1.トランプ本は"Devil's Bargain","Fire and Fury"と合わせて三冊読みましたが、これが一番面白くて確かなのでまずはこれを読みましょう。
2.作品の中ではトランプさん随分と意地悪な描かれ方をしてますが、既得権益と戦おうと思ったら物わかりの良い態度は取れないし、既得権益側がそれを描写したらこの作品のようになるんじゃないですかね?最近、オバマよりトランプの方が大統領として後世に影響を与える可能性を指摘する声がちらほらと聞こえてきますが、それはそのような事情によるものと思います。
3. そういえば、最近ナバロが「トランプ大統領の関税に関する考えに正当な評価を」とする記事をWSJ紙に書いていましたね。
4.本社は2017年初頭で終わっていますが、それから2年経ってホワイトハウスチームの熟れ具合も変わってきているように見えます。続編を是非期待したいです。
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Fear: Trump in the White House (English Edition) Kindle版
OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD
RUNAWAY #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SENSATIONAL #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Explosive.”—The Washington Post
“Devastating.”—The New Yorker
“Unprecedented.”—CNN
“Great reporting...astute.”—Hugh Hewitt
THE INSIDE STORY ON PRESIDENT TRUMP, AS ONLY BOB WOODWARD CAN TELL IT
With authoritative reporting honed through nine presidencies, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies.
Fear is the most intimate portrait of a sitting president ever published during the president’s first years in office. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One and the White House residence.
Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. Often with day-by-day details, dialogue and documentation, Fear tracks key foreign issues from North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, NATO, China and Russia. It reports in-depth on Trump’s key domestic issues particularly trade and tariff disputes, immigration, tax legislation, the Paris Climate Accord and the racial violence in Charlottesville in 2017.
Fear presents vivid details of the negotiations between Trump’s attorneys and Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia investigation, laying out for the first time the meeting-by-meeting discussions and strategies. It discloses how senior Trump White House officials joined together to steal draft orders from the president’s Oval Office desk so he would not issue directives that would jeopardize top secret intelligence operations.
“It was no less than an administrative coup d’état,” Woodward writes, “a nervous breakdown of the executive power of the most powerful country in the world.”
RUNAWAY #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SENSATIONAL #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Explosive.”—The Washington Post
“Devastating.”—The New Yorker
“Unprecedented.”—CNN
“Great reporting...astute.”—Hugh Hewitt
THE INSIDE STORY ON PRESIDENT TRUMP, AS ONLY BOB WOODWARD CAN TELL IT
With authoritative reporting honed through nine presidencies, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies.
Fear is the most intimate portrait of a sitting president ever published during the president’s first years in office. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One and the White House residence.
Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. Often with day-by-day details, dialogue and documentation, Fear tracks key foreign issues from North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, NATO, China and Russia. It reports in-depth on Trump’s key domestic issues particularly trade and tariff disputes, immigration, tax legislation, the Paris Climate Accord and the racial violence in Charlottesville in 2017.
Fear presents vivid details of the negotiations between Trump’s attorneys and Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia investigation, laying out for the first time the meeting-by-meeting discussions and strategies. It discloses how senior Trump White House officials joined together to steal draft orders from the president’s Oval Office desk so he would not issue directives that would jeopardize top secret intelligence operations.
“It was no less than an administrative coup d’état,” Woodward writes, “a nervous breakdown of the executive power of the most powerful country in the world.”
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著者について
Bob Woodward is an associate editor at The Washington Post where he has worked for 49 years and reported on every American president from Nixon to Trump. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for the Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second 20 years later as the lead Post reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
From Publishers Weekly
Lawson, daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, debuts with this anthology. Along with advice and words of wisdom, these letters offer intimate insights into the lives of 68 acclaimed Americans-actors, artists, explorers, inventors, novelists, playwrights, politicians-including Ansel Adams, Thomas Edison, Sam Houston, Mary Todd Lincoln, Jack London, Clare Boothe Luce, Groucho Marx, John O'Hara, Frederick Law Olmsted, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Laura Ingalls Wilder. The material is gathered thematically into chapters such as "Love," "Loss" and "Struggle," and each correspondent gets a biographical, scene-setting introduction. Lawson views letters as "the color, heart, and personality of history," and McCullough, in his foreword, calls them "missives of love," adding, "Often the authors want only to save their children from making the mistakes they have." Among these colorful and compassionate epistles are delights and surprises. While Alexander Graham Bell copied jokes from newspapers, the Three Stooges' Moe Howard composed poetry for his eight-year-old daughter. Suffering in a New Jersey hospital, Woody Guthrie told nine-year-old Arlo, "Don't whine to god.... Be thankenful [sic] to god." Illustrator N.C. Wyeth cautioned Andrew Wyeth: "There's a real task on our hands, Andy. Modern art critics and their supine followers like the flat and the shallow." Spanning three centuries, this is a meticulously edited collection, enlightening and entertaining. An appendix traces births, death, marriages and children for each author.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
抜粋
Fear
In August 2010, six years before taking over Donald Trump’s winning presidential campaign, Steve Bannon, then 57 and a producer of right-wing political films, answered his phone.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” asked David Bossie, a longtime House Republican investigator and conservative activist who had chased Bill and Hillary Clinton scandals for almost two decades.
“Dude,” Bannon replied, “I’m cutting these fucking films I’m making for you.”
The 2010 midterm congressional elections were coming up. It was the height of the Tea Party movement and Republicans were showing momentum.
“Dave, we’re literally dropping two more films. I’m editing. I’m working 20 hours a day” at Citizens United, the conservative political action committee Bossie headed, to churn out his anti-Clinton films.
“Can you come with me up to New York?”
“For what?”
“To see Donald Trump,” Bossie said.
“What about?”
“He’s thinking of running for president,” Bossie said.
“Of what country?” Bannon asked.
No, seriously, Bossie insisted. He had been meeting and working with Trump for months. Trump had asked for a meeting.
“I don’t have time to jerk off, dude,” Bannon said. “Donald Trump’s never running for president. Forget it. Against Obama? Forget it. I don’t have time for fucking nonsense.”
“Don’t you want to meet him?”
“No, I have no interest in meeting him.” Trump had once given Bannon a 30-minute interview for his Sunday-afternoon radio show, called The Victory Sessions, which Bannon had run out of Los Angeles and billed as “the thinking man’s radio show.”
“This guy’s not serious,” Bannon said.
“I think he is serious,” Bossie said. Trump was a TV celebrity and had a famous show, The Apprentice, that was number one on NBC some weeks. “There’s no downside for us to go and meet with him.”
Bannon finally agreed to go to New York City to Trump Tower.
They rode up to the 26th floor conference room. Trump greeted them warmly, and Bossie said he had a detailed presentation. It was a tutorial.
The first part, he said, lays out how to run in a Republican primary and win. The second part explains how to run for president of the United States against Barack Obama. He described standard polling strategies and discussed process and issues. Bossie was a traditional, limited-government conservative and had been caught by surprise by the Tea Party movement.
It was an important moment in American politics, Bossie said, and Tea Party populism was sweeping the country. The little guy was getting his voice. Populism was a grassroots movement to disrupt the political status quo in favor of everyday people.
“I’m a business guy,” Trump reminded them. “I’m not a professional ladder-climber in politics.”
“If you’re going to run for president,” Bossie said, “you have to know lots of little things and lots of big things.” The little things were filing deadlines, the state rules for primaries—minutiae. “You have to know the policy side, and how to win delegates.” But first, he said, “you need to understand the conservative movement.”
Trump nodded.
“You’ve got some problems on issues,” Bossie said.
“I don’t have any problems on issues,” Trump said. “What are you talking about?”
“First off, there’s never been a guy to win a Republican primary that’s not pro-life,” Bossie said. “And unfortunately, you’re very pro-choice.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have a record of giving to the abortion guys, the pro-choice candidates. You’ve made statements. You’ve got to be pro-life, against abortion.”
“I’m against abortion,” Trump said. “I’m pro-life.”
“Well, you’ve got a track record.”
“That can be fixed,” Trump said. “You just tell me how to fix that. I’m—what do you call it? Pro-life. I’m pro-life, I’m telling you.”
Bannon was impressed with the showmanship, and increasingly so as Trump talked. Trump was engaged and quick. He was in great physical shape. His presence was bigger than the man, and took over the room, a command presence. He had something. He was also like a guy in a bar talking to the TV. Street-smart, from Queens. In Bannon’s evaluation, Trump was Archie Bunker, but a really focused Archie Bunker.
“The second big thing,” Bossie said, “is your voting record.”
“What do you mean, my voting record?”
“About how often you vote.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well,” Bossie said, “this is a Republican primary.”
“I vote every time,” Trump said confidently. “I’ve voted every time since I was 18, 20 years old.”
“That’s actually not correct. You know there’s a public record of your vote.” Bossie, the congressional investigator, had a stack of records.
“They don’t know how I vote.”
“No, no, no, not how you vote. How often you vote.”
Bannon realized that Trump did not know the most rudimentary business of politics.
“I voted every time,” Trump insisted.
“Actually you’ve never voted in a primary except once in your entire life,” Bossie said, citing the record.
“That’s a fucking lie,” Trump said. “That’s a total lie. Every time I get to vote, I voted.”
“You only voted in one primary,” Bossie said. “It was like in 1988 or something, in the Republican primary.”
“You’re right,” Trump said, pivoting 180 degrees, not missing a beat. “That was for Rudy.” Giuliani ran for mayor in a primary in 1989. “Is that in there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get over that,” Trump said.
“Maybe none of these things matter,” Bossie said, “but maybe they do. If you’re going to move forward, you have to be methodical.”
Bannon was up next. He turned to what was driving the Tea Party, which didn’t like the elites. Populism was for the common man, knowing the system is rigged. It was against crony capitalism and insider deals which were bleeding the workers.
“I love that. That’s what I am,” Trump said, “a popularist.” He mangled the word.
“No, no,” Bannon said. “It’s populist.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Trump insisted. “A popularist.”
Bannon gave up. At first he thought Trump did not understand the word. But perhaps Trump meant it in his own way—being popular with the people. Bannon knew popularist was an earlier British form of the word “populist” for the nonintellectual general public.
An hour into the meeting, Bossie said, “We have another big issue.”
“What’s that?” Trump asked, seeming a little more wary.
“Well,” he said, “80 percent of the donations that you’ve given have been to Democrats.” To Bossie that was Trump’s biggest political liability, though he didn’t say so.
“That’s bullshit!”
“There’s public records,” Bossie said.
“There’s records of that!” Trump said in utter astonishment.
“Every donation you’ve ever given.” Public disclosure of all political giving was standard.
“I’m always even,” Trump said. He divided his donations to candidates from both parties, he said.
“You actually give quite a bit. But it’s 80 percent Democratic. Chicago, Atlantic City . . .”
“I’ve got to do that,” Trump said. “All these fucking Democrats run all the cities. You’ve got to build hotels. You’ve got to grease them. Those are people who came to me.”
“Listen,” Bannon said, “here’s what Dave’s trying to say. Running as a Tea Party guy, the problem is that’s what they are complaining about. That it’s guys like you that have inside deals.”
“I’ll get over that,” Trump said. “It’s all rigged. It’s a rigged system. These guys have been shaking me down for years. I don’t want to give. They all walk in. If you don’t write a check . . .”
There was a pol in Queens, Trump said, “an old guy with a baseball bat. You go in there and you’ve got to give him something—normally in cash. If you don’t give him anything, nothing gets done. Nothing gets built. But if you take it in there and you leave him an envelope, it happens. That’s just the way it is. But I can fix that.”
Bossie said he had a roadmap. “It’s the conservative movement. Tea Party comes and goes. Populism comes and goes. The conservative movement has been a bedrock since Goldwater.”
Second, he said, I would recommend you run as if you are running for governor in three states—Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. They were the first three caucus or primary states. “Run and sound local, like you want to be their governor.” A lot of candidates made the huge mistake of trying to run in 27 states. “Run three governor’s races, and you’ll have a really good shot. Focus on three. Do well in three. And the others will come.”
“I can be the nominee,” Trump said. “I can beat these guys. I don’t care who they are. I got this. I can take care of these other things.”
Each position could be revisited, renegotiated.
“I’m pro-life,” Trump said. “I’m going to start.”
“Here’s what you’re going to need to do,” Bossie said. “You’re going to need to write between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of individual checks to congressmen and senators. They’ll all come up here. Look them in the eye, shake their hand. You’re going to give them a check. Because we need some markers. You’ve got to do one-on-ones so these guys know. Because later on, that’ll be at least an entry point that you’re building relationships.”
Bossie continued, “Saying, this check is for you. For $2,400”—the maximum amount. “It’s got to be individual checks, hard money, to their campaign so they know it’s coming from you personally. Republicans now know that you’re going to be serious about this.”
All the money, Bossie said, was central to the art of presidential politics. “Later that’s going to pay huge dividends.” Give to Republican candidates in a handful of battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida.
In addition, Bossie said, “You’re going to have to do a policy book. You ought to do a book about what you think about America and these policies.”
Bannon gave an extended brief on China and its successful efforts to take jobs and money from the United States. He was obsessed with the threat.
“What do you think?” Bossie later asked Bannon.
“I’m pretty impressed with the guy,” Bannon said. As for running for president, “Zero chance. First off, those two action items. The fucker will not write one check. He’s not a guy who writes checks. He signs the back of checks” when they come in as payments to him. “It was good you said that because he’ll never write a check.”
“What about the policy book?”
“He’ll never do a policy book. Give me a fucking break. First off, nobody will buy it. It was a waste of time except for the fact that it was insanely entertaining.”
Bossie said he was trying to prepare Trump if he ever did decide to run. Trump had a unique asset: He was totally removed from the political process.
As they walked on, Bossie found himself going through a mental exercise, one that six years later most Americans would go through. He’ll never run. He’ll never file. He’ll never announce. He’ll never file his financial disclosure statement. Right? He’ll never do any of those things. He’ll never win.
“You think he’s going to run?” Bossie finally asked Bannon.
“Not a chance. Zero chance,” Bannon repeated. “Less than zero. Look at the fucking life he’s got, dude. Come on. He’s not going to do this. Get his face ripped off.” --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
CHAPTER
1
In August 2010, six years before taking over Donald Trump’s winning presidential campaign, Steve Bannon, then 57 and a producer of right-wing political films, answered his phone.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” asked David Bossie, a longtime House Republican investigator and conservative activist who had chased Bill and Hillary Clinton scandals for almost two decades.
“Dude,” Bannon replied, “I’m cutting these fucking films I’m making for you.”
The 2010 midterm congressional elections were coming up. It was the height of the Tea Party movement and Republicans were showing momentum.
“Dave, we’re literally dropping two more films. I’m editing. I’m working 20 hours a day” at Citizens United, the conservative political action committee Bossie headed, to churn out his anti-Clinton films.
“Can you come with me up to New York?”
“For what?”
“To see Donald Trump,” Bossie said.
“What about?”
“He’s thinking of running for president,” Bossie said.
“Of what country?” Bannon asked.
No, seriously, Bossie insisted. He had been meeting and working with Trump for months. Trump had asked for a meeting.
“I don’t have time to jerk off, dude,” Bannon said. “Donald Trump’s never running for president. Forget it. Against Obama? Forget it. I don’t have time for fucking nonsense.”
“Don’t you want to meet him?”
“No, I have no interest in meeting him.” Trump had once given Bannon a 30-minute interview for his Sunday-afternoon radio show, called The Victory Sessions, which Bannon had run out of Los Angeles and billed as “the thinking man’s radio show.”
“This guy’s not serious,” Bannon said.
“I think he is serious,” Bossie said. Trump was a TV celebrity and had a famous show, The Apprentice, that was number one on NBC some weeks. “There’s no downside for us to go and meet with him.”
Bannon finally agreed to go to New York City to Trump Tower.
They rode up to the 26th floor conference room. Trump greeted them warmly, and Bossie said he had a detailed presentation. It was a tutorial.
The first part, he said, lays out how to run in a Republican primary and win. The second part explains how to run for president of the United States against Barack Obama. He described standard polling strategies and discussed process and issues. Bossie was a traditional, limited-government conservative and had been caught by surprise by the Tea Party movement.
It was an important moment in American politics, Bossie said, and Tea Party populism was sweeping the country. The little guy was getting his voice. Populism was a grassroots movement to disrupt the political status quo in favor of everyday people.
“I’m a business guy,” Trump reminded them. “I’m not a professional ladder-climber in politics.”
“If you’re going to run for president,” Bossie said, “you have to know lots of little things and lots of big things.” The little things were filing deadlines, the state rules for primaries—minutiae. “You have to know the policy side, and how to win delegates.” But first, he said, “you need to understand the conservative movement.”
Trump nodded.
“You’ve got some problems on issues,” Bossie said.
“I don’t have any problems on issues,” Trump said. “What are you talking about?”
“First off, there’s never been a guy to win a Republican primary that’s not pro-life,” Bossie said. “And unfortunately, you’re very pro-choice.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have a record of giving to the abortion guys, the pro-choice candidates. You’ve made statements. You’ve got to be pro-life, against abortion.”
“I’m against abortion,” Trump said. “I’m pro-life.”
“Well, you’ve got a track record.”
“That can be fixed,” Trump said. “You just tell me how to fix that. I’m—what do you call it? Pro-life. I’m pro-life, I’m telling you.”
Bannon was impressed with the showmanship, and increasingly so as Trump talked. Trump was engaged and quick. He was in great physical shape. His presence was bigger than the man, and took over the room, a command presence. He had something. He was also like a guy in a bar talking to the TV. Street-smart, from Queens. In Bannon’s evaluation, Trump was Archie Bunker, but a really focused Archie Bunker.
“The second big thing,” Bossie said, “is your voting record.”
“What do you mean, my voting record?”
“About how often you vote.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well,” Bossie said, “this is a Republican primary.”
“I vote every time,” Trump said confidently. “I’ve voted every time since I was 18, 20 years old.”
“That’s actually not correct. You know there’s a public record of your vote.” Bossie, the congressional investigator, had a stack of records.
“They don’t know how I vote.”
“No, no, no, not how you vote. How often you vote.”
Bannon realized that Trump did not know the most rudimentary business of politics.
“I voted every time,” Trump insisted.
“Actually you’ve never voted in a primary except once in your entire life,” Bossie said, citing the record.
“That’s a fucking lie,” Trump said. “That’s a total lie. Every time I get to vote, I voted.”
“You only voted in one primary,” Bossie said. “It was like in 1988 or something, in the Republican primary.”
“You’re right,” Trump said, pivoting 180 degrees, not missing a beat. “That was for Rudy.” Giuliani ran for mayor in a primary in 1989. “Is that in there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get over that,” Trump said.
“Maybe none of these things matter,” Bossie said, “but maybe they do. If you’re going to move forward, you have to be methodical.”
Bannon was up next. He turned to what was driving the Tea Party, which didn’t like the elites. Populism was for the common man, knowing the system is rigged. It was against crony capitalism and insider deals which were bleeding the workers.
“I love that. That’s what I am,” Trump said, “a popularist.” He mangled the word.
“No, no,” Bannon said. “It’s populist.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Trump insisted. “A popularist.”
Bannon gave up. At first he thought Trump did not understand the word. But perhaps Trump meant it in his own way—being popular with the people. Bannon knew popularist was an earlier British form of the word “populist” for the nonintellectual general public.
An hour into the meeting, Bossie said, “We have another big issue.”
“What’s that?” Trump asked, seeming a little more wary.
“Well,” he said, “80 percent of the donations that you’ve given have been to Democrats.” To Bossie that was Trump’s biggest political liability, though he didn’t say so.
“That’s bullshit!”
“There’s public records,” Bossie said.
“There’s records of that!” Trump said in utter astonishment.
“Every donation you’ve ever given.” Public disclosure of all political giving was standard.
“I’m always even,” Trump said. He divided his donations to candidates from both parties, he said.
“You actually give quite a bit. But it’s 80 percent Democratic. Chicago, Atlantic City . . .”
“I’ve got to do that,” Trump said. “All these fucking Democrats run all the cities. You’ve got to build hotels. You’ve got to grease them. Those are people who came to me.”
“Listen,” Bannon said, “here’s what Dave’s trying to say. Running as a Tea Party guy, the problem is that’s what they are complaining about. That it’s guys like you that have inside deals.”
“I’ll get over that,” Trump said. “It’s all rigged. It’s a rigged system. These guys have been shaking me down for years. I don’t want to give. They all walk in. If you don’t write a check . . .”
There was a pol in Queens, Trump said, “an old guy with a baseball bat. You go in there and you’ve got to give him something—normally in cash. If you don’t give him anything, nothing gets done. Nothing gets built. But if you take it in there and you leave him an envelope, it happens. That’s just the way it is. But I can fix that.”
Bossie said he had a roadmap. “It’s the conservative movement. Tea Party comes and goes. Populism comes and goes. The conservative movement has been a bedrock since Goldwater.”
Second, he said, I would recommend you run as if you are running for governor in three states—Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. They were the first three caucus or primary states. “Run and sound local, like you want to be their governor.” A lot of candidates made the huge mistake of trying to run in 27 states. “Run three governor’s races, and you’ll have a really good shot. Focus on three. Do well in three. And the others will come.”
“I can be the nominee,” Trump said. “I can beat these guys. I don’t care who they are. I got this. I can take care of these other things.”
Each position could be revisited, renegotiated.
“I’m pro-life,” Trump said. “I’m going to start.”
“Here’s what you’re going to need to do,” Bossie said. “You’re going to need to write between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of individual checks to congressmen and senators. They’ll all come up here. Look them in the eye, shake their hand. You’re going to give them a check. Because we need some markers. You’ve got to do one-on-ones so these guys know. Because later on, that’ll be at least an entry point that you’re building relationships.”
Bossie continued, “Saying, this check is for you. For $2,400”—the maximum amount. “It’s got to be individual checks, hard money, to their campaign so they know it’s coming from you personally. Republicans now know that you’re going to be serious about this.”
All the money, Bossie said, was central to the art of presidential politics. “Later that’s going to pay huge dividends.” Give to Republican candidates in a handful of battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida.
In addition, Bossie said, “You’re going to have to do a policy book. You ought to do a book about what you think about America and these policies.”
Bannon gave an extended brief on China and its successful efforts to take jobs and money from the United States. He was obsessed with the threat.
“What do you think?” Bossie later asked Bannon.
“I’m pretty impressed with the guy,” Bannon said. As for running for president, “Zero chance. First off, those two action items. The fucker will not write one check. He’s not a guy who writes checks. He signs the back of checks” when they come in as payments to him. “It was good you said that because he’ll never write a check.”
“What about the policy book?”
“He’ll never do a policy book. Give me a fucking break. First off, nobody will buy it. It was a waste of time except for the fact that it was insanely entertaining.”
Bossie said he was trying to prepare Trump if he ever did decide to run. Trump had a unique asset: He was totally removed from the political process.
As they walked on, Bossie found himself going through a mental exercise, one that six years later most Americans would go through. He’ll never run. He’ll never file. He’ll never announce. He’ll never file his financial disclosure statement. Right? He’ll never do any of those things. He’ll never win.
“You think he’s going to run?” Bossie finally asked Bannon.
“Not a chance. Zero chance,” Bannon repeated. “Less than zero. Look at the fucking life he’s got, dude. Come on. He’s not going to do this. Get his face ripped off.” --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
レビュー
“A harrowing portrait of the Trump presidency . . . Again and again, Woodward recounts at length how Trump’s national security team was shaken by his lack of curiosity and knowledge about world affairs and his contempt for the mainstream perspectives of military and intelligence leaders.”—Phillip Rucker and Robert Costa, The Washington Post
“A damning picture of the current presidency.”—David Martin, CBS News
“An unprecedented inside-the-room look through the eyes of the President's inner circle. . . . stunning.”—CNN
“A devastating reported account of the Trump Presidency that will be consulted as a first draft of the grim history it portrays . . . What Woodward has written is not just the story of a deeply flawed President but also, finally, an account of what those surrounding him have chosen to do about it.”—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker
“Fear is Woodward at his best, the quintessential investigative reporter with an eye for detail and an uncanny ability to get key players to ensure that their perspective is etched into history. Its timing could not be more critical for a nation exhausted by tweets and spin, and trying to assess the danger to democracy posed by a presidency that shatters its norms and demeans its institutions.”—John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle
“In an age of ‘alternative facts’ and corrosive tweets about ‘fake news,’ Woodward is truth’s gold standard. . . . explosive . . . devastating . . . jaw-dropping.”—Jill Abramson, The Washington Post
“Woodward's latest book shows the administration is broken, and yet what comes next could be even worse.”—David A. Graham, The Atlantic
“[Woodward] is the master and I'd trust him over politicians of either party any day of the week.”—Peter Baker
“Woodward . . . depicts the Trump White House as a byzantine, treacherous, often out-of-control operation . . . Mr. Woodward’s book has unsettled the administration and the president in part because it is clear that the author has spoken with so many current and former officials.”—Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman, New York Times
“The more heartening message from FEAR is that we still have institutions and individuals, including Bob Woodward, who will continue checking the most destructive instincts of Donald Trump.”—Joe Scarborough
“You can trust that Woodward has gone to inordinate lengths to get to the best obtainable version of the truth.”—Mike Allen, Axios
“I wonder how many journalists have arrived in Washington over the years dreaming of becoming the next Bob Woodward . . . Though his books are often sensational, he is the opposite of sensationalist. He’s diligent, rigorous, fastidious about the facts, and studiously ethical. There’s something almost monastic about his method . . . He’s Washington's chronicler in chief.”—Nick Bryant, BBC
“No, Bob Woodward is not a Democratic operative. He’s a highly respected journalist who has a track record of writing meticulously detailed books about presidents with an uncanny knack for getting behind-the-scenes details.”—POLITICO Playbook
“He’s got tapes. That’s what the Trump White House really did not understand until today, if they understand it even now.”—Lawrence O’Donnell, MSNBC
“I think you’ve always been fair.”—President Donald J. Trump, in a call to Bob Woodward, August 14, 2018 --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
“A damning picture of the current presidency.”—David Martin, CBS News
“An unprecedented inside-the-room look through the eyes of the President's inner circle. . . . stunning.”—CNN
“A devastating reported account of the Trump Presidency that will be consulted as a first draft of the grim history it portrays . . . What Woodward has written is not just the story of a deeply flawed President but also, finally, an account of what those surrounding him have chosen to do about it.”—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker
“Fear is Woodward at his best, the quintessential investigative reporter with an eye for detail and an uncanny ability to get key players to ensure that their perspective is etched into history. Its timing could not be more critical for a nation exhausted by tweets and spin, and trying to assess the danger to democracy posed by a presidency that shatters its norms and demeans its institutions.”—John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle
“In an age of ‘alternative facts’ and corrosive tweets about ‘fake news,’ Woodward is truth’s gold standard. . . . explosive . . . devastating . . . jaw-dropping.”—Jill Abramson, The Washington Post
“Woodward's latest book shows the administration is broken, and yet what comes next could be even worse.”—David A. Graham, The Atlantic
“[Woodward] is the master and I'd trust him over politicians of either party any day of the week.”—Peter Baker
“Woodward . . . depicts the Trump White House as a byzantine, treacherous, often out-of-control operation . . . Mr. Woodward’s book has unsettled the administration and the president in part because it is clear that the author has spoken with so many current and former officials.”—Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman, New York Times
“The more heartening message from FEAR is that we still have institutions and individuals, including Bob Woodward, who will continue checking the most destructive instincts of Donald Trump.”—Joe Scarborough
“You can trust that Woodward has gone to inordinate lengths to get to the best obtainable version of the truth.”—Mike Allen, Axios
“I wonder how many journalists have arrived in Washington over the years dreaming of becoming the next Bob Woodward . . . Though his books are often sensational, he is the opposite of sensationalist. He’s diligent, rigorous, fastidious about the facts, and studiously ethical. There’s something almost monastic about his method . . . He’s Washington's chronicler in chief.”—Nick Bryant, BBC
“No, Bob Woodward is not a Democratic operative. He’s a highly respected journalist who has a track record of writing meticulously detailed books about presidents with an uncanny knack for getting behind-the-scenes details.”—POLITICO Playbook
“He’s got tapes. That’s what the Trump White House really did not understand until today, if they understand it even now.”—Lawrence O’Donnell, MSNBC
“I think you’ve always been fair.”—President Donald J. Trump, in a call to Bob Woodward, August 14, 2018 --このテキストは、kindle_edition版に関連付けられています。
登録情報
- ASIN : B075RV48W3
- 出版社 : Simon & Schuster; 2nd版 (2018/9/11)
- 発売日 : 2018/9/11
- 言語 : 英語
- ファイルサイズ : 20250 KB
- Text-to-Speech(テキスト読み上げ機能) : 有効
- X-Ray : 有効
- Word Wise : 有効
- 付箋メモ : Kindle Scribeで
- 本の長さ : 449ページ
- Amazon 売れ筋ランキング: - 48,782位洋書 (洋書の売れ筋ランキングを見る)
- カスタマーレビュー:
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トップレビュー
上位レビュー、対象国: 日本
レビューのフィルタリング中に問題が発生しました。後でもう一度試してください。
2021年4月4日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
バイデン政権になって, はや3か月.
トランプ大統領というと, 遠い過去のようですが,
あの時, あの場所, ホワイトハウスで何が語られて
何がどのように決定されていたのか.
非常に細かい描写で, 彼の言動や性格が非常によく
わかる1冊となっています (^^)/
歴史の教科書では書けない米国外交政策の裏側.
そんな生々しい国際情勢を知りたい方にはおススメ.
※ 日本では馴染みのない政治家の登場も多いため,
星は1つマイナスで4つにさせていただきました.
トランプ大統領というと, 遠い過去のようですが,
あの時, あの場所, ホワイトハウスで何が語られて
何がどのように決定されていたのか.
非常に細かい描写で, 彼の言動や性格が非常によく
わかる1冊となっています (^^)/
歴史の教科書では書けない米国外交政策の裏側.
そんな生々しい国際情勢を知りたい方にはおススメ.
※ 日本では馴染みのない政治家の登場も多いため,
星は1つマイナスで4つにさせていただきました.
2019年9月6日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
good quality product ...hey ...bob woodward... what else is there to say about mr. watergate 😀
2019年3月1日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
B.Woodswardは辛辣なjournalist、あまり好みではないが
読むほどにTrumpの人柄にtytle 通りの「恐怖」お覚える。
米国ではこんな人物でも大統領になれるんだ。自浄能力も
あること期待して。
読むほどにTrumpの人柄にtytle 通りの「恐怖」お覚える。
米国ではこんな人物でも大統領になれるんだ。自浄能力も
あること期待して。
2018年9月23日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
米国内で流れているトランプ関係のニュースを追っていて、他のトランプ関連の書籍を読んでいれば、半分以上はもう分かっている情報。残りは、本書の紹介で報道されている内容。
インタビュー相手は明示してないけど、これを読むと誰が情報源かは大体分かる。
本書の内容は、Paul ManafortやMichael CohenたちがMuellerへの協力に応じる前で終わっている。
タイミングとしてはJohn Dowdが辞めるまで。
あまりにも内容が薄いので、ちょっと期待外れ。
Bob Woodwardの本を読むのはThe Commanders以来で、The Commandersは良かったから期待していたんだけど。
でも、日本メディアの報道しか見ていないのであれば、満足できるかもしれない。
インタビュー相手は明示してないけど、これを読むと誰が情報源かは大体分かる。
本書の内容は、Paul ManafortやMichael CohenたちがMuellerへの協力に応じる前で終わっている。
タイミングとしてはJohn Dowdが辞めるまで。
あまりにも内容が薄いので、ちょっと期待外れ。
Bob Woodwardの本を読むのはThe Commanders以来で、The Commandersは良かったから期待していたんだけど。
でも、日本メディアの報道しか見ていないのであれば、満足できるかもしれない。
2018年9月17日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
キンドルで予約していたら発売日の前に届いた。仕事の合間に読むのに1週間かかったが、調査報道の常道で迫力ある現場再現力で、半分以上の章が面白く読めた。
議会と司法によりチェックされる権限の抜け穴ををうまく使って大統領令を乱発し、公約の実現を図っているが、GSやエクソン出身の自分が指名した高官からはバカにされ、司法からはロシア疑惑の捜査を受け、議会対策も思うようにいかず、孤独をまぎらわすために1日6-8時間も自分が扱われているニュースショーを見てツイートするという、ファミリービジネスの自意識の強いワンマンオーナーが大統領になれるのがアメリカという国の面白いところ。ティラーソンが首になったマスコミへのリークも自分で最初にするところなど、愛すべき人間だ。
国の三権分立の統治の仕組みがしっかりしているので、大統領ともいえ、やりたい放題にはできないところが面白い。某国の首相のほうがそんたくする官僚と公認で縛られた議員を従えて、トランプよりはるかにやりたいほうだいができるのではなかろうか。
議会と司法によりチェックされる権限の抜け穴ををうまく使って大統領令を乱発し、公約の実現を図っているが、GSやエクソン出身の自分が指名した高官からはバカにされ、司法からはロシア疑惑の捜査を受け、議会対策も思うようにいかず、孤独をまぎらわすために1日6-8時間も自分が扱われているニュースショーを見てツイートするという、ファミリービジネスの自意識の強いワンマンオーナーが大統領になれるのがアメリカという国の面白いところ。ティラーソンが首になったマスコミへのリークも自分で最初にするところなど、愛すべき人間だ。
国の三権分立の統治の仕組みがしっかりしているので、大統領ともいえ、やりたい放題にはできないところが面白い。某国の首相のほうがそんたくする官僚と公認で縛られた議員を従えて、トランプよりはるかにやりたいほうだいができるのではなかろうか。
2018年11月30日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
本書で読む限り、トランプ大統領と言う「政治家」は、「政治家」の体をなしていない。街の飲み屋で酔っぱらったオッサンの素人政談か、わけしり顔の政治通が、床屋さんか、タクシーで垂れる政治講釈に過ぎない。
プロの政治家であれば、国内外の世論に配慮し、各種の情勢を分析し、制度上の制約を踏まて、結論を出すのだろう。ある種の「庶民感覚」で言えば、難しそうな小理屈を並べて学識を自慢し、挙句には、出来ない理由にするだけだと言うことになる。その対極にあるアマチュアの政治家がトランプ大統領と言うことになる。本書の中でも、専門知識を持つ閣僚や側近が、匙を投げ、自ら辞職し、或いは更迭されて行く。だが、中間選挙の結果は、想定内に収まった。アマチュア大統領「トランプ」の「偉大さ」を理解するには、最適の一冊だと思う。
トランプ大統領のアマチュアリズムは、米国と世界の政治をかき回しているのだが、予算や行政が混乱してまったくの機能不全に陥っている訳ではない。本書の中でも再三出てくるのだが、法律上出来ない、手続き上必要だと言われれば、大統領と言っても好き勝手は出来ない。トランプさんも不満気ではあるが、反論できるだけの法律や行政の知識がないので突破できない。「適正手続きの保障」、「手続き的正義の重視」と言う、米国の政治制度の偉大さも良く分かった。
政治におけるアマチュアリズムって厄介ですね。
プロの政治家であれば、国内外の世論に配慮し、各種の情勢を分析し、制度上の制約を踏まて、結論を出すのだろう。ある種の「庶民感覚」で言えば、難しそうな小理屈を並べて学識を自慢し、挙句には、出来ない理由にするだけだと言うことになる。その対極にあるアマチュアの政治家がトランプ大統領と言うことになる。本書の中でも、専門知識を持つ閣僚や側近が、匙を投げ、自ら辞職し、或いは更迭されて行く。だが、中間選挙の結果は、想定内に収まった。アマチュア大統領「トランプ」の「偉大さ」を理解するには、最適の一冊だと思う。
トランプ大統領のアマチュアリズムは、米国と世界の政治をかき回しているのだが、予算や行政が混乱してまったくの機能不全に陥っている訳ではない。本書の中でも再三出てくるのだが、法律上出来ない、手続き上必要だと言われれば、大統領と言っても好き勝手は出来ない。トランプさんも不満気ではあるが、反論できるだけの法律や行政の知識がないので突破できない。「適正手続きの保障」、「手続き的正義の重視」と言う、米国の政治制度の偉大さも良く分かった。
政治におけるアマチュアリズムって厄介ですね。
2019年6月24日に日本でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
内面がある程度わかりましたがやはりこの大統領は好きになれない。
他の国からのトップレビュー

Carlos
5つ星のうち5.0
Emocionante
2021年6月9日にブラジルでレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Excelente para melhorar a compreensão da língua inglesa. Bem escrito, prendeu minha atenção do começo ao fim.

K Spencer
5つ星のうち5.0
Well written and informative
2023年11月26日に英国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Excellent book

J A
5つ星のうち5.0
Impartial journalism
2020年9月24日にスペインでレビュー済みAmazonで購入
An excellent read from start to finish. A true insight into the Trump campaign and the first years of his presidency.

Mariana Nolasco
5つ星のうち5.0
Para entender el período presidencial de Trump, debe leerse a Woodward
2018年11月21日にメキシコでレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Bob Woodward siempre es una buena opción para leer, sin embargo, FEAR sobrepasa por mucho cualquier otro libro del autor. Su investigación nos delata todo lo que ha estado ocurriendo en la casa blanca por la llegada de Trump, y resuelve muchas preguntas que podamos hacernos sobre la administración.

gerald t. slevin
5つ星のうち5.0
Donald Trump's Demotion & Mike Pence's Promotion! When and How?
2018年9月11日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Bob Woodward has done it again. "Fear" is a remarkable and important book, especially because it is so current and revealing and is vouched for by this very credible reporter. Woodward's book confirms in much greater detail many earlier and less credible reports, plus many others --- establishing clearly that Donald Trump is not fit to be the US president --- politically, intellectually, psychologically or morally. Moreover, his erratic behavior is a threat to US national security, as Woodward's book and recent TV interviews make very clear. Of course, most of the media attention on this book has been and will continue to be on Woodward's many shocking scoops. The most important question, however, that the book raises, for me at least, is "When and how will Trump's reckless rule be retired?"
Mike Pence, the "Shadow President" and Trump's hand picked successor, will from many indications become president in the months following the November 6 election. That seems to be a high probability, even without Special Counsel Robert Mueller's likely devastating report on the Russian conspiracy to influence illegally the 2016 presidential elections and the related cover up obstructing Mueller's investigation of this conspiracy . The only unknown now is when and how Trump goes--- by the impeachment process or by simple resignation like Nixon did. We can expect Pence will then give Trump a full pardon, after Trump fully pardons some family members and close associates. Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort need not hold their breath waiting for a pardon. Trump, some of his family members and close associates will, of course, still be at risk of state law prosecutions, expecially in NY.
Trump has long used fear to exercise power over others. Fear, as Machiavelli strongly recommended five centuries ago to a corrupt pope's nephew, is preferable to and more effective than kindness. Paradoxically, Trump's own deep personal fear of failure still drives him desperately--- any means are justified to reach Trump's top goals of personal profit and glory forever. Any means is OK, including even orphaning innocent infants at the Mexican border, while other immigrants are welcomed to work temporarily at Mar-a-Lago. Woodward's book just reinforces these observations many have already made.
It is amazing to me that many of the so-called "adults in the room" cannot see that Trump is misbehaving as he always did. He cannot be changed, certainly not now and not by the many handlers selected seemingly because Trump can dominate them. That said, Trump still has more than two years remaining on his term!
I have strong reactions to Woodward's many disturbing disclosures, as (1) a former Harvard Law assistant to Archibald Cox (prior to his being the unforgettable Watergate Prosecutor and nailing Nixon), (2) a former high school chum of Rudy Guiliani (now an unimpressive key Trump advisor), (3) a former law firm colleague of Bob Khuzami (now the impressive head of NYC federal investigations of Trump criminal matters) and (4) a father and grandfather.
Initially, my strongest reaction to "Fear" was, in turn, real fear for the US and the world. How can the US survive two years more of Trump as president, especially given Woodward's very disturbing reports? On further reflection on the most likely outcomes, however, based on my experience, I am now less worried for the reasons indicated below. The US survived a Revolutionary War, a Civil War, a "Know Nothing" political party, two World Wars, a Korean War, an Iraq War and a Cold War, major Depressions, Prohibition and Nixon, et al. The US will survive Trump and Mike Pence!
Woodward’s book is extremely specific and very detailed--- describing relevant facts, documents, dates and meetings. Importantly, he reports on how some of Trump's policies are so haphazardly made, not just on the many bizarre episodes of Trump and his staff. Woodward draws some really important and very plausible inferences from the collective information of the many involved in specific presidential matters Woodward investigated. And his extensive tapes of his hundreds of hours of interviews of almost 100 relevant persons are available to "prove" his inferences. Trump and his cronies' predictable complaints of Woodward bias, if anything, just invite a closer look at Woodward's findings.
At 75 years old, Woodward clearly had a purpose in this voluntary and prodigious effort to research and write this book--- to flush out the true Donald Trump and show the danger he poses for US national security. Woodward, a Navy veteran like John McCain before him, is also a patriot. To paraphrase Trump, Woodward shows vividly that Trump's behavior is "very sad and really disgusting".
The media will have a field day with some of the troubling Trump episodes Woodward reports. Many persons cited in the book will challenge some of his reports. To be expected and perhaps understandable, given Trump's fiery temper about those he thinks are in any way disloyal to him. The facts will nevertheless prevail, as they have mostly for Woodward's earlier books about the many presidents who immediately preceded Trump.
More important, however, than specific episodes, is what the confluence of these troubling episodes clearly shows --- Trump is clearly unfit to be president! The longer he remains, the greater the risk in our nuclear age for the US, and the world as well. It is well to recall the near catastrophe last January when a Hawaiian technician pressed the wrong button indicating a non-existent "imminent" North Korean missile attack, following Trump's reckless rhetoric about the real North Korean threat. This must have sent a real chill down the spines of the leaders of all nuclear nations, and many others as well.
Will Trump then finish his first term? Very doubtful, it appears.
If the Democrats win a House majority in less than two months, prompt impeachment proceedings and numerous House investigations of Trump and his corrupt cronies appear to be inevitable. That dooms Trump.
Even if the Democrats remain the minority, impeachment is still likely to occur in my view as Mueller's efforts continue --- they cannot be stopped now. They will continue even if Mueller is fired as they continued after Nixon fired Archibald Cox. Moreover, there is a reasonable prospect that one or more of Trump's children and/or in-laws could soon be indicted.
Trump will after November be an increasingly unnecessary liability for Republicans, the GOP. Only 32% of voters currently polled even think Trump is honest. He has already done what the GOP and its billionaire backers like the Kochs and Devoses most wanted --- a major tax cut for the wealthiest, reckless deregulation, insuring a right wing judiciary majority, reducing drastically Federal revenues needed to fund the social safety net, et al.
Moreover, it seems unlikely that Trump will be able to handle the steadily growing pressure he faces. He may even elect to resign as Nixon did. Pence can finish up to the cheers of the Kochs, Devoses, et al.
For a fuller picture of what to expect from Pence when Trump "retires", please see the new comprehensive, readable and detailed biography of Mike Pence, "The Shadow President ..." by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, Michael D'Antonio, and by his co-author, Peter Eisner. This book's findings dovetail nicely with the findings in "Fear".
Unlike Woodward, D'Antonio even got, for his recent excellent Trump biography, hours of direct interviews of Trump before the 2016 elections, until Trump abruptly ended the interviews apparently concerned that D'Antonio was writing a truthful book based on facts, not on Trump's limitless lies and specious spin. We now know from this important book on Pence why it is very unlikely that Pence will ever be able to clean up Donald Trump's mess. We also can understand much better why Trump recently predicted that stock markets would crash if he were to be impeached. Not too great an endorsement of his successor, Pence, by a reckless and incompetent boss who has now witnessed up close for almost two years the non-stop cheerleading of the "Shadow President", Mike Pence.
Pence successfully strived during the last two years behind the scenes, with Trump's apparent blessings, to advance his repressive and regressive fundamentalist Christian remaking of American society, including through administration and judicial right-wing appointments and adoption of fundamentalist social policies, like curtailing legal abortions and even limiting contraception access. Significantly, these policies mostly benefit in the end the already "uberrich" top 0.01% of Americans at the expense of the 99.99 % less fortunate--- how Christian is that?
Trump's and Pence's unfair tax cuts and excessive deregulation can readily be fixed by Democrats when they regain power. But Trump and Pence have already changed the Federal judiciary with their many right wing judges appointed for life. That is not so easily fixed.
This is scary stuff for a religiously diverse nation with constitutional safeguards of religious freedom that were extremely important for good reason to our Founding Fathers. They rejected a theocracy as well as a monarchy !
By providing a brisk and insightful history of Pence's personal and political journey, we are able with this book to see behind Pence's perpetual smile and smooth style. It is not a very pretty picture.
All, even Trump supporters, should read this book to understand better the threat Pence poses even for Trump. After the midterm elections, the "uberrich" will know they can fulfill all their remaining political and economic dreams through Pence, without having to put up any longer with Trump's erratic and at times almost bizarre policies and behavior. By mid-November, Trump will need Pence more than Pence will need Trump.
It is not surprising the Omarosa recently observed on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" show that she thinks one of Pence's staff was the author of the unprecedented and anonymous New York times Op Ed column that further undercuts Trump and re-inforces some of Woodward's revelations. As to be expected, Pence offers to swear under oath that HE did not write the Op Ed column, which denial leaves room that one of his staffers wrote it, no?
"Fear" and "The Shadow Presidency" raise a very ironic possibility in my mind. If Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, after the midterm elections in November, indicates that Trump and Pence were both implicated in Russian election conspiracy and/or in the subsequent cover-up, both of them could be removed from office or worse by a Congress forced by public outrage to act on Mueller's report. Even Nixon's base abandoned him once the true facts were widely known.
Pence often played a key role in the 2016 campaign, as well as during the two years since. Who knows what he said and did in secret? Who knows if Pence was recorded by Amarosa, an evangelical pastor, or Michael Cohen, a "tell all" third rate lawyer or someone else at the White House, including possibly Trump himself. I suspect that by now, Mueller knows!
If that happens, Nancy Pelosi could succeed after next January to the presidency as Speaker of the House, third in line after the President and Vice President. So much then for the great Trump/Pence strategy.
The Pence book makes very clear why Pence is to be feared, perhaps even more than Trump. The "god" of Trump is Trump --- in that sense, he is obvious and usually predictable. Pence's "god" is much darker and more dangerous, as well as unpredictable, as this book has confirmed for me. It may be that a needy and greedy Trump is a safer bet than a surreptitious and smiling religious zealot, Pence.
Pence legitimated Trump with the important and united fundamentalist voter base, who voted by over 80% to elect Trump! Trump also won 52% of Catholics' votes, while only 46% of the national vote. Who will legitimate Pence? This book suggests "good" fundamentalists should now vote against Pence if they ever find their Christian moorings again!
Pence appears determined to advance a repressive and regressive fundamentalist evangelical theocracy, even though most Americans, including most Christians, have no interest in a theocracy, Christian or otherwise. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of the brutal post-Reformation religious wars that some of their not too distant relatives had fled Europe to avoid.
Interestingly, Pence was a Catholic altar boy and Trump attended for two years a Jesuit college, Fordham. And the current four male Supreme Court conservative Catholic Justices and the newly nominated likely to be Justice, Brett Kavanagh, were also raised Catholic. Four of these five also went to Catholic schools --- Clarence Thomas to Jesuit Holy Cross College, Neil Gorsuch and Kavanagh to Jesuit Georgetown Prep and John Roberts to La Lumiere School. Samuel Alito was raised in a traditional Italian American Catholic family environment.
It seems clear to me, as a graduate of 16 years of Catholic schools, that each of these men in varying degrees may be unduly, even mistakenly, influenced by celibate Vatican officials' "infallible teachings" on reproductive matters.
In 1930, Pope Pius XI gratuitously (and "infallibly" {?}) condemned all birth control to help Mussolini and leaders of other Catholic Western European countries pump up their populations following the decline in births after World War I's slaughter of many potential Western European fathers. Pius XI, who had in 1920 seen up close in Poland the brutal atheistic Soviet threat in operation, was worried about expanding Soviet influence. Of course, Trump has now shown us that Putin and other former Soviets are the West's best friends!
The Vatican's position on women's reproductive rights, initially adopted in 1930 in Pope Pius XI's "infallible" condemnation of birth control, is not based on the interests of women or families or on any Biblical foundation or even on rigorous philosophical and scientific foundations. On the contrary, it is based solely on the Vatican's mythical claim since 1870 that "the pope is infallible" so what a pope said in 1930 remains the "Gospel Truth" forever.
The origin of the papal infallibility myth has recently been subjected to close and thorough analysis by the leading Catholic historian, Georgetown's 91 year old John O'Malley. A Jesuit, O'Malley has recently published a superb and short new book, "Vatican I", which documents in detail the 1870 invention in desperate circumstances by Pope Pius IX of "papal infallibility".
While I share an Ivy League law school background and a Catholic upbringing with the Supreme Court's likely new all male majority, thanks to the scholarship of John O'Malley, Hans Kung and other brave Catholic scholars, I do not share in their uninformed adoration for papal "infallible teachings".
Hopefully, some the these men will also read the important Vatican I book. If these male Catholic Justices are, based on their purported take on Catholic moral teachings, going to make legal rules for over 150 million American women about female reproductive matters, these Justices should at least understand the mythological origin of these teachings. They should all read O'Malley's new book and my Amazon review of it.
Of course., "infallible" popes since 1870 have greatly increased their power even over Cardinals and other Bishops by exploiting their newly invented unique claim to being infallible. Popes, much like Trump, want to retain their power even if hundreds of millions of women worldwide are denied reproductive justice to protect popes' mythical claims to infallibility. Popes have shown in their shameful cover-ups of priests' and bishops' sexual abuse of defenseless children that popes sin like other humans. The papal fixation on preserving their unique "infallible claims" to protect the power they have built up over the last 150 years is more important than any women or children, it appears.
If popes reverse themselves now on women's reproductive rights, their claims to the symbolic power of papal infallibility will fail. Of course, as few Catholics seem to know, popes have earlier reversed themselves on moral issues like slavery and usury. So much for unchanging infallible truths!
That said, with Kavanagh on the Supreme Court, as appears likely, Roe v. Wade can be expected to be limited greatly, executive authority will likely be almost unlimited in immigration, foreign relations and other important areas, and corporate political donations will remain almost unlimited. These surely are trying times for the US.
The push-back of majority voters will need to begin in earnest in less than 60 days in House and Senate elections, and again in 2020's presidential elections. In the 1930's FDR tamed a right wing court with the support of a majority of voters. This can happen again.
Mike Pence, the "Shadow President" and Trump's hand picked successor, will from many indications become president in the months following the November 6 election. That seems to be a high probability, even without Special Counsel Robert Mueller's likely devastating report on the Russian conspiracy to influence illegally the 2016 presidential elections and the related cover up obstructing Mueller's investigation of this conspiracy . The only unknown now is when and how Trump goes--- by the impeachment process or by simple resignation like Nixon did. We can expect Pence will then give Trump a full pardon, after Trump fully pardons some family members and close associates. Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort need not hold their breath waiting for a pardon. Trump, some of his family members and close associates will, of course, still be at risk of state law prosecutions, expecially in NY.
Trump has long used fear to exercise power over others. Fear, as Machiavelli strongly recommended five centuries ago to a corrupt pope's nephew, is preferable to and more effective than kindness. Paradoxically, Trump's own deep personal fear of failure still drives him desperately--- any means are justified to reach Trump's top goals of personal profit and glory forever. Any means is OK, including even orphaning innocent infants at the Mexican border, while other immigrants are welcomed to work temporarily at Mar-a-Lago. Woodward's book just reinforces these observations many have already made.
It is amazing to me that many of the so-called "adults in the room" cannot see that Trump is misbehaving as he always did. He cannot be changed, certainly not now and not by the many handlers selected seemingly because Trump can dominate them. That said, Trump still has more than two years remaining on his term!
I have strong reactions to Woodward's many disturbing disclosures, as (1) a former Harvard Law assistant to Archibald Cox (prior to his being the unforgettable Watergate Prosecutor and nailing Nixon), (2) a former high school chum of Rudy Guiliani (now an unimpressive key Trump advisor), (3) a former law firm colleague of Bob Khuzami (now the impressive head of NYC federal investigations of Trump criminal matters) and (4) a father and grandfather.
Initially, my strongest reaction to "Fear" was, in turn, real fear for the US and the world. How can the US survive two years more of Trump as president, especially given Woodward's very disturbing reports? On further reflection on the most likely outcomes, however, based on my experience, I am now less worried for the reasons indicated below. The US survived a Revolutionary War, a Civil War, a "Know Nothing" political party, two World Wars, a Korean War, an Iraq War and a Cold War, major Depressions, Prohibition and Nixon, et al. The US will survive Trump and Mike Pence!
Woodward’s book is extremely specific and very detailed--- describing relevant facts, documents, dates and meetings. Importantly, he reports on how some of Trump's policies are so haphazardly made, not just on the many bizarre episodes of Trump and his staff. Woodward draws some really important and very plausible inferences from the collective information of the many involved in specific presidential matters Woodward investigated. And his extensive tapes of his hundreds of hours of interviews of almost 100 relevant persons are available to "prove" his inferences. Trump and his cronies' predictable complaints of Woodward bias, if anything, just invite a closer look at Woodward's findings.
At 75 years old, Woodward clearly had a purpose in this voluntary and prodigious effort to research and write this book--- to flush out the true Donald Trump and show the danger he poses for US national security. Woodward, a Navy veteran like John McCain before him, is also a patriot. To paraphrase Trump, Woodward shows vividly that Trump's behavior is "very sad and really disgusting".
The media will have a field day with some of the troubling Trump episodes Woodward reports. Many persons cited in the book will challenge some of his reports. To be expected and perhaps understandable, given Trump's fiery temper about those he thinks are in any way disloyal to him. The facts will nevertheless prevail, as they have mostly for Woodward's earlier books about the many presidents who immediately preceded Trump.
More important, however, than specific episodes, is what the confluence of these troubling episodes clearly shows --- Trump is clearly unfit to be president! The longer he remains, the greater the risk in our nuclear age for the US, and the world as well. It is well to recall the near catastrophe last January when a Hawaiian technician pressed the wrong button indicating a non-existent "imminent" North Korean missile attack, following Trump's reckless rhetoric about the real North Korean threat. This must have sent a real chill down the spines of the leaders of all nuclear nations, and many others as well.
Will Trump then finish his first term? Very doubtful, it appears.
If the Democrats win a House majority in less than two months, prompt impeachment proceedings and numerous House investigations of Trump and his corrupt cronies appear to be inevitable. That dooms Trump.
Even if the Democrats remain the minority, impeachment is still likely to occur in my view as Mueller's efforts continue --- they cannot be stopped now. They will continue even if Mueller is fired as they continued after Nixon fired Archibald Cox. Moreover, there is a reasonable prospect that one or more of Trump's children and/or in-laws could soon be indicted.
Trump will after November be an increasingly unnecessary liability for Republicans, the GOP. Only 32% of voters currently polled even think Trump is honest. He has already done what the GOP and its billionaire backers like the Kochs and Devoses most wanted --- a major tax cut for the wealthiest, reckless deregulation, insuring a right wing judiciary majority, reducing drastically Federal revenues needed to fund the social safety net, et al.
Moreover, it seems unlikely that Trump will be able to handle the steadily growing pressure he faces. He may even elect to resign as Nixon did. Pence can finish up to the cheers of the Kochs, Devoses, et al.
For a fuller picture of what to expect from Pence when Trump "retires", please see the new comprehensive, readable and detailed biography of Mike Pence, "The Shadow President ..." by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, Michael D'Antonio, and by his co-author, Peter Eisner. This book's findings dovetail nicely with the findings in "Fear".
Unlike Woodward, D'Antonio even got, for his recent excellent Trump biography, hours of direct interviews of Trump before the 2016 elections, until Trump abruptly ended the interviews apparently concerned that D'Antonio was writing a truthful book based on facts, not on Trump's limitless lies and specious spin. We now know from this important book on Pence why it is very unlikely that Pence will ever be able to clean up Donald Trump's mess. We also can understand much better why Trump recently predicted that stock markets would crash if he were to be impeached. Not too great an endorsement of his successor, Pence, by a reckless and incompetent boss who has now witnessed up close for almost two years the non-stop cheerleading of the "Shadow President", Mike Pence.
Pence successfully strived during the last two years behind the scenes, with Trump's apparent blessings, to advance his repressive and regressive fundamentalist Christian remaking of American society, including through administration and judicial right-wing appointments and adoption of fundamentalist social policies, like curtailing legal abortions and even limiting contraception access. Significantly, these policies mostly benefit in the end the already "uberrich" top 0.01% of Americans at the expense of the 99.99 % less fortunate--- how Christian is that?
Trump's and Pence's unfair tax cuts and excessive deregulation can readily be fixed by Democrats when they regain power. But Trump and Pence have already changed the Federal judiciary with their many right wing judges appointed for life. That is not so easily fixed.
This is scary stuff for a religiously diverse nation with constitutional safeguards of religious freedom that were extremely important for good reason to our Founding Fathers. They rejected a theocracy as well as a monarchy !
By providing a brisk and insightful history of Pence's personal and political journey, we are able with this book to see behind Pence's perpetual smile and smooth style. It is not a very pretty picture.
All, even Trump supporters, should read this book to understand better the threat Pence poses even for Trump. After the midterm elections, the "uberrich" will know they can fulfill all their remaining political and economic dreams through Pence, without having to put up any longer with Trump's erratic and at times almost bizarre policies and behavior. By mid-November, Trump will need Pence more than Pence will need Trump.
It is not surprising the Omarosa recently observed on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" show that she thinks one of Pence's staff was the author of the unprecedented and anonymous New York times Op Ed column that further undercuts Trump and re-inforces some of Woodward's revelations. As to be expected, Pence offers to swear under oath that HE did not write the Op Ed column, which denial leaves room that one of his staffers wrote it, no?
"Fear" and "The Shadow Presidency" raise a very ironic possibility in my mind. If Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, after the midterm elections in November, indicates that Trump and Pence were both implicated in Russian election conspiracy and/or in the subsequent cover-up, both of them could be removed from office or worse by a Congress forced by public outrage to act on Mueller's report. Even Nixon's base abandoned him once the true facts were widely known.
Pence often played a key role in the 2016 campaign, as well as during the two years since. Who knows what he said and did in secret? Who knows if Pence was recorded by Amarosa, an evangelical pastor, or Michael Cohen, a "tell all" third rate lawyer or someone else at the White House, including possibly Trump himself. I suspect that by now, Mueller knows!
If that happens, Nancy Pelosi could succeed after next January to the presidency as Speaker of the House, third in line after the President and Vice President. So much then for the great Trump/Pence strategy.
The Pence book makes very clear why Pence is to be feared, perhaps even more than Trump. The "god" of Trump is Trump --- in that sense, he is obvious and usually predictable. Pence's "god" is much darker and more dangerous, as well as unpredictable, as this book has confirmed for me. It may be that a needy and greedy Trump is a safer bet than a surreptitious and smiling religious zealot, Pence.
Pence legitimated Trump with the important and united fundamentalist voter base, who voted by over 80% to elect Trump! Trump also won 52% of Catholics' votes, while only 46% of the national vote. Who will legitimate Pence? This book suggests "good" fundamentalists should now vote against Pence if they ever find their Christian moorings again!
Pence appears determined to advance a repressive and regressive fundamentalist evangelical theocracy, even though most Americans, including most Christians, have no interest in a theocracy, Christian or otherwise. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of the brutal post-Reformation religious wars that some of their not too distant relatives had fled Europe to avoid.
Interestingly, Pence was a Catholic altar boy and Trump attended for two years a Jesuit college, Fordham. And the current four male Supreme Court conservative Catholic Justices and the newly nominated likely to be Justice, Brett Kavanagh, were also raised Catholic. Four of these five also went to Catholic schools --- Clarence Thomas to Jesuit Holy Cross College, Neil Gorsuch and Kavanagh to Jesuit Georgetown Prep and John Roberts to La Lumiere School. Samuel Alito was raised in a traditional Italian American Catholic family environment.
It seems clear to me, as a graduate of 16 years of Catholic schools, that each of these men in varying degrees may be unduly, even mistakenly, influenced by celibate Vatican officials' "infallible teachings" on reproductive matters.
In 1930, Pope Pius XI gratuitously (and "infallibly" {?}) condemned all birth control to help Mussolini and leaders of other Catholic Western European countries pump up their populations following the decline in births after World War I's slaughter of many potential Western European fathers. Pius XI, who had in 1920 seen up close in Poland the brutal atheistic Soviet threat in operation, was worried about expanding Soviet influence. Of course, Trump has now shown us that Putin and other former Soviets are the West's best friends!
The Vatican's position on women's reproductive rights, initially adopted in 1930 in Pope Pius XI's "infallible" condemnation of birth control, is not based on the interests of women or families or on any Biblical foundation or even on rigorous philosophical and scientific foundations. On the contrary, it is based solely on the Vatican's mythical claim since 1870 that "the pope is infallible" so what a pope said in 1930 remains the "Gospel Truth" forever.
The origin of the papal infallibility myth has recently been subjected to close and thorough analysis by the leading Catholic historian, Georgetown's 91 year old John O'Malley. A Jesuit, O'Malley has recently published a superb and short new book, "Vatican I", which documents in detail the 1870 invention in desperate circumstances by Pope Pius IX of "papal infallibility".
While I share an Ivy League law school background and a Catholic upbringing with the Supreme Court's likely new all male majority, thanks to the scholarship of John O'Malley, Hans Kung and other brave Catholic scholars, I do not share in their uninformed adoration for papal "infallible teachings".
Hopefully, some the these men will also read the important Vatican I book. If these male Catholic Justices are, based on their purported take on Catholic moral teachings, going to make legal rules for over 150 million American women about female reproductive matters, these Justices should at least understand the mythological origin of these teachings. They should all read O'Malley's new book and my Amazon review of it.
Of course., "infallible" popes since 1870 have greatly increased their power even over Cardinals and other Bishops by exploiting their newly invented unique claim to being infallible. Popes, much like Trump, want to retain their power even if hundreds of millions of women worldwide are denied reproductive justice to protect popes' mythical claims to infallibility. Popes have shown in their shameful cover-ups of priests' and bishops' sexual abuse of defenseless children that popes sin like other humans. The papal fixation on preserving their unique "infallible claims" to protect the power they have built up over the last 150 years is more important than any women or children, it appears.
If popes reverse themselves now on women's reproductive rights, their claims to the symbolic power of papal infallibility will fail. Of course, as few Catholics seem to know, popes have earlier reversed themselves on moral issues like slavery and usury. So much for unchanging infallible truths!
That said, with Kavanagh on the Supreme Court, as appears likely, Roe v. Wade can be expected to be limited greatly, executive authority will likely be almost unlimited in immigration, foreign relations and other important areas, and corporate political donations will remain almost unlimited. These surely are trying times for the US.
The push-back of majority voters will need to begin in earnest in less than 60 days in House and Senate elections, and again in 2020's presidential elections. In the 1930's FDR tamed a right wing court with the support of a majority of voters. This can happen again.