Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage, is an unprecedented and intimate tour de force of new reporting on the Trump presidency facing a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest.Woodward, the #1 international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic would be the biggest national security threat to … biggest national security threat to his presidency. In dramatic detail, Woodward takes readers into the Oval Office as Trump’s head pops up when he is told in January 2020 that the pandemic could reach the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 675,000 Americans.
In 17 on-the-record interviews with Woodward over seven volatile months—an utterly vivid window into Trump’s mind—the president provides a self-portrait that is part denial and part combative interchange mixed with surprising moments of doubt as he glimpses the perils in the presidency and what he calls the “dynamite behind every door.”
At key decision points, Rage shows how Trump’s responses to the crises of 2020 were rooted in the instincts, habits and style he developed during his first three years as president.
Revisiting the earliest days of the Trump presidency, Rage reveals how Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats struggled to keep the country safe as the president dismantled any semblance of collegial national security decision making.
Rage draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand witnesses as well as participants’ notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents.
Woodward obtained 25 never-seen personal letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a “fantasy film.”
Trump insists to Woodward he will triumph over Covid-19 and the economic calamity. “Don’t worry about it, Bob. Okay?” Trump told the author in July. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get to do another book. You’ll find I was right.”
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Just finished reading Bob Woodward’s book and all I can say is WOW!!! If everyone in American read this book and believed it, there’s no way in hell Trump could be re-elected in the U.S., especially knowing the aftermath of his actions (or lack there of). The fact that he was so forthcoming with his inept answers is shocking to say the least. Read it and weep!
Most of the details of this book came out a week before it was released. We have already heard about his “downplaying” of Covid 19. Most of our affront had lessened by the actual publishing. We have heard the actual recordings of the interviews the book is based on, and had time to absorb it all.
Trump hasn’t really tried to defend himself and he didn’t try to stop the publishing of it as he has with many other books lately.
Of course, Trump has lied about what he actually said on the tapes at one of the town halls this week, but we are so used to Trump lying, that nothing was really said.
The book had a lot of details on things that I had heard.
What worries me is the reason Trump did the interviews. Is it his theory that any publicity is good publicity. Or as he is quoted in the book, this is saving money on ads. The uproar caused by this book is keeping his name in the news, which seems to be his only goal in life.
Graham encouraged Trump to do the interviews. Trump talks often in the interviews about how he hopes this is a “good” book, but he figures it won’t be. The press is never “fair” to him, no matter what he does.
Trump comes across petty and uncaring. Anyone is game if they cross him. He doesn’t mind throwing anyone under the bus, and he is easily offended. Ivanka and Jarrd seem to be the only ones exempt.
The most important thing I got from this is how the world falls into Trump’s traps. Kushner is right about Trump. The debates are coming up and I know Biden will fall for Trump’s antics. Trump does a bait and switch with the facts. He never answers the questions he is asked. He goes off on a tangent and Biden will follow down the path.
The most disturbing thing about this book is that I actually kind of feel sorry for Trump. Yeah, I know, stupid. I really dislike Trump. I think he is really bad for this country. But, I would rather have to live with his self centered decisions than to have to live in his head. Talk about a scary place.
Does Trump really believe and feel the way he comes across, or is it just a front to accomplish his agenda?
Bob Woodward asked the tough questions at Trump, and of course, Trump couldn’t really answer. Add that with the recorded interviews with Trump, and I found this book very interesting. I really like how Woodward focuses so keenly on the policies and how the administration came to the decisions they did.
Bob Woodward has to be one of the most thorough reporters on earth. And that’s what makes this book scarier than anything Stephen King ever wrote…including “The Stand,” which is a good comparison, since the subjects are so similar.
Excellent work from a national treasure. Thank you Bob Woodward for leaving behind a chronicle of our times.
An interesting book about Donald Trump in the aspects Bob Woodward is interested in- as a US President dealing with some leading members of staff and how the Covid 19 crisis came up on him. There are many other issues he doesn’t try to deal with.
This is the 1st book I read by Bob Woodward. This book was very informative. This book was very detailed. I’m happy I read this.
A must-read for all who are struggling to deal with the misinformation coming from the White House. The author has presented facts (well researched and substantiated) on the President’s horrific recent conduct through the Covid pandemic, North Korea, China, Russia, more.
It is once again remarkable what Bob Woodward is able to cull from his contacts. Tragic but compulsively readable about Trump’s presidency.
I don’t usually buy books as soon as they come out, but I knew I had to with this one. Bob Woodward does an excellent job and I believe he is more than fair to the President. Many of the problems are right out there in the open to see if you’re not busy bowing down to Trump. I do like the background he gives you at the beginning of the book with Mattis, Tillerson, and others. It helps to explain some things that happened in the earlier years of his presidency. All and all, it’s an excellent book.