Air Date 8/16/2025

There's the old Douglas Adams quote stating that, "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job" which is a good general rule to live by. But then there are the real baddies, those would-be leaders who possess one or more of the dark triad of traits that spells real doom for the societies that elevate them to power: narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism. Today we compare and contrast Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Xi Jinping also fits nicely on this list as an honorable mention but happens to not be part of the focus today.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected]

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Join our Discord community!

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience!

Join our Discord community!

KEY POINTS

KP 1: The World War II Lessons Trump, Putin, & Netanyahu Actually Learned - Tad Stoermer - Air Date 8-8-25

KP 2: 'Not About Crime': Maddow CRACKS OPEN Trump's Real Motives in Deploying the National Guard to D.C. - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-11-25

KP 3: Totally Unexpected - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-7-25

KP 4: 'No International Community Is Capable of Stopping Netanyahu' - James O'Brien on LBC - Air Date 7-22-25

KP 5: Kyiv-based Analyst: 'Ukraine Is Being Sidelined From Talks' - LBC - Air Date 8-10-25

KP 6: How Putin's Lies Are Driving the War in Ukraine The Foreign Affairs Interview - The Foreign Affairs Interview - Air Date 1-12-23

KP 7: Donald Trump Wants to Seize Your Reality - Mother Jones - Air Date 8-8-25

(00:49:39) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On why humanity is better than we seem and how we can save ourselves

‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse

DEEPER DIVES

(00:57:15) SECTION A: TRUMP THE LIAR

A1: Trump Rejects Reality - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-5-25

A2: Trump Pushes Forward with Revenge Presidency - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 8-8-25

A3: Ed Elson Slams Trump Firing Labor Statistics Boss: 'This Is What Cartoon Dictators Do' - Katy Tur - Air Date 8-1-25

A4: Trump Vs. the Bureau of Labor Statistics - The Journal. - Air Date 8-4-25

A5: Trump Thinks You're Very Stupid - The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder - Air Date 8-9-25

(01:32:17) SECTION B: NETANYAHU THE MANIPULATOR

B1: Gaza Takeover: Israel Launches New Stage of 'Indefinite, Genocidal Military Campaign' -Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-8-25

B2: Why Bibi Netanyahu Is on Trial - ABC News In-depth - Air Date 4-26-24

B3: DEBUNKED: 14 Israeli LIES About Gaza Famine - Owen Jones - Air Date 8-8-25

B4: Mehdi Hasan Explains Why the War in Gaza Wont End Soon - LBC -Air Date 8-5-25

B5: Trump's Intervention in Netanyahu's Corruption Trial 'Unprecedented': Gideon Levy - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 6-30-25

(02:09:13) SECTION C: PUTIN THE STRATEGIST

C1: Does Putin Have Dark Triad Traits? | Vladimir Putin Case Analysis - Dr. Todd Grande - Air Date 2-23-22

C2: What Happens When You Confront Putin in Public - Penguin History - Air Date 8-7-25

C3: Why Putin Is so Hard to Overthrow - Search Party - Air Date 8-18-23

(02:27:11) SECTION D: MYTHS COLLAPSE

D1: Shocking Study Proves Trumps Biggest Supporters Are Psychopaths - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 8-11-25

D2: America's Authoritarian Turn - Harvard Radcliffe Institute - Air Date 3-3-25

D3: Huge Economic Problems Coming for Republicans and the U.S. - Heather Cox Richardson - Air Date 8-7-25

D4: How Gaza Exposes The Myths Of The System - Andrewism - Air Date 8-5-25

(03:07:29) SECTION E: THE MEN BEHIND THE THRONE

E1: Who's the Man Who Has Putin's Ear? - NewsNation - Air Date 4-8-22

E2: From Terrorist Backer to Kingmaker: Itamar Ben-Gvir Israeli Far Right Help Netanyahu Regain Power - Democracy Now! - Air Date 11-4-22

E3: Bezalel Smotrich: Far-right Israeli Minister Calls for Resettlement of Gaza After War - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 12-31-23

E4: Aleksandr Dugin: The Far-right Theorist Behind Putins Plan - 60 Minutes - Air Date 4-12-22

E5: Why Did Israel Restart the War? One Answer: Bezalel Smotrich. - Consider This From NPR - Air Date 3-28-25

E6: Project 2025 Co-Author Lays Out 'Radical Agenda' for Next Trump Term in Undercover Video - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-16-24

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: A composite image of a pleased-looking Trump holding up a triangle that says “The Dark Triad” in the center, and “Narcissism”, “Machiavellianism”, and “Psychopathy” along each side. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Benjamin Netanyahu are pictured underneath.

Credit: “The Dark Triad” by Manitee71, Wikimedia Commons, License: CC-By-SA 4.0 | “Putin-politics-kremlin-russia” by DimitroSevastopol, Pixabay, License: Pixabay | “Xi Jinping 2019” by Palácio do Planalto, Wikimedia Commons, License: CC-BY-SA 4.0 | “31/03/2019 Jantar na Residência do Primeiro-Ministro de Israel” by Palácio do Planalto, Flickr, License: CC-BY-2.0

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at [email protected]