Author Ruth Ben-Ghiat equates Trump with Benito Mussolini for gaining power after surviving gunshots

WASHINGTON, DC: Former president Donald Trump's assassination attempt relates "to how autocrats can use adversity to strengthen their power," according to anti-Trump author and history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat of New York University, who compared Trump's predicament to an attempt on the life of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. 

The author highlighted how both approaches strengthened their strongman attractions in a popular news outlet. She said that in order to elicit greater sympathy from the audience, both utilized pictures of themselves after surviving gunshots.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat's outrageous statement on Donald Trump

"With that gesture, Trump tended to his personality cult, reassuring millions of his devoted followers that he had survived and was unbeaten — just as Mussolini did with his photo almost 100 years before," Ruth Ben-Ghiat wrote, adding, "The danger is what comes next."

The history professor's column opened with an account of the third attempt on the dictator's life, carried out in 1926 by a British pacifist of Irish descent named Violet Gibson, who "stepped out of the crowd and shot him" as he was leaving a lecture in Rome.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat on how Benito Mussolini used his murder attempt for political benefit

Ruth Ben-Ghiat explained how Benito Mussolini exploited this attempted assassination for his political advantage, "That is why Mussolini, a journalist by training who attended to every detail of his image, posed for pictures after the attack, the bandage becoming a kind of badge of honor. And it is why each failed attempt became fodder for his personality cult by seeming to prove his macho toughness, resilience and invincibility."

Ruth Ben-Ghiat says Donald Trump's murder attempt has made him more 'robust' among his supporters

Subsequently, a clear parallel was drawn to Donald Trump, who, following his injury in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month, encouraged his supporters to "Fight, fight, fight!" while emerging from hiding. The moment was captured in vivid photographs.

Though Ben-Ghiat acknowledged that Trump can’t use the moment to bolster his literal power, as he’s not in office, she insisted "that the assassination attempt has made Trump’s personality cult more robust and more powerful for his followers. His claims of being a victim targeted on their behalf are now more credible and his persona cemented as an indomitable fighter. And he knows it."

"Familiarity with the behavior of strongmen gives Trump’s actions in the dramatic minutes after he was shot a crucial frame of reference. Most people in that situation would have had the instinct to flee to safety. Not Trump," the professor added, per Fox News. 

Ruth Ben-Ghiat says Benito Mussolini leveraged the attack on his life to gather more power

The professor continued by pointing out that Benito Mussolini was able to use his assassination attempt to increase his level of authority in Italy and remove any checks and balances on his power from the government.

She said this is the danger following an attack on a strongman, that it "often boosts the leader’s personality cult, and it lends credence to narratives about his omnipotence and the need for his repressive laws to keep the country safe from crime."

Ben-Ghiat added, "This has been the case so far with Trump, whose supporters have seized on the shooting and even cited divine intervention in saving his life. The shooting also comes in an atmosphere of heightened political violence that Trump has helped bring into the mainstream."

She also said "This awful assassination attempt will validate" Trump’s rhetoric that his enemies are also targeting his supporters, thereby strengthening their bond and volatility. "Followers of authoritarian personality cults who are bonded to the leader can become volatile when he is in distress."

The author concluded, "In this light, Mussolini’s bandaged nose and Trump’s bandaged ear both speak to how autocrats can use adversity to strengthen their power at democracy’s expense."

Internet finds Ruth Ben-Ghiat's comparison between Donald Trump and Benito Mussolini 'outrageous'

Netizens lashed out at the anti-Trump author and rightfully so, for drawing outlandish comparisons between the former US President and the Italian dictator.

One X user tweeted, "This is absolutely outrageous! It's infuriating to see such historical manipulations being used to draw parallels and further political agendas. These comparisons are reckless and only serve to distort the truth for sensationalism."

"What kind of leftist horses**t is THIS?" asked one individual. "I love how they accuse Trump of trying to power grab when Kamala Harris just completed a coup against a sitting president! Lol. Pathetic," observed one.

"While you’re drawing parallels: Mussolini never won a primary or any election at all. Mussolini was appointed by a King that was forced into resignation…Sound familiar," remarked another netizen.

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