The Weeknight

‘How to Build an Autocracy’

Episode Summary

Trump is testing the bounds of his authoritarianism in Washington, D.C. The Weeknight hosts and guests break it down.

Episode Notes

August 11, 2025 7p: President Trump authorized the deployment of the national guard into the streets of Washington, D.C. for a manufactured crime emergency. MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin and Brown University professor Corey Brettschneider join The Weeknight to discuss the implications of the order on American democracy. Plus, Rep. Jim Clyburn, who has represented South Carolina’s only majority-Black district since its creation in the early 1990s, joins to respond to GOP calls for an unprecedented mid-decade redraw that could wipe out his seat.

 

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