Historians warn Trump risks autocratic backfire that toppled dictators

A New York University history professor, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, argues that Donald Trump is repeating a classic autocratic mistake she calls “autocratic backfire”—leaders who cut themselves off from expert feedback, push flawed policies, and double down on risky moves. She cites this pattern in dictators like Mussolini and Putin and says it can erode public trust and threaten a leader’s hold on power, a trajectory she says could unfold for Trump despite slipping approval ratings.