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Books by and about 2020 presidential candidates
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015)
Fire and Fury,
by Michael Wolff (2018)
Trump Revealed,
by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (2016)
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2016)
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017)
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden)
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019)
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010)
Guide to Political Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2017)
Where We Go From Here,
by Bernie Sanders (2018)
Our Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2016)
This Fight Is Our Fight,
by Elizabeth Warren (2017)
United,
by Cory Booker (2016)
Conscience of a Conservative,
by Jeff Flake (2017)
Two Paths,
by Gov. John Kasich (2017)
Every Other Monday,
by Rep. John Kasich (2010)
Courage is Contagious,
by John Kasich (1998)
Shortest Way Home,
by Pete Buttigieg (2019)
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018)
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018)
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017)
Trump vs. Hillary On The Issues ,
by Jesse Gordon (2016)
Outsider in the White House,
by Bernie Sanders (2015)

Book Reviews

(from Amazon.com)

(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)

Fear
Trump in the White House

by Bob Woodward



(Click for Amazon book review)

    Click on a participant to pop-up their full list of quotations
    from Fear, by Bob Woodward (number of quotes indicated):
  • Donald Trump (4) Republican Presidential incumbent
  • Jeff Sessions (1) Alabama Attorney General 2017-2018
  • Lindsey Graham (4) South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate
  • Marco Rubio (1) FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate
  • Mike Lee (1) Republican Jr Senator Utah
  • Mike Pence (1) Indiana Republican Vice President
  • Mike Pompeo (1) Kansas Former Secretary of State
    OR click on an issue category below for a subset.

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

Although veteran journalist Bob Woodward has ventured into other subjects, he is known first and foremost as a chronicler of American presidents. Fear: Trump in the White House is his 2018 look at Donald Trump's first year in office. It was followed by Rage in 2020, in which Trump -- who had not been interviewed for the first book -- spoke at length to Woodward. It contained the bombshell revelation that, behind the scenes, Trump realized the COVID-19 pandemic was far more serious than he admitted on camera. Woodward is currently working on a third Trump book covering the end of his presidency ("Peril"). Trump, who has given a number of authors interviews since leaving office, did not include Woodward.

Woodward's specialty is putting the reader in the middle of the White House doings as they confront the crises of the time. After the tumultuous final year of his presidency, which included two impeachment trials, the pandemic, the 2020 campaign, the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, and Trump's false and unproven claims of "fraud," Fear seems almost quaint. As shocking as some of the stories were at the time of release--such as how economic advisor Gary Cohn removed a letter from Trump's desk ending a trade deal with South Korea hoping he wouldn't notice--there was so much more to come. This is before the Helsinki summit where Trump sided with Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on Russian interference in elections, the summits with North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un, and the "perfect phone call" with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky where he tried to pressure the latter into investigating presidential rival Joe Biden.

One of the most notable features of that first year was the churn already starting among his appointees. There was Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who found himself being publicly contradicted by Trump, got dismissed from his post in a presidential tweet, and who reportedly referred to Trump as a "moron." There was Jeff Sessions, the Attorney-General who recused himself from the Russian investigation to Trump's unending anger, and General John Kelly, one of several people whose role as chief of staff was ignored by Trump and those who had the president's ear.

In terms of substance, there was the 2018 tax bill--Trump's major legislative victory--which Trump suggested be called the "Cut, Cut, Cut Bill." [p. 294] In foreign policy he was alienating our NATO allies, pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, and engaging in a war of words with Kim Jong-un who he dubbed "Little Rocket Man," which he called his "best nickname ever" [p. 281]. And then there was white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Trump's evolving comments became an issue in and of themselves. (Not so incidentally, Joe Biden would later cite Trump's reference to "very fine people on both sides" [p.246] as the reason he decided to run for president to oppose him.)

Even when his Trump trilogy is complete, Woodward's books will hardly be the last word on the subject. However, they will remain invaluable sources to those seeking to study the Trump era in years to come.

-- Daniel M. Kimmel, OnTheIssues editor, June 8, 2021

 OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)
Civil Rights
    Donald Trump: Charlottesville: you had very fine people on both sides.
Families & Children
    Marco Rubio: Insisted that Trump tax cut increase Child Tax Credit.
    Mike Lee: Insisted that Trump tax cut increase Child Tax Credit.
Foreign Policy
    Donald Trump: You can never show weakness; you've got to project strength.
Free Trade
    Mike Pence: Stayed out of discussions on steel and aluminum tariffs.
Immigration
    Donald Trump: Why are we having people from sh--hole countries come here?
Principles & Values
    Jeff Sessions: Trump: shouldn't have recused, wouldn't have picked him.
    Lindsey Graham: Trump cleaned up the mess that Obama left.
    Lindsey Graham: Presidents need people that can tell them the truth.
    Lindsey Graham: Biden: Graham has best instincts in the Senate.
Technology
    Donald Trump: Twitter is the reason I got elected and am successful.
War & Peace
    Lindsey Graham: Don't allow North Korea to get missile than can reach US.
    Mike Pompeo: CIA should not take responsibility for Afghanistan fighting.


    Click for quotations from other sources by:
  • Donald Trump Republican Presidential incumbent
  • Jeff Sessions Alabama Attorney General 2017-2018
  • Lindsey Graham South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate
  • Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate
  • Mike Lee Republican Jr Senator Utah
  • Mike Pence Indiana Republican Vice President
  • Mike Pompeo Kansas Former Secretary of State

The above quotations are from Fear
Trump in the White House

by Bob Woodward
.

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Page last edited: Dec 31, 2021