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A review by vraegan
A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America by Carol Leonnig, Philip Rucker
5.0
This is required reading.
I will start by admitting I have done a poor job of keeping up with everything going on with the Trump administration, not only because this particular group of idiots are exhaustingly inept and to hear about them on a daily basis is soul-draining - but also because I have always felt constantly behind - like, there's so much about American politics I don't know to begin with; what does the US do in Syria anyway, what's the Attorney General's relationship to the White House SUPPOSED to be? etc. Stuff that we regrettably are not taught during the course of our required 12-year public education. And, part two of the problem, much of our news media tends to not explain or contextualize politics in-depth - probably because details bore capitalists. Sound bites win.
So I really, really needed this book. It has the details. It is clear, concise, and terrifying. I feel caught up now. I am freaked out by Trump but for reasons I can now name, which is empowering. He is not just an idiot - he is an active enemy of the American people. He is a racist con man who is deliberately "casting himself as a victim in a warped reality." The only thing his thick skull seems to actually grasp is the Nazi-model of leadership, that one person in a position of power can "create a cult of victimization to hold on to power and to justify their repressive agendas." Simply surround this person with yes-men and yes-women to enable, protect, and most importantly - to make a profit through their proximity to power.
As I think Covid has made pretty clear, this person could care less about the security or prosperity of the country. As I think Supreme Court nominations and Charlottesville and macing peaceful protestors has made pretty clear, this person could care less about your basic rights - to health, to freedom of speech, to choice, to socioeconomic mobility. God help us all if he and all his ilk aren't overthrown in November.
In short: good work, authors!
I will start by admitting I have done a poor job of keeping up with everything going on with the Trump administration, not only because this particular group of idiots are exhaustingly inept and to hear about them on a daily basis is soul-draining - but also because I have always felt constantly behind - like, there's so much about American politics I don't know to begin with; what does the US do in Syria anyway, what's the Attorney General's relationship to the White House SUPPOSED to be? etc. Stuff that we regrettably are not taught during the course of our required 12-year public education. And, part two of the problem, much of our news media tends to not explain or contextualize politics in-depth - probably because details bore capitalists. Sound bites win.
So I really, really needed this book. It has the details. It is clear, concise, and terrifying. I feel caught up now. I am freaked out by Trump but for reasons I can now name, which is empowering. He is not just an idiot - he is an active enemy of the American people. He is a racist con man who is deliberately "casting himself as a victim in a warped reality." The only thing his thick skull seems to actually grasp is the Nazi-model of leadership, that one person in a position of power can "create a cult of victimization to hold on to power and to justify their repressive agendas." Simply surround this person with yes-men and yes-women to enable, protect, and most importantly - to make a profit through their proximity to power.
As I think Covid has made pretty clear, this person could care less about the security or prosperity of the country. As I think Supreme Court nominations and Charlottesville and macing peaceful protestors has made pretty clear, this person could care less about your basic rights - to health, to freedom of speech, to choice, to socioeconomic mobility. God help us all if he and all his ilk aren't overthrown in November.
In short: good work, authors!