When Americans loved Benito Mussolini — and what it tells us about Donald Trump’s rise

The appeal of celebrity authority in tumultuous times.

Perspective by Giorgio Bertellini

Giorgio Bertellini is professor of film and media history at the University of Michigan.

February 28, 2019 at 6:00 a.m. EST

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1936. He achieved vast popularity in 1920s America. (AP) (AP)

Ever since appearing on the campaign trail in 2015, President Trump has triggered comparisons to the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. (It didn’t help that, mid-campaign, he tweeted out a Mussolini quote because, he explained, he found it “interesting.”) Such comparisons were once inconceivable for American democratic leaders, but Trump’s narcissistic personality and intemperate public pronouncements have encouraged them.