Authoritarian Expert Spells Out What A Trump Return To Office Will Mean

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, on Sunday delivered a sobering prediction about the future of America if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

If he gets back into power, he will never leave, said Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present.

Thats very clear, because like all authoritarians, he needs to get back into power because hes so corrupt and shut down all investigations, Ben-Ghiat told MSNBCs Ali Velshi during a discussion on Trumps rhetoric following his indictment for mishandling classified documents.

Trump in April was indicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money payment case . Last month, a civil jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation after writer E. Jean Carroll accused him of raping her in the 1990s. He remains under criminal investigation for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election result in Georgia and for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Multiple high-profile Republicans are staunchly defending Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 GOP race, even as his legal woes mount.

Ben-Ghiat described the GOP as an autocratic party operating in a democracy.

They have talking points just like the Kremlin does, and we have seen everybody use the same language about the weaponization of government, she said.

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"MSNBC","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaXkIU1QidjPwiAYu6GcHjg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Donald Trump has now been impeached twice, indicted twice, but remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. In a recent interview, he vowed to stay in the race even if he gets convicted for any of the crimes for which hes been charged. \"If [Trump] gets back into power, he'll never leave,\" says Ruth Ben-Ghiat. \"He needs to get back into power because he's so corrupt and shut down all investigations. And while a handful of Republicans have notably criticized Trump post-indictment, the majority of the GOP have come to his defense and echoed his talking points. The GOP, as you know, I feel theyre an autocratic party operating in a democracy, Ben-Ghiat tells Ali Velshi. They have talking points just like the Kremlin does and we have seen everybody use the same language about the weaponization of government.\n\n Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc\n \nFollow MSNBC Show Blogs \nMaddowBlog: https://www.msnbc.com/maddowblog\nReidOut Blog: https://www.msnbc.com/reidoutblog\n\nMSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House, The ReidOut, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and Alex Wagner who brings her breadth of reporting experience to MSNBC primetime. 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