Wait. Before
you turn away from this review because you feel it is just another poorly
constructed praise job for Trump, think again.
This book is
written by Kessler who for twenty years has been a friend of Donald Trump. That
should be enough time to see the warts under the exterior.
This book
concerns the people Trump choose to bring into the White House. It also
concerns the issues he has had to face in his first year as president.
Sure, it
concerns Trump. Kessler points out there are two faces to Trump. The one we see
is his public face. Brash, making outrageous comments on television to get
attention, a persona. The second one, the private face, is the dearest, most
thoughtful, most loyal, most caring side that only insiders know.
Childhood
scars. We all have some. Trump didn’t have it easy, growing up in Queens, New
York. He would erupt in anger and pummel other boys or break baseball bats when
he struck out. In school he often could be found in detention. He will admit
that he created mischief “because for some reason, liked to stir things up, and
I liked to test people.”
He seemed to
have a need to be first at everything and wanted everyone else to know he was
first.
We do see
that in his actions today.
When he was
forming his staff, he seemed to have let his family loyalties blind him. He has
for some reason allowed his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared, to function
on his staff.
Chief strategist
Stephen Bannon has said, “They are nice people, but they don’t know anything.
If their name wasn’t Trump they would be midlevel marketing managers somewhere.”.
Neither Jared nor Ivanka have any experience
in government yet they can influence his decisions. They also lack the judgment
necessary to maneuver in Washington. A case in point is the firing of Comey.
Both Ivanka and Jared pushed for Trump to fire Comey without understanding it
would be impossible to get a new nominee through the Senate. This step Trump
took opened him to the special council being formed.
Trump seems
to be treating the Presidency as a business and not an office. As a businessman
he would need to cower other businesses and push his brand over theirs. He
doesn’t seem yet to understand how to act as a politician. Calling the leader
of North Korea “Rocket Man” is not the way to gain friends and influence
others.
Former
president of the United States, Jimmy Carter has said, “I think the media have
been harder on Trump than any president certainly that I’ve known about. I
think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything
else without hesitation.”
Kessler with
his years of knowing Trump can give us a picture and an understanding we need
to fully parse this man. He used twenty-five chapters and a Prologue to do so.
Chapter twenty-four is titled “Interview with The President.” This alone is a
good reason to read this book.
The subtitle
of this book is” changing the rules of the game.” One should read this book
also to be up on what is the dream Trump has. Everyone who has ascended to the
level Trump has carries with them a dream.
Random House
is the publisher and the price is $29.00 retail.
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