Trump’s Promotion Of Assassination Attempt Borrows From Authoritarian Playbook

Trump as a pinup idol?
Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, New York University

In the days since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, supporters of the former president have used the incident to project an image of power.

T-shirts of a bloodied Trump with his fist clenched were on sale at the Republican National Convention, where Trump – his ear bandaged – recounted his ordeal.

Of course, Trump is far from the first political...