From a recent show on The Four Cast on Channel 4 News in the U.K., comes this fascinating conversation with author Robert Kaplan about, you guessed it, Donald Trump. In course of the discussion, the question arises, is Trump a Leninist? Read the answer below, or just click this link to watch the whole talk.
Krisnan Guru-Murthy: Is it too much of a stretch to say there’s a little bit of Leninism in Trump as well, in the sense of a man who believes in punishing the innocent to some degree?
Robert Kaplan: That’s the best way to describe Leninism. Don’t just punish the guilty because that gets you nothing. You have to strike fear into the hearts of the innocent and that way you get total control. That was the innovation of Leninism. And there’s a little bit of that in Trump but that’s not really where he is. He’s not serious enough to be a fascist or a Leninist ideologue. You know, to be a fascist or a Leninist ideologue, you have to read, you have to have a program.