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cover of episode World’s Lamest Dictator Goes to Washington

World’s Lamest Dictator Goes to Washington

2025/4/16
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Pod Save the World
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The podcast discusses El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele's White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, focusing on the case of Kilmora Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian man wrongly deported to El Salvador. The discussion highlights the authoritarian nature of the scene and the use of the term 'terrorism' to delegitimize opponents.
  • Trump welcomed Bukele to the White House, showcasing a chummy rapport.
  • The Trump administration wrongly deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, despite a court order.
  • The discussion uses the term 'terrorism' to delegitimize opponents, which is a troubling sign of authoritarianism.
  • Bukele's enjoyment of being at the center of the action is highlighted.
  • The casual bullying and disregard for the law are discussed.

Shownotes Transcript

Tommy and Ben discuss El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s White House meeting with Trump and their coordinated assault on due process in America, the terrifying prospect of Trump sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Daniel Noboa’s re-election in Ecuador, and disgraced military contractor Erik Prince’s attempts to privatize and profit from right-wing autocracy. They also talk about Trump’s failures to end the war in Ukraine, the administration's talks with Iran about its nuclear program and the fight to define what a successful Iran deal 2.0 could look like, and the anti-Trump effect on Australia and Canada’s upcoming elections. Then, Tommy speaks to Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century), about Trump’s chaotic China policymaking in the first term and who in the administration is influencing his decision-making as he launches a massive trade war.