Can studying Mao Zedong help explain Donald Trump?
A Trump Mao Comparison
China Talk, May 27, 2025https://www.academia.edu/129590014/Can_studying_Mao_Zedong_help_explain_Donald_Trump_Trump_Mao_Comparison_China_Talk
To find out, ChinaTalk interviewed the legendary sinologist Orville Schell, who visited China during the Cultural Revolution and is currently at the Asia Society.
We discuss…
• Mao Zedong’s psychology and political style,
• Similarities and differences between Mao and Trump,
• How Mao-era traumas reverberate in modern China, including how the Cultural Revolution has influenced the Xi family,
• How Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping survived the Cultural Revolution, and which of their tactics could be useful in modern America,
• What civil society can do to defend democracy over the next four years.
Co-hosting is Alexander Boyd, associate editor at China Books Review and former ChinaTalk intern.
Culture War x Cultural Revolution
(...)
Read the entire interview at: