| A WARNING Anonymous New York: Twelve, November 2019 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-1-5387-1846-9 | ||||
| ISBN-10 1-5387-1846-4 | 259pp. | HC | $30.00 | |
In the annals of dysfunctional governing, disruptive politicking, and dissonant public behavior, Donald John Trump stands alone. He is the grandee of greed, the paragon of prevaricators, the rajah of reproach, the sultan of selfishness. The author of this book, being a senior member of his administration, understands him well — and understands his faults.
As anonymous, this author contributed an op-ed piece to the New York Times in October 2018. His1 message there was that Trump had not grown into the job, as many had hoped he might; he was in fact worse than before taking the oath. But a dedicated cadre was doing their best to head off his mistakes.
However, as the months went by and responsible staffers were fired by Trump, or left out of frustration, it became clear to Anonymous that there was no way to rein in Trump's reign of error. The American public had to know what was going on in the White House under Trump, so that they could make the right decision when the time came. Hence this book.
"The White House, quite simply, is broken. Policies are rarely coordinated or thoroughly considered. Major issues are neglected until a crisis develops. Because there is no consistent process, it is easy for the administration to run afoul of federal laws, ethics guidelines, or other norms of behavior. We will walk through a fraction of the mind-numbing examples in this book, but it will take many years to fully capture the scope of the unruliness." – Page 36 |
In it he shows us an insider's view of how things went wrong: the nonsensical orders, changing mercurially from day to day; the rejection of advice from professionals; the removal of people Trump perceived as disloyal to himself; the constant lying. By the end of the first year what Trump calls the Deep State, and Anonymous calls the Steady State, had largely collapsed. Anonymous goes on to describe Trump's faults in detail: the character defects, the misunderstanding of what the job requires; the undermining of democratic and constitutional norms; the affinity for dictators; the polarization of society.
"The net effect of the president's war on democratic institutions is that he has turned the government of the United States into one of his companies: a badly managed enterprise defined by a sociopathic personality in the c-suite, rife with infighting, embroiled in lawsuits, falling deeper into debt, allergic to internal and external criticism, open to shady side deals, operating with limited oversight, and servicing its self-absorbed owner at the expense of its customers. We should have seen this one coming. This is only what President Trump has done here at home. Remember, this man is also the de-facto leader of the free world." – Page 150 |
Trump alone would have been bad enough. But Trump somehow collected a cadre of enablers consisting of his compliant cabinet and White House staff, plus most of the Republicans in Congress. It adds up to an existential crisis for American democracy. One remedy remains: the choice of a newly enlightened electorate to remove Trump and his enablers at the first opportunity: 3 November 2020. Anonymous vests a great deal of hope in this outcome, for he feels impeachment and Article 25 are cures worse than the disease.
This author is well-read and a dedicated patriot, as well as a conservative in the old meaning of the term. His distress comes through clearly, but it does not corrupt his arguments, which are cogent throughout. I recommend this analysis of Trump for all citizens.
"There is something else to consider about the next four years—how lucky we have been to avoid a monumental international crisis since Trump took office. We have not suffered a major attack against the United States or been forced to go to war, but it's only a matter of time before that luck runs out. Those of you tempted to vote to reelect Donalt Trump, despite the scandals and despite credible evidence of wrongdoing, might want to consider what could happen when that crisis comes. Do we want to keep our nuclear arsenal, and our nation's military, under the stewardship of a man who ignores intelligence briefings, who puts his self-interest ahead of the country's needs during international engagements, who enjoys the company of foreign thugs, who our enemies think is a fool they can manipulate, who has shunned our friends, whose credibility has been shattered, and who our national security leaders no longer trust? Consider it." – Page 244 |
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.