249 - Chris Hedges: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Rise of American Fascism

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times. He has covered numerous wars across the decades, written many books—including America: The Farewell Tour and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America—and has been involved in work for prisoner advocacy. In this episode, Robinson and Chris discuss Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the rise of American fascism. More particularly, they address comparisons between Trump and Hitler, DOGE, the new crisis for the Democratic Party, Israel and Palestine, the Christian far right, Marxism, and more. Chris’s latest book is A Genocide Foretold (Penguin Random House, 2025). Chris’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@chrishedgeschannel?si=XIMAFyQFmWGoYyuOThe Chris Hedges Report Substack: https://chrishedges.substack.comA Genocide Foretold: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786808/a-genocide-foretold-by-chris-hedges/OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:00:59 PTSD and Weightlifting00:06:49 The Decline of the American Empire00:11:10 The Strongest Dimension of Trump’s Presidency00:17:20 Was Hitler a Better Speaker than Trump?00:19:54 How the Democratic Party Sold Out the Working Class00:22:21 Elon Musk and the Oligarchic Takeover of America00:28:26 Is Elon Musk Wrong About the Efficiency of Government?00:31:02 What Is the Deep State?00:42:46 Is Donald Trump at War with the Deep State?00:49:23 Infiltrating the Far Right Christian Community00:54:04 Becoming a Minister00:57:27 The Christian Right and the Fascist State01:06:26 The Problem of Evil01:10:31 On Sadism and the Decline of Empires01:17:35 Why the Christian Right Supports Israel01:20:20 How Does Trump Think of Israel?01:27:38 On How the CIA Attempted to Recruit Him01:31:06 Is Israel Still Committing Genocide in Gaza?01:40:25 Chris’s New Book01:46:24 On His Time with Hamas01:55:01 Journalism vs Academia01:58:28 Is Zionism Anti-Semitism?02:04:52 How to Read the Bible02:12:01 Where Does Integrity Come From?02:22:26 Dehumanization in Palestine02:26:15 On Marxism and Elon Musk02:31:16 The Farewell Tour02:35:34 On Trump’s Love of TV02:37:50 On Reporting the Middle East02:39:56 Russia and Ukraine02:42:59 Growing Wealth Disparities in the United States02:46:56 Fascist Attacks on Education02:51:39 The Dark Future of the Press02:57:30 Could the American Empire Be Revived?Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.