US President Donald Trump has once again resorted to tactics from the autocratic playbook. His verbal attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of cameras in the Oval Office represents exactly the kind of ritual humiliation that autocrats have long used to elevate themselves, entertain themselves - and intimidate others.
One of the most notorious dictators in history, Joseph Stalin, regularly humiliated my great-grandfather, Nikita Khrushchev, and his Politburo colleagues. As Khrushchev would later recount, Stalin once forced him to dance the gopak, a Ukrainian folk dance, in front of high-ranking party officials. "I had to squat and kick my heels out, which, frankly, was not easy for me," he recalled. "But when Stalin says 'play,' a wise man plays."
Stalin's motive for staging such spectacles was undoubtedly a desire to keep his subordinates in subjection. But his motives were not merely political: Khrushchev noted that Stalin found the humiliation of others "entertaining." How could a megalomaniacal dictator not enjoy the sight of the most powerful men in his empire voluntarily humiliating themselves to please him—he, the one and only, who towered above them all?
Even Stalin's children were not spared. During the last New Year's Eve party of his life, a drunken Stalin ordered his daughter Svetlana to entertain the guests with a dance. Khrushchev described the scene: "Stalin grabbed her by the hair and pulled her." Although her "face turned red and tears filled her eyes," he "pulled her even harder," dragging her back to the podium.
Ritual humiliation was also a specialty of Mao Zedong. He forced Zhou Enlai - one of the architects of Chinese communism and the longest-serving premier of the People's Republic of China - to give "self-correction" monologues. These speeches usually ended with Zhou extolling Mao's wisdom, which, he admitted, he had not previously seen because he was too blind or morally corrupt. But no matter how much Zhou humiliated himself, it was never enough for Mao - in the end, he did not allow him to be treated for cancer.
Of course, Trump is no Stalin or Mao - who were dictators of brutal and serious intent, determined to drag their countries, with screams and resistance, to the top of world power. (Another fierce dictator of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler, reserved his cruelty mostly for those his racist ideology deemed inferior, while within the circles of the Nazi elite he sometimes acted almost as a marriage counselor - he even served as best man at the wedding of his notorious propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels.)
Trump should be seen as a despot-dilettante, a Roman emperor on reality TV. Is it any surprise that the man who ended every episode of "The Apprentice" with a ritualistic dismissal is now directing humiliating spectacles in the Oval Office? After publicly berating Zelensky, the leader of a country that is an American ally and is at war, Trump said it himself: this will make "great TV."
Zelensky, of course, is not the only world leader Trump has publicly disparaged. He recently mocked outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him a “governor” from the “great country of Canada.” His newly confirmed successor, Mark Carney, should brace himself for similar treatment, as under Trump, humiliating opponents has apparently become a new tool of American diplomacy.
Predictably, Trump has not spared his opponents and critics in the United States, often insulting them with childish imitations and nicknames. He seems to particularly enjoy it, coming up with labels you might hear in a college dorm: "Sleepy Joe" for former President Joe Biden, "Comrade Kamala" for former Vice President Kamala Harris, "Ron DeSanctimonious" for Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump, like Stalin and Mao, also enjoys humiliating his closest associates. His first cabinet meeting of the year was a veritable festival of poltroonism, bringing together some of the most powerful people in the world (and they are almost exclusively men, although Attorney General Pam Bondi can easily compete with them).
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world - apparently wanting to stand out from the crowd - posed at a table in a T-shirt that read "Tech Support" and casually nodded in approval of Trump's wisdom and leadership.
At the next cabinet meeting, Musk appeared somewhat more subdued: this time he wore a suit, as Trump had demanded. But he was allowed to attack Secretary of State Marco Rubio for not laying off enough employees, insinuating that Rubio's only advantage was that he "looked good on TV."
No one wants to be humiliated in front of their colleagues, let alone in front of TV cameras, just weeks after taking office — especially not by someone who doesn’t belong there. But if Republicans have proven anything, it’s that they’re willing to swallow any humiliation just to stay in Trump’s good graces. They bow, they submit, and they remain silent — no matter how reckless and destructive his ideas are. Republicans in Congress cheer as the president rejects what they once stood for — from economic openness to support for NATO to funding for basic scientific research.
A significant portion of the American media has also been silenced and forced into submission. Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world (or third, depending on stock market movements), has tarnished the reputation of the Washington Post, which he owns, by announcing that its editorial policy will effectively become the mouthpiece of the MAGA movement ("Make America Great Again").
And the ABC News television channel humbled itself through its lawyers, agreeing to a settlement in a defamation lawsuit that it would almost certainly win.
With Trump's actions increasingly being scrutinized by the courts, it is almost certain that the judiciary will also feel the pressure of his intimidation tactics. If the judiciary gives in, American democracy will follow suit.
The author is a professor of international affairs at the New School of New York University
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2025. (translation: NR)
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