US Elections: "I Read All Those 'Tell-Tale' Books About Donald Trump And Here's What I Learned"
Not nearly a day goes by without another book being published about the Trump White House, written by devoted former advisers or disgruntled former employees. Put all together, what can they tell us about the individual?
"Has there ever been a presidency like this?" Is the question asked of one of the authors of the many books on Donald Trump. The answer: "I assure you no."
Trump, the high-profile businessman and reality TV star who became president, against all odds, was always going to be a popular literary figure.
And the books were not long in coming.
Just this week, headlines cited the new issues that added to the already laden bookshelf from veteran journalist Bob Woodward and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
There have been best sellers from other reporters, revealing biographies of family members, and there is a whole industry of pro-Trump books written by conservative authors.
But this review focuses on the works written by those who worked with Trump either during his campaign or in the White House.
It's a long list:
- John Bolton, Trump's former National Security adviser, who was either removed or resigned, depending on which version you listen to. "One of the stupidest people I've ever met in the government," Trump himself called him.
- James Comey, the former FBI director controversially fired by Trump. He is not a fan of Trump, who in return calls Comey a "depraved." In his book there is a curious entry in the index: "Trump, Donald J., attempted hug of."
- Andrew McCabe, a former FBI deputy director who was fired by the Trump administration shortly after Comey. Trump called him a "great depraved."
- Anthony Scaramucci, who had a short-lived internship as communications director in 2017. His book is a Trump supporter, but since then "The Mooch" [his nickname] has become a critic (Trump: "A lazy man who begged he could return).
- Sean Spicer, who resigned as Trump's press secretary following Scaramucci's appointment. He is not spiteful in his book on the president.
- Sarah Sanders, Spicer's successor until July of last year. She remains loyal to Trump who called her a "warrior."
- Chris Christie, the first governor to endorse Trump in 2016. He led the transition team but was removed, reportedly on the orders of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. It is said to be helping Trump prepare for this year's election debates.
- Omarosa Manigault Newman, a contestant on The Apprentice show when Trump was the host, who joined her campaign and worked in the White House. Trump claims that she was "hated by everyone."
- Anonymous, an author who claims to be "a high-ranking official of the Trump administration. His identity is unknown but he has promised to reveal himself this year. Trump says he already knows who it is and is called a "fraud".
- Corey Lewandowski, the first campaign manager for the presidency, and deputy campaign manager David Bossie, who together have made a positive account of that campaign.
- Cliff Sims, a conservative journalist who served as a communications assistant. Of all the issues, this book cannot be dismissed as fierce criticism or hagiography. Trumpo called him a "disaster" and a "low-level" official. There was a legal dispute between the two but it is reported that he has already returned to the hosts.
- Given that, by their very nature, books are biased and what is recounted is often based on reports of private conversations, we rely on the authors' word that the events actually occurred.
Those who write empathically have been branded as apologists seeking to be received again, while critical authors have been accused of resentful.
But, taken together, what does the result?
"I need loyalty. I expect loyalty."
Whatever the final verdict of a particular author on Trump, there is a recurring theme.
"Donald Trump has a strong code of loyalty," writes Spicer.
"Nothing hurts you more deeply than when someone you trust is disloyal," say Lewandowski and Bossie. "Loyalty was a key factor" in the appointments, says Bolton.
Cohen, in "Unfair," and Comey, in "Higher Loyalty," build their titles around this concept.
Comey's book - part memoir, part leadership analysis, part revelation - hints at the moment when Trump allegedly told him "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty," when Comey was director of the FBI. Comey says he refused. He did not last long in his post.
In Trump's world, loyalty is the measure that decides who survives and who gets the president's attention. Sometimes it overflows into politics.
In his account of the Trump administration's relations with Venezuela, Bolton quotes Trump as saying of opposition leader Juan Guaidó: "I want you to say that you will be extremely loyal to the United States and to no one else."
But for most, loyalty in the Trump world is a one-way street.
As Sims highlights in the final chapter of his book: "I allowed my personal relationship with the president to blind me to the one unfailing truth that applied to anyone with whom I did not share his last name: we were all disposable."
The "unicorn" president
The demand for loyalty is part of the reason the authors liken Trump to a mob boss.
At least when Comey and McCabe do it, he has some authority, considering their careers have been in law enforcement agencies.
He was able to come out quite unscathed from that particular comparison.
To the Anonymous person, Trump is like a "12-year-old boy in an air traffic control tower." Comey says his leadership happens in a "wildfire."
Omarosa - whose book, even by the standards of Trump biographies, leaves no puppet with head - calls him "a racist, intolerant and misogynist."
Trump's corner can count on Christie, who claims he was "everything I was - but on jet fuel."
The most prominent comment of all is that of Spicer, who calls Trump "a unicorn, riding on a unicorn leaping over a rainbow."
Life with the president. The good...
There were few commonalities in the books that Trump supporters and his detractors say about his character.
To the voices that admire him, he is a man of charisma, keen instincts and political ability. For them their particular style of speaking - although infuriating at times - is a gift.
Trump "knew how to talk to the people," say Lewandoski and Bossie.
Spicer quotes his father as saying, "A lot of candidates say things like, 'I will fight for policies that will create a better economy,' while Trump says, 'I'm going to give you your job back.'
Elsewhere, "of all the personality traits that Trump liked to bring out about himself, his flaunting of 'energy' and 'stamina' were the ones that really couldn't be denied," writes Sims, an argument others stand out and that explains in part why lethargy is one of Trump's favorite subjects of attack on his opponents.
No one says there is a radically different side to Trump when the cameras go off - Sims says there is "really no private version" of him.
But there are stories of when he let his guard down and when - for once - he fell silent on election night after the news of his victory was known (Christie).
Others speak of telephone conversations to offer condolences after the death of loved ones, their affection for their family, or warmth towards the US military.
As Sanders recounts, it happened when Trump ran into soldiers while on a Christmas visit to Iraq. "A member of the US military told him he rejoined the military for him, and the president said, 'I'm here for you.'
... and the bad
Let's put it this way - only Spicer talks about unicorns.
Omarosa says Trump "totally lacks empathy, which is itself a function of extreme narcissism." McCabe calls him "the most prolific liar I've ever come across."
Anonymous describes Trump as ignorant, intellectually lazy and with such a short attention span that it is almost impossible to give him a report.
An adviser in the book says that Trump's requests fall into three categories - "outright stupid," "impossible to implement," and "outright illegal."
However, until we know who the author is, there will always be questions about the content of the book.
It's harder to dismiss the book by Bolt, who is the highest official to write his memoirs.
His role as National Security Advisor gave him a seat at the head table and a voice in some of the biggest events in the Trump presidency.
In his book, Bolton claims that Trump requested help from Chinese President Xi Jinping in order to be re-elected, urging China to buy agricultural products from farmers in key states.
Later in the text, Bolton says that Trump "could not differentiate between his personal interests and the interests of the country."
There are several examples of Trump befriending authoritarian leaders: Bolton notes that he had a habit of doing "personal favors for dictators that he liked," and that he was easily manipulated by them.
Describes a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as being "written by Pavlovians who knew exactly how to stimulate Trump's self-esteem-boosting nerves" and who during a summit "did not want" to be left alone with Vladimir Putin of Russia .
For Sims, "it was all personal to Tump. Everything. In international affairs, he believed that his personal relationship with foreign leaders was more important than a common interest in geopolitics."
Sims sees Trump as a man of "extraordinary talents and astonishing flaws."
Trump presses the button
With apologies to the authors who use their book to also talk about motherhood, their professional achievements or to mention the heroes, it is difficult to resist not reducing each one to an outstanding anecdote.
In Omarosa's, it's the moment when Trump asks if he can take the oath using a copy of "The Art of Negotiation" [Trump's book]. She says "he wanted me to believe he was joking".
Sanders describes the moment when the US president tried to help North Korea's Kim Jong-un improve his dental hygiene.
"When lunch started, the president offered Kim a breath mint. 'Tic Tac?' Kim, confused, and probably worried that it was an attempt to poison him, didn't know how to respond. The president dramatically blew into the air to reassure Kim that it was just a mint. "
But the boss of all bosses, the anecdote that surpasses all others, belongs to Sims, who says that a small wooden box with a red button inside can often be found on the president's desk in the Oval Office.
"If Trump catches someone looking at the box ... he would take it and put it a little further away from him. 'Don't worry about this,' he would say. 'Nobody wants me to press that button,'" he says.
"The guests would giggle and the conversation would continue, until several minutes later Trump would suddenly move the box close to him again without saying anything about it. Then, a while later, for no apparent reason, he would suddenly push the red button. Knowing what to do, the visitors would exchange amazed glances. A few moments later, a waiter would enter the room with a glass filled with Diet Coke on a silver platter and Trump would laugh. "
About fashion and culture
Trump is frequently photographed wearing ties that are unusually long on him, with the tip falling below his waist. The reason for this, according to Christie, is that he thinks that makes him look slimmer.
As for his famous hair, Sims claims that he always carried a can of hair spray in his pocket in case the presidential hairstyle needed a touch-up.
Omarosa assures that there is a tanning bed in the White House for the President's use. He also maintains that an assistant was fired because Trump did not approve of her "handling" of this machine.
Elsewhere we read that Trump thinks the Guns N 'Roses song "November Rain" is "the best music video of all time" (Sanders) and that he was obsessed with sending Elton John's "Rocket Man" CD to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Bolton).
Beyond the reports he is given and the newspapers, the president is not described as a great reader. Scaramucci, however, mentions the novel "All Quiet on the Front" as one of Trump's favorites, while Lewandowski / Bossie argue that another reading he likes is the autobiography of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.
The why of our work
In the case of those who worked for Trump, but then turned their back on him. Why were they with him?
In Omarosa's case, it was a question of loyalty, even when she felt that as a black woman working in a government with little diversity she was giving her political protection.
For others it was a question of loyalty to the Republican Party and to an agenda, rather than to the president herself.
Partisan ties should not be underestimated. As Sanders puts it, in relation to the decision to join the campaign: "It was going to be Trump or Hillary, help save the country or let it go to hell."
Bolton says he knew the risks but felt he could handle the situation. The two made an odd couple: Trump promised to stop "endless wars" but named a man who had allegedly said he had never seen a war that he did not like.
Bolton's time in government was marked by the adoption of aggressive policies against Iran, Venezuela and others. Their regret is that they weren't aggressive enough.
Mistakes made (but not by me)
Following the tradition of great memories, mistakes are recognized but responsibility is avoided.
Trump's campaign team and his White House look like scenes of fratricidal struggles.
Most of the books, particularly those written by members of Trump's team, include extensive attacks on other members of the same team.
Some say that it was the appointment of the wrong people to the wrong positions that explained some of the mistakes, rather than the responsibility that falls on the president.
Upon arriving at the White House, Bolton was warned by then-Chief of Staff John Kelly: "This is a bad place to work, as you will soon discover."
Spices and Sanders attack the press. Trump "has never received even remotely the credit he deserves for his successes from the mainstream media," according to Spicer.
There is also the impression that Trump officials are holding back at key moments.
Bolton at various points says he contemplated resigning but, according to his account, the last straw was the collapse of the talks with the Taliban.
Both Comey and McCabe describe and sometimes regret not having faced the president.
Remembering that "bizarre" conversation, in which the president asked him who he had voted for, McCabe wonders:
"Should I have been more confrontational? ... Even with Donald Trump he is still the president. So the reflex, the automatic response that I felt from the depths of my being was to be respectful and receptive," he writes.
Lessons for this year's voting
These books are not the ideal place to find predictions about how the November elections will play out.
The fact that many begin by counting the dismissal or resignation of the author stands out, so it is clear that their voices are not heard in the White House.
However, there are one or two relevant clues.
The rallies occupy a central place in Trump's world as a source of energy and as a sort of focus group that allows him to sharpen his message. That stunning 2016 victory is something he wants to repeat and savor.
"I felt the tension that I think bothers Trump the most, at least unconsciously: Nothing about the experience of being president has reached the peak it reached when he became president," says Sims.
The title and subject of the Lewandowski / Bossie book, "Let Trump Be Trump", alludes to the portrait they make of a man who is not going to change and who should not change either - according to them - given his last time hit.
With Joe Biden still leading the polls, perhaps the best lesson comes from Christie, whom Trump defeated on his way to victory in 2016:
"As someone who has competed with him, I am clear on this: underestimate him at your own risk."
