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Mead argues Trump unlocked operational power by weaponizing fame and drama

Walter Russell Mead · Why the World Order Is Collapsing and American Power Is Rising · Sep 8, 2026 · at 4:58

Foreign policy scholar Walter Russell Mead analyzes Donald Trump's political methodology during an interview with Patrick O'Shaughnessy.

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“He really is a genius, and he's discovered, I think, One of the secrets of power in the contemporary world, which is he's managed to turn fame into power, drama into power, in, and to do it in ways that, that leave him completely free to act.”

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