Trump Kicks Down the Guardrails
About this episode
Klein and historian Anne Applebaum assess the authoritarian risks of Trump's second term through the lens of her work on modern autocracy. Applebaum argues Trump's early appointments — Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Pete Hegseth for defense, Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence — signal an intent to capture the 'power agencies' of military, justice, and intelligence, following the classic playbook in which elected leaders take over the state to avoid losing power. They discuss loyalty tests, the weaponization of agencies against enemies, Elon Musk's unprecedented role as oligarch-adviser and media owner, the tech right's futurist impatience with democracy, and why 'fascism' is a misleading frame for what is more likely a kleptocratic, performative authoritarianism. Applebaum's counsel: the antidote to democratic decline is civic participation — join something, run for something, stay engaged.