In the 1970s, Chairman Mao’s political power was fading and he was being sidelined by the establishment. After decades of propaganda, the people loved him personally, and so he decided to circumvent the bureaucracy and speak directly to the people. The Chairman told the people that China was threatened by class enemies that had infiltrated the Party, the military and the cultural sphere, and he told his supporters to take to the street. Question everyone and everything, he said. He encouraged mass rallies and chaos, but he did need to give exact instructions on what to do with class enemies. His supporters knew what to do, and many of Chairman Mao’s former allies were tortured and died in prison.
Was January 6th, 2021 an attempted Cultural Revolution-style moment for President Trump? Are the ‘Hang Mike Pence’ chants a simple Liu Shaoqi moment for the President? Or are we seeing cracks of disillusionment in the conspiracy wing of Trumpism, much like how the idea of Chairman Mao lost the mandate of heaven after Lin Biao? Is President-Elect Biden a Khrushchev-type character? Can the center hold if the military storms the inauguration?
Take a listen and learn from history.
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