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suzanne_perez 's review for:
Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency
by David N. Bossie, Corey R. Lewandowski
Politics aside -- and I realize that's ridiculous, given the subject matter -- this book was almost painful to read. There were so many clichés and typos and outright groan-worthy moments, I thought the best way to review it would be to simply offer a selection of passages. Note: The book is co-written by Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, who worked on the Trump campaign and later on the transition team. It's written in a bizarre kind of boastful third-person, but switches at times to a collective "we." Sigh. Here you go:
"But CNN, in its infinite wisdom (as Corey likes to say)..." (As if Corey Lewandowski is the only person to ever use the phrase, "in its infinite wisdom.")
"Together they walked a deserted Fifty-Fourth Street toward the apartment Dave had taken for the campaign. Steam rose from the manhole covers. The smell of hotel trash filled their nostrils. A man sprayed the sidewalk with a hose. The scene was like something out of a film noir."
"Corey would come to find in the months and years that followed that Donald Trump’s mind works differently than most. His thoughts sometimes come out like pieces of a puzzle. It’s only later when you put the pieces together that you realize how much they’re worth. Sometimes the puzzle pieces form a masterpiece."
"The truth was, the political bug had bitten him, which is something like what sailors in the old days must have felt when they realized that their first true love was the sea."
"When he did start to assemble the core group, it came together like something out of a superhero comic book story – just without the superpowers, or any experience in politics."
"Since Corey had been in Aruba, Trump had probably called him ten times a day. He shuddered to think of his phone bill at the end of the month." (Wait a sec... His multi-billionaire boss isn't going to cover the phone bill?!)
"(Matt) Calamari (chief operating officer of Trump Properties) is a formidable presence. What makes him even more intimidating is that he speaks a little like Joe Pesci from either 'My Cousin Vinny' or 'Goodfellas' – take your pick – but only if you added about a hundred pounds to the voice and made it a foot taller."
"(CNN anchor Don) Lemon disputed the data on which the boss had based his remarks about Mexican rapists in his announcement speech. In Trump’s hand was a magazine article with data showing the increase in rapes, which might or might not have cited Mexican illegals as the cause. It didn’t matter to the people who listened to Trump whether the boss had gotten the details correct. His words captured the way they felt, and that’s all that mattered to them. His was a language the Left couldn’t and wouldn’t ever understand."
"The (campaign finance) disclosure also allowed us to flaunt a number with a nice ring to it: $10,000,000,000. Donald Trump’s net worth was ten billion dollars. How about them apples?"
"Trump zoomed ahead of Jeb Bush and his $150 million campaign like he was Wile E. Coyote and we were the Road Runner. Beep, Beep."
"Although the mainstream media and other haters give him little credit for his intellect, Donald Trump has more than a fundamental grasp on a surprising number of fields, including Jungian psychology. One of his favorite books is 'Memory, Dreams, Reflections,' Jung’s autobiography. Steve Bannon insists that Trump came up with the idea for the names Lyin’ Ted, Little Marco, Low-Energy Jeb, and, later, Crooked Hillary, from his knowledge of Jungian archetypes." (Really?!?!)
"On Corey’s birthday, the team threw him a party at campaign headquarters and presented him with a framed copy of a front-page New York Times profile of him. It’s still on the wall in his office at home, beside a small picture of the whole team." (Fascinating, I think, that Lewandowski treasures something from the "failing, fake-news" New York Times.)
"The boss taped a segment with Dr. Oz on Wednesday, September 13, in which he presented the results of a recent physical exam he was given by his doctor in New York. The results concluded that Donald Trump was not just a horse; he was a thoroughbred – American Pharaoh, as Corey called him."
"Corey didn’t care what they thought. Bold by nature, he was a lightning rod on television, a staunch defender of Donald J. Trump and the movement he led across our great country. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind or advocate for his old team in front of anyone, and he certainly didn’t have a problem going toe-to-toe with anyone." (Really, Corey? Tell us more!...)
"No matter what anyone said, Corey was good TV. On air, he was high energy and articulate. Plus, he knew his subject better than just about anyone in the world..."
And in what might be the most infuriating passage in the whole book, on page 241, Lewandowski and Trump are reflecting back on the campaign and what/who made it successful:
“'And we had Hope,' Corey added, referring to Hope Hicks, the campaign’s first communications staffer.
“'She had about as much experience as a coffee cup.'
“'But she’s good-looking,' Corey said.
“'That always helps,' he said."
"But CNN, in its infinite wisdom (as Corey likes to say)..." (As if Corey Lewandowski is the only person to ever use the phrase, "in its infinite wisdom.")
"Together they walked a deserted Fifty-Fourth Street toward the apartment Dave had taken for the campaign. Steam rose from the manhole covers. The smell of hotel trash filled their nostrils. A man sprayed the sidewalk with a hose. The scene was like something out of a film noir."
"Corey would come to find in the months and years that followed that Donald Trump’s mind works differently than most. His thoughts sometimes come out like pieces of a puzzle. It’s only later when you put the pieces together that you realize how much they’re worth. Sometimes the puzzle pieces form a masterpiece."
"The truth was, the political bug had bitten him, which is something like what sailors in the old days must have felt when they realized that their first true love was the sea."
"When he did start to assemble the core group, it came together like something out of a superhero comic book story – just without the superpowers, or any experience in politics."
"Since Corey had been in Aruba, Trump had probably called him ten times a day. He shuddered to think of his phone bill at the end of the month." (Wait a sec... His multi-billionaire boss isn't going to cover the phone bill?!)
"(Matt) Calamari (chief operating officer of Trump Properties) is a formidable presence. What makes him even more intimidating is that he speaks a little like Joe Pesci from either 'My Cousin Vinny' or 'Goodfellas' – take your pick – but only if you added about a hundred pounds to the voice and made it a foot taller."
"(CNN anchor Don) Lemon disputed the data on which the boss had based his remarks about Mexican rapists in his announcement speech. In Trump’s hand was a magazine article with data showing the increase in rapes, which might or might not have cited Mexican illegals as the cause. It didn’t matter to the people who listened to Trump whether the boss had gotten the details correct. His words captured the way they felt, and that’s all that mattered to them. His was a language the Left couldn’t and wouldn’t ever understand."
"The (campaign finance) disclosure also allowed us to flaunt a number with a nice ring to it: $10,000,000,000. Donald Trump’s net worth was ten billion dollars. How about them apples?"
"Trump zoomed ahead of Jeb Bush and his $150 million campaign like he was Wile E. Coyote and we were the Road Runner. Beep, Beep."
"Although the mainstream media and other haters give him little credit for his intellect, Donald Trump has more than a fundamental grasp on a surprising number of fields, including Jungian psychology. One of his favorite books is 'Memory, Dreams, Reflections,' Jung’s autobiography. Steve Bannon insists that Trump came up with the idea for the names Lyin’ Ted, Little Marco, Low-Energy Jeb, and, later, Crooked Hillary, from his knowledge of Jungian archetypes." (Really?!?!)
"On Corey’s birthday, the team threw him a party at campaign headquarters and presented him with a framed copy of a front-page New York Times profile of him. It’s still on the wall in his office at home, beside a small picture of the whole team." (Fascinating, I think, that Lewandowski treasures something from the "failing, fake-news" New York Times.)
"The boss taped a segment with Dr. Oz on Wednesday, September 13, in which he presented the results of a recent physical exam he was given by his doctor in New York. The results concluded that Donald Trump was not just a horse; he was a thoroughbred – American Pharaoh, as Corey called him."
"Corey didn’t care what they thought. Bold by nature, he was a lightning rod on television, a staunch defender of Donald J. Trump and the movement he led across our great country. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind or advocate for his old team in front of anyone, and he certainly didn’t have a problem going toe-to-toe with anyone." (Really, Corey? Tell us more!...)
"No matter what anyone said, Corey was good TV. On air, he was high energy and articulate. Plus, he knew his subject better than just about anyone in the world..."
And in what might be the most infuriating passage in the whole book, on page 241, Lewandowski and Trump are reflecting back on the campaign and what/who made it successful:
“'And we had Hope,' Corey added, referring to Hope Hicks, the campaign’s first communications staffer.
“'She had about as much experience as a coffee cup.'
“'But she’s good-looking,' Corey said.
“'That always helps,' he said."