While Trump's attempts to tip the 2020 election in his favor by declaring fraud have been unsuccessful, Democrats need to face the fact that the damage to democracy will be lasting, says historian and authoritarian expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

"They're going to have to change their messaging because things are getting very, very frightening, very, very serious and being above it all, is not going to work," she said citing lessons from history including when Mussolini was able to fix an election because Italian parliament remained silent.

Watch the full episode to hear more from Ben-Ghiat on how Trump stacks up against modern authoritarian leaders, including how he's used his close inner circle of family in the White House to hold onto power.