Jim Acosta
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Autocrats Behave Similarly Throughout History | Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Posted
September 4, 2026
Views
1,374
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142
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September 4, 2026
1,374
142
1
10.41%
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0:51Now PlayingWith less than 60 days to go until the 2026 midterm elections, the battle over American democracy is reaching a boiling point. As mail-in voting officially begins, the Trump administration has launched a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court to enforce aggressive new USPS mail ballot restrictions over a federal judge's temporary block.
In this exclusive segment from The Jim Acosta Show, NYU historian and "Strongmen" author Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins Jim Acosta to decode what she calls textbook autocrat behavior from Donald Trump and the GOP. Ben-Ghiat argues that the push to limit mail-in ballots proves the administration knows they are in trouble, warning that autocrats who fear a free and fair election often resort to the ultimate step: refusing to seat opposition victors.
Faced with a historic new Gallup poll showing a record 89% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread, Ben-Ghiat maps out the dangerous trajectory of this election cycle—and reveals how nonviolent resistance in nations like Hungary and Poland provides a blueprint for fighting back.
#JimAcosta #RuthBenGhiat #2026Midterms #Trump #MailInBallots #SupremeCourt #Election2026 #Democracy #PoliticalNews
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