Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told CNN on Sunday that President Donald Trump has "undemocratic instincts" that she finds troubling.
Albright, who released her book "Fascism: A Warning" last week, said she is not calling Trump a fascist but is very concerned that he is "somebody who derides the importance of the press, calls you all the enemy of the people, who thinks he's above the law, who is in fact exacerbating the differences that exist in our society, and is somebody who plays the crowds in a way that I find dangerous in terms of propaganda. And has created a situation where there's identification with one group of people while there's no recognition of the individual rights of the others."
Albright emphasized that the rise of fascism is usually very incremental and illustrated her point by citing a quote by Mussolini that "You pluck the chicken one feather at a time and people don't really notice."
She also stressed that in fascism "you always have to find a scapegoat, it's somebody else's fault," and that she is concerned by the tendency in the United States to see immigrants as a threat, which she said actually undermines one of the great characteristics of the country, which is its diversity.
The former secretary of State, who served under President Bill Clinton, said she was encouraged by the pushback and resiliency of democracy she has seen in the U.S., but emphasized that "it does require the active participation of the people."
To that end, Albright said it was very important for her to put out a warning by writing this book and to stand up for the rights of others.
Albright, who mentioned that she is her eighties, said that "It took me a long time to find my voice. I didn't have a high-level job until I was 55 years old, and I'm not going to shut up, frankly."
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