Large parts of this book, I really enjoyed.
For those of us made miserable by the 4-year mistake that was the Donald Trump presidency, there’s nothing better than seeing him flail about helplessly, our febrile democratic checks finally providing an exit ramp to this nightmare. I had always eschewed Trump/Nazi comparisons, mainly because they detract from the awfulness of American history in favor of grafting on another racist society. But if there’s one thing I have found similar from reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, it’s that there were many exit ramps to Adolf Hitler, yet as he sought to consolidate power, the Government, and then the elites, and finally the generals decided, for whatever selfish reasons, to remain silent. Such was the case here.
Because as laughable as it was that Trump was relying on bottom-of-the-barrel lawyers and fringe conspiracy theorists, you could sense the undercurrent of danger throughout the tale. Your supporters will believe whatever you tell them to, Mr. President. This was said as an encouragement to mask up during the coronavirus but Trump used it, oh did he use it, to perpetuate the big lie.
Thus, January 6.
Like 9/11 and 11/7/16, I have no real desire to relive that date. Parts of the recounting, I confess to have skipped over. I’m just reminded time and time again how whiteness gets a pass in our society.
The book itself? Eh. Some fly-on-the-wall convos but nothing you couldn’t have read or divined already. And a lot are Michael Wolff’s personal observations on the affair, which I could care less because Michael Wolff sucks. I hate that I so desperately love to read about Donald Trump but rarely have I found a good book about him. This ain’t it either.