3 days ago
Rick Steves Says Trump Is Taking 'From The Fascist Autocrat's Playbook'
Rick Steves, travel writer and host of PBS's 'Rick Steves' Europe,' said when he reads the news about President Donald Trump, he's reminded of Adolf Hitler.
'Every time I read the news, I think, Well, that's exactly what Hitler did, or that's exactly what Mussolini did,' Steves told Vanity Fair in an interview published Wednesday. 'You've got to intimidate people at the voting booths. You've got to be able to disappear people into some kind of concentration camp or a prison in another land. You just look at any news flash that deals with how Trump is taking or consolidating his power, and you can see that it is from the fascist autocrat's playbook.'
In the interview, Steves — who, in 2018, released his one-hour special 'The Story of Fascism in Europe' — said countries that struggled with democracy 100 years ago have things in common with countries struggling with it today. He listed out the things someone would have to do to overthrow the government, like 'tell lies repeatedly,' 'discredit journalism,' target higher education and the courts, and 'create an external enemy.'
Trump has threatened to cut federal funding for public media, which includes PBS and NPR, claiming they are 'biased' media. According to his May executive order, 'Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.' In response, NPR and three Colorado public radio stations are suing Trump.
Steves told Vanity Fair that public media, which he said is meant to educate the people, is a 'hurdle' and threat that Trump has to get rid of in order to accomplish his goals.
'And why wouldn't he be threatened by public broadcasting?' Steves said. 'Public broadcasting is a thoughtful oasis in our media landscape that does not have an agenda other than enlightening the electorate so that we can make smart decisions and have a stronger democracy. That's something that I celebrate.'
He continued, saying that he's been an 'active champion' of noncommercial media because the alternative has to be profitable, which no longer makes it news, it makes it entertainment.
'There's only one place where news is not trying to be profitable, and that's NPR, and that's the most dangerous media for somebody that wants to get rid of truth,' Steves said. 'And Trump cannot accomplish what he wants to accomplish as long as we have the truth.'
Steves said he's hopeful about America, but at the same time, he's worried Trump is playing a game of Hearts.
'We're at a point right now where everybody at the table is realizing, Wait a minute, is he shooting the moon?' Steves said.
'Does he have what it takes to get there?' he continued. 'Is there any way we could stop him? He's got smart people working with him, and they know what they're doing, and they know exactly what it takes to shoot the moon and for them to scare people in power, to intimidate a legislator or a judge to not do what they know is right.'
'I don't expect normal citizens to stand by their principles at the endangerment of their families — that's a nice thing to aspire to, but in reality, it's a rare person who has that much courage, and you can't fault somebody for worrying about their family and laying low. And Trump knows that,' he concluded.
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