Trump: America's Silvio Berlusconi

(This was published back in March, but the comparison of Trump with Italy's bunga-bunga boy rings more true each day.)

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/opinions/trump-the-new-silvio-berlusconi-opinion-benghiat/index.html


....."Like Trump, Berlusconi came to politics with a personal brand in place, thanks to his fame as a media and sports entrepreneur. That and his wealth allowed him independence from traditional political machines and a glamour that attracted crowds. One of the secrets of charismatic personalities is that they are aggressive with their followers: They don't try to be likeable. Berlusconi's list of sexist comments goes way beyond Trump's, and yet Italian housewives were one of his most reliable constituencies. He mimicked Mussolini's skill in flattering and threatening audiences: Trump takes from both of them.
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Berlusconi, owner of television networks, came to office threatening the media, just as Trump is doing now. Once in power he regularly tried to curb the power of rival and opposition newspapers and television stations, eroding over time the overall culture of journalistic integrity in Italy. He also subjected the Italian judiciary to unprecedented harassment on the grounds that it stood for the intrusion of the state into Italians' liberty, which was in part a smokescreen for avoiding his own judicial woes. Watch out when billionaires say they want to free the people from tyranny, and propose attacking the press and the courts as the way to do it.
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Berlusconi regularly "disrupted" international affairs, acting inappropriately on numerous occasions. In 2003, at the New York Stock Exchange, he listed Italy's beautiful secretaries as a primary reason for Americans to invest in the country. A staple of his unfunny comedy was to call black people sunburned or "tanned," as he labeled President Barack Obama in 2008.
Trump, too, revels in being politically incorrect. His incautious mode of speaking has already had negative consequences internationally. It is also a potential national security hazard, given that he would also be our commander in chief, someone whose every word and gesture will be studied by our allies and enemies.
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Berlusconi often minimized Mussolini's evil, portraying Il Duce as a statesman who was good for Italy. So it's not surprising that Berlusconi was responsible for bringing neo-fascists to power, through his 1994 governing coalition with the National Alliance party and the racist Northern League. Seemingly the goal of keeping Europe a white Christian space has been part of that and every other party platform Berlusconi has issued: He anticipated the rest of the continent, and now Trump's America, in that regard.
Italy's dignity and international standing worsened as a result of having Berlusconi at its helm. He made good on none of the promises of his economic platform, and the Italian economy was crippled by the time he was pressured to step down in 2011 during the Eurozone debt crisis.
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