a new series traces mussolini's rise to power. i speak with director joe wright. >> maria torres-springer. >> welcome to the program, everyone. i'm christiane amanpour in washington. this must have been the best week for russia's president, vladimir putin in years. not only did the u.s. negotiating team arrive for ceasefire talks in riyadh, offering up concessions in advance. ukraine's president zelenskyy and european allies were left on the sidelines. to top it off, president trump repeated the kremlin lines, falsely blaming zelenskyy for russia's full scale invasion and calling him the dictator. the ukrainian leader has said mr. trump lives in a russian disinformation space. meantime, putin's fill in president and former prime minister dmitry medvedev gleefully posted if you had told me just three months ago that these were the words of a u.s. president, i would have laughed out loud. now, by the end of the week, all sides tried to calm this issue. but wendy sherman was deputy secretary of state in the biden administration and w

but am i still the, the so, any this weekend i used the 1935 passes easily led by dictator benito mussolini decided to expand its colonial empire in africa and take over the opium. by that time, ethiopia was the only fully independent state on the continent. back in 1896, its inhabitants were able to feed the italian columnists and defend their independence. since then, rome craved for revenge for the humiliating defeat. in the morning of october, 3, 1935. without any announcement. the flashes attacked ethiopia and bombarded it most severely. d. d o b an armed forces bod, courageously. but the rude taylor t. a battalion knew no bounds. they use not only massive bombing attacks on civilians, but also chemical weapons. toxic gas is this james the course of the war. as a result of the occupation of ethiopia, by the fastest 760000 people were killed. the capture of the african state was committed with europe's tacit approval. britain and france recognize the annexation, giving the green light to a further fascist expansion in the world, and paving the way for the outbreak of world war 2. the, [

mussolini. huge march on rome. they are spectacles to get press, to make them look more powerful and bigger than life. their goal is to make the rest of us be intimidated and be fearful, paralyzed with fear. as timothy snyder talks about in his book on tyranny, we can't be paralyzed with fear. we have to step up and fight this stuff. this is fascism. we're seeing it right in our streets, right here. the use of the military will be next in the streets of america to round up people who are brown. and in new jersey, they detained a guy who was a us military veteran, a us citizen, and they mocked him because he said, i'm an american, and they mocked him for it. and congresswoman bonnie watson coleman and others denounced it. so this is a spectacle. it is called a fascist spectacle. people can google that term. it is real. >> the problem with this, though, is that we're talking about it here, but there are probably large swaths of the country who are just watching right wing media and who follow doctor phil, and they're

mini leaders. >> they used to be called the mini mussolini's. >> then you. >> create a. >> governance>> is. >> full of mistakes. >> it's the same when. >> you depart. >> from fact based medical research and scientific research. or or how it's connected to the weather, right? we need accurate weather statistics, and that's supposed to go to and dictators often. they go very early. >> on for statistics. >> they like to cook the books to show that they're efficient. they like to hide things that are unflattering. >> they like to. >> politicize science and statistics is one of them. and so all of this has an effect on competency. and this is why dictators have to have to pump themselves up. they puff themselves up with their personality cults to cover up their incompetence, which is legion. >> yeah. >> well, and also rev, they pump up the cruelty, right? i mean, the incompetency just in the one thing donald trump promised big, which was immigration enforcement. right. they're doing a lot of theatrical things on immigration. but what you really you know, sending venezuelan migrants back to

she's the author of the ever important book strongmen from mussolini to the present.r being here. barbara, you and i have for years discussed the idea that there is a bit of a bulwark in places like the department of justice, but more broadly across the federal government and across the civil service and state governments of people who keep their head down, do their job and, and, and actually fight for the constitution. so how do you see what has unfolded here at the s.d.n.y and with these resignations at the department of justice, on one hand, i'm inspired by and proud of these people. on the other hand, i'm worried that there are several, several, seven fewer people to uphold the law. >> yeah. >> ellie. >> you. >> raised a great. >> point because. >> although danielle sassoon and all of these others clearly did what i view. >> as the. >> right thing, the honorable thing, and also going. public to make sure the public understands what's happening here. what we are going to see next, i'm sure, is a replacement at the southern district of new york, who is someone who w

how did that start like a mussolini speech and end as a boyz ii men song? "we will take the land!e to you. like you want us to. and i'll hold you tight. baby, all through the night." now, one thing i find weird about donald trump saying he wants to run gaza is that from what we've seen so far, he barely wants to run the united states. for weeks, people have been raising alarms about how trump seems to be handing way too much power over to elon musk. and yesterday, trump replied, i hear you. you want me to give more power to elon musk. >> president trump setting new guidelines for hiring in the federal workforce, while giving more power to elon musk and his team at the department of government efficiency, or doge. a new executive order directs government agencies to pursue large scale cuts, saying they now need hiring approval from doge. >> jordan: yes, elon musk is now in charge of all government heilings -- hirings. hirings. i did not say that reich -- right. i didn't say that right. [laughs] yeah, okay. [cheers and applause] i don't know why i keep hitler -- misspeaking. i don't

the after the nazi's power in italy, states foreign policy became extremely aggressive. benito, mussolini needed glorious victory. he decided to achieve his ambitions in africa. despite the fact that formally libya had become an italian colony back in 1912. the vast territories of this country were not actually controlled by rome. the nazis decided to put an end to this. but as soon as the religious order of this genocide stood in their way, the arabs did not want to submit to for and power and bowed up stairs, resistance, dividers against colonialism, were led by the chief of the senate side order. omar l move star, who was nicknamed the lion of the desert for his incredible courage. despite the violent, bombardments and voice and gas usage, mass deportations, and the imprisonment of the local population and concentration camps, the invaders could not go with the arrow patriots for a decade. in 1931, omar l moved star was captured and sentenced hanging at the trial. the hero of the libyan people behaved very bravely and rejected. pardon? pursuing a policy of genocide, italy was only able

c. power in italy, states foreign policy became extremely aggressive. benito mussolini needed glorious victory. he decided to achieve his ambitions in africa. despite the fact that formally libya had become an italian colony back in 1912. the vast territories of this country were not actually controlled by rome. the nazis decided to put an end to this. but as soon as the religious order of the senate side stood in their way, the arabs did not want to submit to foreign power and put up fierce resistance. dividers against colonialism were led by the seats of the senate side order. omar l move star, who was nicknamed the lion of the desert for his incredible courage. despite the violent, bombardments and boys and gas usage, mass deportations, and the imprisonment of the local population in concentration camps. the invaders could not cope with the era patriots for a decade. in 1931, omar l moves are, was captured and sent since the hanging type of trials. the hero of the libyan people behaved very bravely and rejected. pardon, pursuing a policy of genocide, italy was only able to temporari

so you mentioned mussolini that was rooted in ancient rome and the glory of augustus. and all this where as german fascism was rooted into tonic mists and uh, spanish fascism under franco was something different. robert paxton, when he writes his book, the anatomy of fascism, he calls the client the most authentic fastest movement in american history. a and and again, paxton in the book says that it won't come with jack boots and the swastika, it will become with the christian cross and mass recitations of the pledge of allegiance. and i certainly came away after spending 2 years with the christian right, with the belief that these people that they had politicized and used christianity to build a native freshest stick movement. of course, grounded in white supremacy. um and uh and, and you've seen the trump has no way to ology is just a grifter. but he is fill that area, logical void with these figures like mike huckabee, you know, who, who calls the westbank, judy and scenario, or the, his un ambassador who said, you know, they, they suddenly, us foreign policy is roo

we choose to look so common ground the the 1935 fast is easily led by dictator benito mussolini decided to expand its colonial empire in africa and take over the opium. by that time, e z o b a was the only fully independent states on the continent. back in 1896, its inhabitants were able to veto young colonies and defend their independence. since then, rome craved for revenge for the humiliating defeat. in the morning of october, 3, 1935. without any announcement, the foxes attacked ethiopia and bombarded it most severely. d. d o b an armed forces bod, courageously. but the roots allergy of the italians knew no bounds. they use not only massive bombing attacks on civilians, but also chemical weapons, toxic gases. this change the course of the war. as a result of the occupation of ethiopia, by the fastest 760000 people were killed. the capture of the african state was committed with europe's tacit approval. britain and france recognize the annexation, giving the green light to a further fastest expansion in the world and bathing the way for the outbreak of world war 2. the, this is how t

show the after the nazis bower in italy, states foreign policy became extremely aggressive. benito mussolini needed glorious victory. e decided to achieve his ambitions in africa. despite the fact that formally libya had become an italian colony back in 1912. the vast territories of this country were not actually controlled by rome. the nazis decided to put an end to this. but as soon as the religious order of the senate side stood in their way, the arabs did not want to submit to for an hour and put up fierce resistance. dividers against colonialism were led by the seats of the senate side order. omar l move star was nicknamed the lion of the desert for his incredible courage. despite the violent, bombardments and boys and gas usage, mass deportations, and the imprisonment of the local population in concentration camps. the invaders could not go with the arrow patriots for a decade. in 1931, omar l moves are, was captured and sentenced the hanging at the trial. the hero of the libyan people behaved very bravely and objected bard pursuing a policy of genocide. italy was only able to temporar

if having a balanced budget is fascists that makes bill clinton mussolini.umer says he's never seen democrats so aroused and i believe him. >> elon, if you are watching, come through because you haven't shown up to the d.o.g.e. subcommittee yet. >> now trump has two daddies, putin and elon musk. >> i can remember back in the day, obamacare, republicans were saying do you want barack obama and george soros to have access your medical records? it led to republicans losing in their minds over and over and over again. and now it's like yes please daddy. >> jesse: d.o.g.e. is dishing out like daddy day care. the pentagon order to slash a percent of their budget. should not be that hard, they lost 6 billion in ukraine so when the war ends we can go find it. i'm sure it will all still be there. 6000 irs agents are getting d.o.g.e. thursday, uniting republicans and democrats. don jr. high five hunter and then washed his hands. but bureaucrats are lawyering up. >> i think it is important for american people to understand what's happening. their government, their watc

. >> then we need to worry about mussolini, italy or at hitler's germany. >> trumps that only days agolant on abiding by the law. he said this. >> i always abide by the courts and then i will have to appeal it. what he has done he slow down the momentum. >> affected many people wonder if that one's not following the law are actually those on the left to have relentlessly gone after trump over the past four years with questionable cases then trump talks about waiting pickwick it's unbelievable that is the attack line democrats are going with. when we talk about fascist governments that talk about fascism once less himself fascist government that actually shrink the government? they tried to woo root out waste and corruption break gave back power to the people. this is a fascist, is not followhe is notfollowing the fak is he? this is coming from democrats by the way that shift their own sitting president back in july, threw him off a cliff and that installed a candidate soviet style. they intend to take their opponent, donald trump after valves an in maine and colorador the weaponize the

. >> john: with fdr, some columnist said if we need fdr to be our mussolini, that might be necessary.he presidency, it was teeny tiny. he went to congress and said i need more staff because the modern age runs very quickly and i need more people in the executive branch. 330,000 western union telegrams were sent to washington in opposition. they called the bill asking for reorganization of the executive branch the dictator bill. people marched in the streets from all over the country. they came to washington, march because they said he was trying to be a dictator. he was asking for a couple staffers in a cabinet official. he had to ask congress. that gives you some sense. the reason that's important is donald trump has seized the presidency as an office that is central and has dominion over all the other branches of government. that's not really the system -- the way the system is designed and with fdr the power was much more spread out among congress and not centralized in the presidency. the beginning of his term. >> stephen: let's talk about it the exercise of power and the hints he

so-called of the soviet union, the united states and britain formed alliance to to defeat hitler and mussolini and then in the pacific also been imperial japanese empire, and the communists became the most dedicated proponents again. wartime unity and resumed growth. i mean, there were many people who said you know, this is one twist and turn to many. but for a moment in the 1940s, again, it seemed as if communism was reinventing itself with reinventing itself as a movement that could step down deep and enduring roots in american politics. alas, alas, from the communist perspective, that was not to be. because, again, in 1945, suddenly this coalition of convenience of the friend, the enemy of my enemy is my friend broke down in the cold, resumed, and the communists became the nearest target for those who couldn't do much about. the expansion of soviet power in europe or about the expansion of communism into china and elsewhere around the world. but could a lot to destroy the domestic communist movement which is what happened so those 60 or 70,000 communists were reduced. by 1956 to a of about

less than we need to worry about mussolini's italy or hitler's germany. for sure.id. >> into authoritarianism in the 21st century have been what look. >> and. >> you and. >> i call. >> competitive authoritarian regimes. >> regimes in which the. basic architecture of democracy is there, the opposition. >> is legal. there are elections. >> and sometimes they're actually. pretty contested elections. >> in fact, once in a. >> while the opposition even wins those elections. but the abuse of power, the manipulation of the machinery of government by by the incumbents heavily tilts the playing field against. against the opposition. this is. >> hungry today. >> this is turkey today. this is india today. >> victoria, i was talking to laurence tribe yesterday who said, you know, he's not he's not as worried about the nomenclature, about whether we're in a constitutional crisis or more or not. but he also points out that it's not necessarily a tipping point, like the new york times points out, we we're going along a continuum that could lead us to becoming an undemocratic stat

she's the author of strongmen mussolini to the present. welcome to both of you. thank you for being with us. jennifer, let me start with you tonight. the president has removed or the chief of staff, the joint chiefs of staff in the military. somebody who was approved. he was he was approved by the senate in 2023 for a four year term. it's not meant to coincide with presidential terms. it's not it's probably not illegal, but it does go down this road of i'm ultimately in charge of everything, and only loyalists will occupy major office in my under my administration. >> it's bad enough that. >> he fired. >> the chairman. >> of the joint chiefs. he also fired the head of naval operations. he also fired all four of. >> the forces. jags. that is. >> the top. >> lawyers in those branches. >> of the military. >> this is his effort. to compel the military to be loyal. >> to him as opposed. >> to the constitution. he is not picking these people on on the merits. the gentleman that he. is attempting to replace as the head of the joint chiefs is a three star general. >> who

were not too thrilled to be cooperating because people thought, well, are they are they loyal to mussolini, which was really not true in any material way. they couldn't get help. they couldn't get help on the docks and they needed inroads to the italians. and the italians were not willing to help. but the one of the prosecutors in manhattan, roosevelt, said, i don't care what you have to do, do what you have to do to secure the new york ports. and by the way, this theme of do what you have to do is a big theme with not only how the mafia runs, but how people work with the mafia. and so the navy talks to the prosecutors in new york, and one of them was a man named murray griffin, who ended up becoming one of the judges on the pentagon papers case. and said, you know, you might be talking to the wrong mobsters. what are you talking about? well, you know, the italians might not want to work with you, but, you know what's happening in eastern europe, don't you? you should talk to meyer lansky. and he was lucky luciano, who was the preeminent italian mobster. he was his business partner. meyer

i mean, what fascists ever sought to shrink government did hitler, mussolini, etc? they expand. never shrink. truth is, that's one side of government tries to expose waste, fraud and abuse. the other side is the waste and fraud itself. no wonder they view doge as an act of terror. so ask yourself which side is more useful? the one which is stuck in an era they just can't get out of, or the other one no one in the media or the left can comprehend the usaid scandal because they never had to. they never had to be efficient or make a profit or prevent loss. they think they're scoring points by defending the funding of politico. while hurricane victims get kicked out of hotels, the dems today are living in a worldview so narrow they can't imagine anything beyond identity. they're like a junkie who can't see the life beyond junk, beyond the comfort of the moral high ground they've gifted themselves. but the rest of us get it. which is why the crowd went nuts for trump and not swift. maybe she should write a breakup song about that. >> period. >> welcome. tonight's guest. >> he's got m

he's mussolini, hitler, stalin. and meanwhile, why wouldn't they go? why wouldn't they support? it's not just usaid. it is all throughout the federal government. what will be hundreds of billions of dollars, waste, fraud and abuse if they want to be that party? i'm okay with that. i'm okay with james carville staying there. he's i've always thought he he believed in triangulation, i guess not. >> yeah. look, carville knows his party has gone batcrap crazy. he's been very explicit about it. and it's, i got to say, looking at the congressional democrats, they are in denial. they're walking around in a state of shock. they continue to be captive to the radical left wing of their party. i'll tell you, sean, i've enjoyed you know, you think about it. we're a month into it. i say to my democrat colleagues in just a deadpan voice. well, three years, 11 months to go, and they literally start twitching. it is it is incredible what has been accomplished in 30 days. i think of the history of the country. there has never been a president hit the ground running like this tackle so much. and

mussolini has used a version of that. hitler has used a version of that. it may be nothing.sensical stuff that donald trump posts to get us all to go down a rabbit hole and find out where the quote came from. or it could be something. >> well, you know. >> it's tempting to think that. >> it's nothing. it's tempting to think trump doesn't really understand. >> the. >> historical resonance of what he's saying. but, you know, it. >> all does keep pointing in the. >> same direction, which is basically absolute power. >> consolidated in one person. and this is the theme. >> that he ran. >> on before. >> you know. >> only i. can fix this. >> i'm the only person who. >> can save you. give me all. >> of the power you know, and you won't regret it. and i will run roughshod over. >> all of the barriers that. >> are supposed to protect your individual liberty. and in the end, you'll thank me for it because i'm. >> saving you. but i. >> think people are. >> starting to see. >> that what they're getting is not exactly. >> what they wanted, because we live in the real world. >> and not in

. >> it truly is sending me back to mussolini's. >> definition of fascism as a revolution. >> of reactionrent state. the reaction is, is in his day as now against feminism, against racial equity, against workers rights. but it's the speed at which everything is being broken and dismantled is reminding me of that. and it stands out with an authoritarian history. it's although trump was, you know, did not come to power via coup. he was elected. the only times you see such speed of destruction of the status quo is after a coup or in, for example, in erdogan's turkey, when erdogan was had had a coup against him and he was doing a crackdown. so some kind of authoritarian crackdown, that's the only reference point i have for the speed of, of which all these things are being done. >> andrew weissman, you worked for the department of justice. let's explain this a little bit. what is different about the department of justice in either in policy or in practice, than some other department, where it wouldn't really matter if there was a lot of interplay between the white house and that department. >>

and both of those are together now alberto mussolini yesterday, he's the new saint louis fed presidentound with tariffs because inflation is higher. and i think that gets back to the 2018 example. a lot of folks who have said, you know, tariffs were didn't didn't surge inflation in 2018. well guess what. we have much different inflation profile now than we had back then right. >> we just don't know whether there's really going to be a lot of tariffs or not at this point. thanks steve. joining us now to talk more about the state of the economy and the fed's view of it. former cleveland fed president loretta mester. she's an adjunct finance professor at penn's wharton school and a cnbc contributor. and it's great to have you on, as it always is, president mester. but i guess i start with some of the recent inflation numbers that we've seen. i think that it was the third straight month where maybe you could make a case that that it stopped moderating. most people think it's still in a downward trajectory and it will resume, and maybe we can get some rate cuts. do you feel that that it's r

the robot must protect his phone. existence was on the 1935 fast is easily led by dictator benito mussolini decided to expand its colonial empire in africa and take over the opium. by that time, ethiopia was the only fully independent state on the continent back in 1896. its inhabitants were able to defeat the italian colonists and defend their independence. since then, rome craves for revenge for the humiliating defeat. in the morning of october 3, 1935. without any announcement, the foxes attacked ethiopia and bombarded it most severely. ethiopian armed forces bod, courageously. but the roots allergy of the italians knew no bounds. they use not only massive bombing attacks on civilians, but also chemical weapons. toxic gas is this james the course of the war. as a result of the occupation of easy will be up by the fastest 760000 people were killed . the capture of the african state was committed with europe's tacit approval. britain and france recognize the annexation, giving that green light to a further fastest expansion in the world. 10 baby and the way for the outbreak of world war 2.