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About Me

I regularly give phone, email, and television interviews to American and international journalists and speak on podcasts and radio shows on Trump’s authoritarian playbook – I predicted what he would do in his first year of power in CNN and Atlantic articles – on authoritarian leaders in general, on media and propaganda and on the resurgence of right-wing politics in Italy and elsewhere.

I write frequently for CNN, regularly the Washington Post and occasionally for The New Yorker and other outlets on these subjects.

Recent Publications

“Trump’s No Madman, He Knows Exactly What He’s Doing,” in John Gardner, ed.,Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness and the Mind of Donald Trump (Chiron: 2018),

“Moving Images: Realism and Propaganda,” in Italia 1918-1943. Lo Stato dell’Arte, ed. Germano Celant (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2018), pp.420-425.

Op-eds so far in 2018:

“The Minnesota Raccoon’s Journey Has a Deeper Resonance,” CNN.com, June 13, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/13/opinions/raccoon-migrant-trump-america-ben-ghiat/index.html

“Trump’s Tweets: Why Is He Always Shouting?” CNN.com, April 23, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/opinions/trumps-tweets-why-is-he-always-shouting-ben-ghiat/index.htmlgmail

“The Whiteness of Trump’s White House Interns is Absurd…and Speaks Volumes,”CNN.com, April 2, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/02/opinions/white-house-interns-so-white-ben-ghiat/index.html

“In Italy’s Elections, the Fascists Did Scarily Well,” CNN.com, March 8, 2018.https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/opinions/italian-elections-future-opinion-ben-ghiat/index.html

“Americans Don’t Want Authoritarian Spectacles, But Trump Does,” CNN.com, February 8, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/08/opinions/americans-dont-want-authoritarian-spectacles-ghiat-opinion/index.html

“This Message Keeps the Global #MeToo Movement Alive,” CNN.com, May 1, 2018.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/opinions/spain-pamplona-and-cosby-verdict-show-way-on-metoo-ben-ghiat-opinion/index.html

“RBG Revolutionized the World for Women. We Should Listen to Her,” CNN.com, January 23, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/opinions/ruth-bader-ginsburg-sundance-film-festival-ben-ghiat-opinion/

Media Coverage

See above. May-June 2018 interviews:Ashley Parker, “Going it Alone,” Washington Post, June 11, 2018; Matt Kwong, “Trump Muses About Pardoning Himself, Experts on Authoritarianism are Horrified,” CBC News, June 5, 2018; “Background Briefing with

Social Media

@ruthbenghiat

Country Focus

Italy, America

Expertise by Geography

Mediterranean, United States, Western Europe

Expertise by Chronology

20th century, 21st century

Expertise by Topic

Art & Architectural History, Colonialism, Gender, Holocaust & Nazi Persecution, Public History, World War I, World War II