up for failure. This Nov. the American people will vote against all Republicans because they've done nothing to stop the destruction of our Democracy, and especially McConnell has to lose his leadership role by the Senate being retaken by the Democrats, and this is helping that happen. All Republicans are being dragged down to hell because of supporting trump, so keep it up, its really helping a lot. The people involved with him will see the inside of a prison.
riversedge
(70,239 posts)forward to reading it.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Orsino
(37,428 posts)Trump is actually the laziest president in modern history.