Putin, Trump, Iran, and Netanyahu Unveil the Terrifying Perils of Strongman Rule

Thom Hartmann - The most amazing thing about Donald Trump’s current criminal trial is that it is happening at all. He has told us that if he becomes president he’s going to change our country in a way that such a trial could never be possible again. There will be absolute immunity for Trump and his cronies, as he will argue before the Supreme Court on April 25. No person aligned with him will ever be prosecuted again. Just like in Hungary, Russia, Iran, Turkey, or China. Those countries are all run by strongman, the men Trump openly admires and aspires to be. As does Netanyahu. The irony about strongman leaders is that they’re generally not strong people. They use violence and the rhetoric of violence to mask their own fear and weakness, but, like the guy spinning plates on sticks, they know they’re always just one slip-up away from the whole thing crashing down around them.  MORE