Episode Details

First things first: Trump isn’t the first US president to dabble in what’s called the “Madman Theory.” Richard Nixon tried it back in the day, acting unpredictable to scare adversaries into submission. According to Author James D. Boys, Trump has taken that theory and dialled it up to eleven. He says to be a true implementer of the madman theory, one has to be sane, "it has to be feigned,” Boys says. In other words, you’re not supposed to actually be a lunatic, just act like one. The parallels between Nixon and Trump don’t end there. Both have a love-hate relationship with the media. Both see “deep state” conspiracies everywhere. But while Nixon kept his paranoia hush-hush, Trump shouts it from Truth Social.

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