Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward | Goodreads

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward | Goodreads



Fear: Trump in the White House
by  Bob Woodward

4.2 · Rating details · 565 Ratings · 134 Reviews


THE INSIDE STORY ON PRESIDENT TRUMP, AS ONLY BOB WOODWARD CAN TELL IT

With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, 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. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. 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.

Fear is the most intimate portrait of a sitting president ever published during the president’s first years in office.

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Popular Answered Questions


Another book about tRump! I already know about tRump and don't need to read another book. If he's still around when I find the book in a library or on the dollar shelf at a used bookstore, I may read it. All most of us can do is not vote for him or any person who would support him. Am I missing something? Is it urgent?


Deb M. It is quite evident you have never read a Bob Woodward book. Woodward is the master when it comes to writing about the goings on in the White House.….
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS
(showing 1-30)


Jul 31, 2018Katie rated it it was amazing


It’s Bob Woodward. How do you think Trumpworld will react? Woodward is methodical, precise, and willing to hold anyone to account, regardless of political stripe.
https://www.politico.eu/blogs/on-medi...


flag90 likes · Like · 19 comments · see review



Sep 05, 2018HFK is currently reading it · review of another edition


Shelves: paidkindle, nonfiction, politics


Okay, you motherfuckers and fatherfuckers - who of you has enough hairy balls and hairy pussies to buddy or group read Fear with me, starting 11 of September? According to my friend-list, there is 331 potentials to be brave enough to accept the challenge.

As many know, I am pretty neutral when comes to Trump. I just do not posses strong feelings towards him, and it does not cause much discomfort for me when discussing of him (even sometimes I def want to run into my safe space when the hysterics ...more


flag65 likes · Like · 56 comments · see review







Sep 04, 2018Heather is currently reading it · review of another edition


i am going to read the hell out of this book (as soon as it is beamed to my kindle).


flag58 likes · Like · 4 comments · see review







Sep 05, 2018Nadine Jones marked it as to-read


Shelves: new-releasessss, non-fiction, politics-law-and-government


I had zero interest in this book until POTUS started a tweetstorm about it last night. Well, now I HAVE to read it. Do you ever wonder if that's actually his goal? Maybe Trump is the Master of reverse psychology. Maybe he hates the Republican Party. Maybe he was actually tired of the USA dominating the world stage and decided to bring it down by exploding from within ...


flag33 likes · Like · 3 comments · see review







Sep 05, 2018Jim rated it it was amazing


Shelves: 21st-century, author-north-american


more dirt on the dirtiest creep to ever occupy the whitehouse... thank you bob!!!


*********

rofl, lol, lmfao, hahahahahahahahahaha, etc....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-can...

say it with me - "coup d'état! coup d'état! coup d'état!"

**************

it's gotta be John Kelly

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/op...

*************

early reviews of the book are... good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwA1v...


flag33 likes · Like · 4 comments · see review







Sep 05, 2018Mwanamali marked it as to-read


I'm looking forward to this


flag26 likes · Like · 2 comments · see review







Sep 05, 2018Bettie☯ is currently reading it


Shelves: published-2018, unindicted-coconspirator, autumn-2018, history-in-the-making, biography


Description: With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, 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. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. 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. Fear is the most intimate portrait of a sitting president ever published during the president’s first years in office.

Woodward truly is the modern day Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus)

05:09:2018 New Woodward book paints Donald Trump as unfit to serve.Rachel Maddow rounds up highlights from Bob Woodward's new book, Fear, which depicts chaos in the Trump White House as staffers struggle to compensate for Trump's abject incompetence.

4* All the President's Men
5* The Final Days
WL Fear (less)


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Sep 11, 2018Faith rated it really liked it


Shelves: audio, overdrive


Most of the interesting bits of this book have already been revealed in news stories. The book confirms that Trump is a dumb, ignorant, narcissistic, arrogant and mean liar. We already knew that, but his followers don't seem to care. I doubt that this book will help much. When you populate each branch of the government with people who lack integrity, compassion and decency, the checks and balances system won't work. However, at least this author has better credentials and more credibility than others who have written about this chaotic presidency. His writing style is extremely dry.(less)


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Sep 11, 2018Lois rated it really liked it · review of another edition


Shelves: audio-book, books-i-read-in-2018, non-fiction, politics, u-s-history


This was extremely readable. I listened to this on audio yesterday. It was interesting enough to hold my interest all day. I briefly paused, started a new book I also like but in the end returned to listening to this and finished it.
This isn't my first book on the 2016 Election, chump's campaign or presidency. I've read: Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault Mewman, Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hacks by Donna Brazile, and Unbelievable by Katy Tur. Most of the previously mentioned books have also doubled as biographies for the authors, with the exception of Fire and Fury. They have been packed full of info about the author I could give zero fucks about and mostly unsubstantiated gossip about the candidate.
I give the most credibility to Donna Brazile who I think told a more narrow and focused tale.
I don't think HRC lied and am not trying to imply that. Her book was about her and not really the campaign as a whole.

This book for me gives the most complete picture of the chump Whitehouse. This does not read like an excited, gossipy, exposé at all. Instead we are taken through events that are thoroughly explained with participants that we are familiar with. The dysfunction of the white house isn't offered as shocking. It's offered as business as usual.
I don't know what to say. I'm not shocked. Chumps antics have made us all jaded. Actions that I once would've found unbelievable became common place long before chump formally took office. I think the world has normalized so many bizarre and embarassing presidential behaviors we've lost the ability to respond appropriately. It's just too much.

So we have the now standard image of the president being managed by his staff. Priebus stealing documents off the Resolute Desk in hopes that chump will forget. It works too. I want to point out that this is how my husband and I handle our toddler grand kids. When they aren't looking we take away obnoxious toys, hide them and hope they forget. That this strategy is successful with the president is humorous and horrifying in equal measures.
What stuck with me was members of his cabinet needing to every single day explain the exact same facts to this man. Only for him to ignore or refuse to look at the facts. His stubborn misunderstanding that the US is a service economy and manufacturing jobs aren't desired by the US workers.
He truly is unable to understand diplomacy. That's frightening. The book goes over how his personal or perceived personal relationships with other World Leaders impacts how he interacts with them. He is convinced President Xi of China likes him and is his friend. He doesn't trust or believe his own advisors over other world leaders. Other world leaders know this and use this knowledge to manipulate him. He's not intelligent at all and doesn't trust the smart people in his own cabinet. It's like a Mad TV skit.

Some advisors try repeatedly to explain why trade agreements and military presence are interwined. Others just do business around him and without consulting him. It's a mess.
He literally does not understand trade agreements or how our nation benefits from them.

He dislikes the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in and is extremely rude to him and even yells at him. He truly does not understand that the primary purpose of our military in South Korea is about the 7 second nuclear warning versus the 15 minutes later warning we can get from Alaska. Why in the world should or would South Korea pay us for that privilege?
He doesn't at all understand how business is even done in this country much less internationally.
He thinks the budget problems can be fixed by borrowing more money or just printing it.
He has the understanding of a toddler.
What this really brought home to me was how extremely corrupt the Republican Party is.

They are just robbing the candy store and taking important papers off this foolish world leaders desk in hopes he'll forget. They are managing him until they run out of patience or he gets mad at them for following the laws and established customs of the POTUS. He fires them for doing their jobs or they quit when they get exhausted from explaining the same thing over and over. The author describes the repetitiveness of this process as 'groundhog day' like the movie with Bill Murray.

Part of the problem is that chump believes he has the solution when he doesn't understand the question or issue. He stubbornly clings to his solution even in the face of facts to the contrary. He is confused and has a bad memory so he just makes shit up as he goes along. He is unconcerned and unfamiliar with the truth.
The very last line of the book is, "You're a fucking liar" in relation to chump.
I tend to give this book more credence than the others I've read. Woodward is a serious and credible reporter. Still I think it'll be at least 25 years or more before we get the real scoop about this presidential shit show. (less)


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Sep 06, 2018Vivian marked it as to-read


#387 out of 23 copies--Woohoo! I've moved up a slot.
I'm moving up in the world: #350/23!

*cue Hold music*
I'm seriously considering walking down to my local bookstore and buying a copy instead of waiting in the library queue.


flag12 likes · Like · 9 comments · see review







Sep 04, 2018Luke rated it really liked it


This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.


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Sep 10, 2018Jill Meyer rated it it was amazing


Bob Woodward has not written a conventional biography of Donald Trump. His book, "Fear: Trump in the White House". is 42 chapters long, with each chapter being another tale of woe about Trump and his time in the White House. As with all Bob Woodward books, it is very plainly written. There's not much flowery writing in "Fear", just the facts. Woodward lets the reader put their own interpretation on what he's written; unfortunately, most readers - like me - will see facts that add up to a disaster of a presidency.

Should fans of Donald Trump buy and read "Fear"? Yes, but they probably won't because the truth, as accounted by Bob Woodward, is not an easy read. I'm a liberal Democrat - horrified by Donald Trump and his presidency since the time when Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower in 2015 - and I'm finding it difficult to have my greatest fears verified.

I also find it interesting that Bob Woodward and his publisher chose to release the book on September 11th. (less)


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Sep 06, 2018Owlseyes marked it as to-read


Shelves: on-more-on-white-house, usa-politics, another-bad-book, interviews-top-officials, dysfunction-in-wh, total-piece-of-fiction


The WH keeps being a lode...., for some. This time around Woodward takes a look at 18 months of Trump rule. "Choleric" ,"impulsive", and "mercurial" style. 6th grade level, too?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/bo...


flag8 likes · Like · 17 comments · see review




Shelves: a-real-keeper, an-up-all-night-experience, for-adults-with-a-brain, the-author-nailed-it


Courtesy of H. G. Wells's "War of the Worlds:" We've seen this awful thing before..."

I bought and read Hillary Clinton’s book, which I found rather tedious, repetitive, and lacking in some of the same crucial insights missing during her 2016 campaign. I bought and read Ivanka Trump’s book of hints ad cheerleading for working women, which I thought was an amazing and banal pastiche of clichés and platitudes from someone largely clueless about real working women. I bought and read Sean Spicer’s book about his short-lived career as press secretary and thought it was a valid, albeit overly apologetic and whitewashed, window into how he functioned in a milieu like no other. I can’t be bothered with Omarosa and others like her who peddle gossip and sleaze like a political “Upstairs Downstairs.” Honesty, verisimilitude, and even a smidgin of gravitas are as absent from those tell-alls as they are from the Oval Office.

Bob Woodward is another story altogether. I was in my late twenties during the Watergate saga, and watched it all, from the June 1972 break-in to the final, sordid act of August 9, 1974. Since then, just to provide a sort of check and balance for what I remembered, I’d read a stack of books about Watergate, including Woodward’s and Bernstein’s seminal and spare recounting of “how they did it.” And what I learned from these experiences was that Woodward delivered the truth as he found it, documented it, multi-sourced it, taped it, and explained it. He presented the truth in few words—adjectives and adverbs, like the hyperbole so beloved of some journalists and op-ed writers, are not Woodward’s friends. Instead, we get page after page of “Just the facts, ma’am” story-telling, and in this rather stark literary environment, the fear is real and believable. So are the admissions of what has, by design and necessity, been going on in the West Wing, with some admissions more outspoken than others,

I’ve lived through the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the 1963 Kennedy assassination, the cataclysms of 1968, and every amazing national upheaval through 1975, and survived all of it. I’m no delicate snowflake, but I will admit that what I read here, in one interview after another, one incident of subterfuge and deceit after another, endless attempts to thwart and manipulate what goes on in the Oval Office and outside it, and of allegedly trying to protect the country from its president to be more fear-inducing than Khrushchev’s missiles parked 90 miles from the US coast.

Don’t expect a book that reads like an expanded National Enquirer or Daily Mail. Don’t expect a laundry list of bombshell revelations never before seen or heard. Don’t read this book to be amazed, titillated, or appalled. If that’s what you prefer, go cuddle up with Omarosa.

However, if you want your worst fears confirmed in the most straightforward and unadorned manner, the bits and pieces you’ve been hearing from assorted cable news bobbleheads repeated but this time from a position of credibility, and what we might expect in the near future, this is your book. Readers already disposed to accept, with or without a certain degree of credulity, will be agreeing with every page. Readers who adamantly oppose the very idea of criticism large or small of this president might want to take a look at Woodward’s book, just in case.

It was not entitled “Fear” without good cause.(less)


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Sep 11, 2018Jeannie and Louis Rigod rated it it was amazing · review of another edition


Reading this book, I felt as though Mr. Woodward was sitting opposite me on a sofa with a coffee table between us. Each of us had a cup of coffee and were just having a personal conversation. On the table was spread out various documents that were backing up the incredible tale being discussed. This is my attempt to get persons that would normally not even try to read a dull or dry non-fiction book to pay attention to an extremely well written book that tells us information we, as Citizens of the United States of America need to learn.

I found myself reading the book as though I was sitting with a jury hearing a case and trying to determine if there was truly a 'reasonable doubt' to be found. Was the subject of the case truly doing his best to run this country in the country's best interest.

I have made my decision and now ask all readers to do likewise. Even though the book was written under 'deep cover', meaning names not used, there were many names used. The rhythms of the words for others gave away their identities even where actual names weren't offered. This is an important book. I ignored the various news clips and televised discussions and decided to read this book unbiased. I hope you will as well.

Thank you, Mr. Woodward for informing the public of information we truly need and deserve. (less)


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Sep 08, 2018Kristin rated it liked it


A good over view of how we got here. This book begins before Trump throws his name in the hat to run for president and ends just a few months ago. Mr. Woodward gives a clear accounting of what is happening behind the scenes. It is equally fascinating and disturbing. I thought the book was well written. However, the topic is frustrating.


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Sep 09, 2018Ivana rated it it was amazing


Got this and read it over the weekend. A page turner for sure.


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Sep 11, 2018Michael Burnam-Fink rated it it was amazing


Shelves: politics, non-fiction


Fear is the establishment's answer to Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. Where Wolff is a gossip rag arsonist who relied heavily on Steve Bannon's version of events, Bob Woodward is, well, he's Woodward. He took down Nixon. Firerelies on hundreds of hours of transcribed interviews on deep background, and reading between the lines its easy to huess his sources are mostly "responsible adults" who have left the administration: Priebus, Porter, Cohn, Tillerson, Dowd, and Senator Lindsey Graham. The picture he paints of Trump is less salacious, but no less damning.

According to these men, who were once close to Trump and who have fallen from grace, the president is an idiot, a rage-filled child, a reckless gambler, a lazy slob addicted to cable news, a bullying narcissistic, and an inveterate liar. If there is any fixed star in Trump's universe, it's that if you're not screwing someone, you're being screwed.

Woodward covers the first year or so of Trump's presidency, focusing on the intrigue around the oval office, and the seesawing attempts to find a strategy on Afghanistan, North Korea, and trade. The results are either wise men restraining the worst impulses of a mad king, or an administrative coup by the Deep State, depending on how you feel. The book opens with Gary Cohn stealing a memo off Trump's desk to prevent him from blowing up a vital US-Korea trade agreement, which is probably the most dramatic example, but again and again, his aides have to reign in Trump's emotionally driven decisions, ranging from declaring victory in Afghanistan and turning it over to Erik Prince and the mercenary army formerly known as Blackwater, starting a nuclear war with North Korea, or demolishing the post-1945 consensus on free trade, no matter the cost. Of course, these men are not some Obama-holdover Deep State. They're men Trump appointed, praised, and mostly refused to fire. Despite that idiotic anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, they are not the resistance inside the administration. They are Trump's instruments, and his dishonor stains them.

The revolving door outside the Oval Office is interesting, but Woodward doesn't have much to say about the things that really matter about Trump. How much racism comes from him, and how much from ethnonationalist ghouls like Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller? The Mueller investigation drives Trump crazy, but is there fire beneath all the smoke? What of the real harms that dismantling the 'administrative state' of EPA regulations, educational standards, and SNAP assistance? What about the judges? What is up with Jared Kushner? Is there, contrary to all the evidence, any actual depth to the man?
The only humanizing touch is that Trump refuses to meet with the families of soldiers killed in his military adventures. I can understand that moral cowardice. I'm not sure how any ostensible patriot can square that cowardice with their support of the man.

Woodward's book doesn't reveal any deep truths. We all knew Trump was incompetent, incapable of empathy or foresight, the meanest creature to ever occupy the White House. What it does reveal, in chilling clinical detail, is how bad the situation really is. (less)


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Sep 10, 2018Jason Hanrahan rated it it was amazing


High grade dynamite from a credible journalist - Fire and Fury volume 2

Whereas Michael Wolff’s credentials may have been questioned and he has been accused of fabrication and sensationalism, the journalistic qualifications of Bob Woodward are impeccable. This is the highly respected, heavyweight Pulitzer Prize winning and long serving Washington Post journalist who covered Watergate. He has spent over thirty years astutely documenting the Presidency since Nixon in a fair and non-partisan way. He has now turned his laser sharp focus on the Trump administration and with devastating and unflattering effect. Culled from hundreds of hours of interviews with first-hand participants, official documents, personal diaries, his own personal on-the-spot observations and phone calls, insider contacts - this is a polished, credible glimpse behind the curtain based on the accounts of those who were there to witness the insanity and the shambolic chaos. He can quote times, dates, who was in attendance, what they said or did, backed up by official records or multiple corroborating witnesses. He is putting his considerable reputation on the line. This is history in the making documented as it happened, by the people who were there.

My own views and prejudices (which will no doubt colour this review) are that this is by a very long way the worst US Presidency - certainly in my lifetime. A grisly car crash that I cannot draw my eyes away from, as horrified as I am by it. The racist, misogynistic, hate filled rhetoric. The low personal attacks which degrade the office against blacks, gays, grieving gold star widows, the press, specific journalists, opponents, fellow politicians, his own staff, the security services, lawyers, investigators, sports stars. The self serving, the nepotism, handing out jobs to corrupt billionaire lackeys and the most inadequately qualified. People who are dismantling the departments they run, removing hundreds of public attorneys or career diplomats. Removing employee, consumer, health, financial and environmental protections. The trade wars instigated without consultation with economics or business advisers. The demonising anyone who dares to hold the administration to account as it forcibly tears children from their parents arms as “fake news” “bad people” or “enemies of the people”. The conflicting policy statements and defences by staff who have not been briefed or consulted and clearly have no idea as their boss embarrasses them with contradictions and demonstrable lies. The clear obstruction of justice in ongoing investigations, the insistence the President is above the law. The unparalleled staff burnout and turnover. The infighting, insults, suspicion and paranoia.

The parallels with the Michael Wolff book Fire and Fury are obvious. We see in depth how this administration is run, the chaos, incompetence, petulance and sheer insanity of a Presidency going over a cliff, dragging the careers and reputations of others with it. We see those around Trump not as advisors and policy experts but as embarrassed or frustrated child minders and nurses trying to rail him in and save the country from his worst excesses and bitter impulsiveness. We hear of their views of their boss, how they have to slow walk bad policy or hide official documentation to prevent an unhinged, Ill-informed, petulant man-child from doing greater harm. Many though hating their jobs believe that they are obliged to continue in order to save the country. These clearly include now departed H R McMaster, James Mattis, General Kelly, Gary Cohn, Rob Porter, God’s anointed hero Mike Pence and even the much maligned Sarah Huckerby Sanders. There are parts that are laugh-out-loud tragically funny like the pre-election conversation between Bannon, David Bossie and Trump in which Trump barely understands what is being said to him.

We have heard much of this before through leaks and “fake news” but who can doubt the veracity or truth of such claims in a tsunami of reports, from too many sources over a sustained period of time to not have a seed of truth. The recent anonymous New York Times editorial by someone claiming to be a senior in the Trump admin backs up and corroborates the claims made in this book of an unhinged, inattentive, amoral President bouncing off the walls. What is alarming is that if everything written here is true then Trump is absolutely unfit in intelligence, mentality, temperament and character to hold the highest office. Even more alarming is this seems entirely credible and likely. In any other administration a fraction of the scandal and turmoil would be unbelievable but under Trump they are the new norm. Not only has the bar been lowered - it seems to have been removed altogether.

In the face of multiple ongoing scandals, tell all accounts of increasing numbers of indictments and mounting damning evidence in the Mueller investigation it is increasingly difficult to understand how the Trump admin, Republican Party or Trump supporters continue unflinchingly to back this awful, incompetent President - even against their own best interests or that of the country. The politicians fear him with his Twitter megaphone, cannot control him and dare not challenge him. They could have had (and still can) a respectable President Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney to swerve the scandal and sleaze but they failed in their duty in their desperate grab for power and instead went for the vile populist demagogue with no moral compass. Trump has said that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and not lose support. I wonder if he could stamp babies, or worse puppies, to death and these cultish followers would continue to support him and make excuses.

I found this book a compulsive page turner, at times tragically funny: an entertaining but horrifying read. We are watching history in the making. I highly recommend it if you have views, an opinion of the Trump Presidency or an interest in current affairs. Normally a book on politics might be a bit dry and dull but this one is full of unhinged fire and fury. (less)


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Sep 08, 2018Harry Buckle rated it did not like it


I cannot contain my apathy about this yawn of a book. It hurts me greatly to write these words as he (and his writing oppo) were heroes and shining examples to me as a young journalist all those years back when 'Bernstein and Woodward's' (dogged, or I am now thinking, lucky ) expose of the Watergate affair helped to bring down a President. Fear has a few new quotes from some of his still 'deep' contacts, but they about matters already so well documented that the 'Bore' factor may be more appropriate then the 'Fear' factor. Before I get questioned again about my getting the book before publication date...I would confirm A) that chums in the UK media sent me an early review copy last week, much as they did with Luke Harding's Collusion, and Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. B) I would also point out that bootleg copies of Fear are already on available in Asia.. PUBLICATION DATE. Amazon / Washington Post have this listed as 9/11...which seems to me to be either opportunist and insensitive...or possibly a mistake belief that Woodward still Matters and his words will deeply affect US society. Not the case...I suggest you remain 'Fearless' and check out instead 'Everything Trump Touches Dies' by Rick Wilson. Partisan and partly appalling, but a brilliantly entertaining read...or it would be if Wilson hadn't raised the spectre of our children reduced to reading by the light of fires in a nuclear wasteland- all that remains of the world after the Washington Elite and Trump have combined to destroy civilization...now that's Fear. (less)


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Sep 12, 2018HR-ML rated it it was ok


Shelves: dnf, non-fiction


In times past I've read a few of Woodward's books.
This time I made it to 39% of 64% content (excluding
source notes) & DNF.

Wooward described Trump via "deep background"
interviews as: mercurial, unpredicatable, gaffe-prone,
tentative in decisions (and/ or changeable in decisions),
and paranoid at times. A POTUS who preferred 10 minute
meetings. Also, Trump called Twitter "my megaphone."

Woodward said, "Porter agreed. Trump's memory needed
a trigger- something on his desk or something he read in
the newspaper or saw on television." (28% mark)

Why the dissatisfaction with this book? Woodward seemed
to get bogged down w/ foreign policy & war. Woodward
barely touched on the flurry of Executive Orders Trump
wrote when he first became POTUS.

Frankly I thought another author Michael Wolff was better
in describing dysfunction, miscommunication & in-fighting
in Trump's White House. His bk: Fire & Fury. The exception:
Woodward showed the dissatisfaction that Gary Cohn (NEC
Director) & Rex Tillerson (Secy of State) felt working for DJT.

Tillerson shared with Priebus (Chief of Staff) "You guys at
the WH don't have your act together. The president can't
make a decision. He doesn't know how to make a decision.
He won't make a decision....." (37% mark). (less)


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Sep 06, 2018Evers☯n marked it as to-read


*** I have NOT Read this book! ***
I have about as much intent on reading this pile of slander as I did the first book about Trump's Presidency! I guess I'm supposed to believe anything and everything that Bob Woodward writes, just as I'm supposed to believe everything the Histrionic Liberal crews at MSNBC, CNN, NBC, etc. continue to blather about day after day, week after week, and month after agonizing month. No thanks, I can think for myself! And Bob, who is only attempting to resurrect his relevance in the world of socio-political punditry, can return to the dusty closet where he stores his IBM Correcting Selectric. His time has passed, and I'm sure Deep Throat has too!
I know a Hitpiece when I see one, and just like Fire And Fury (Gee, where do they get these incredibly catchy titles!) that is all this pile of tripe is! Shame on Bob Woodward for being so very partisan!
*
On a side note, I just read a long-winded review by some member here on GR. While the review is just this person's opinion of the book, I had to laugh at their completely inconsistent capitalization of given names and surnames. Wow, the Common Core Educational System has been way too good to you, citizen. But please do not attempt to write for a living! (less)


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Sep 11, 2018Cecily marked it as to-read


Shelves: aaa-tbr-very-soon, canada-and-usa, politics, miscellaneous-non-fiction


Postponed until I can get a copy!
(So much for pre-ordering.)


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Sep 11, 2018M rated it really liked it · review of another edition


After winning 2 Pulitzer Prizes, writing 18 books, and taking down Nixon, Bob Woodward has written an epic account of the first half of Trump's presidency. This book is DENSE with policy debates, and screaming conversations about people schooling Trump on why he is an idiot on a myriad of topics.

According to Woodward's book, there are many in TrumpWorld who are trying to protect us from his dangerous and impulsive decisions, and some who are feeding his psychotic ego. Will this book be the catalyst for the Republicans in Congress to grow some fucking balls? Will Woodward help bring down this shit show of a presidency as he did Nixon's? Only time will tell.

Here are some highlights:

People in Trumpworld :

-Rob Porter: Staff Secretary to Trump, reportedly had half a conscience, and repeatedly delayed orders directed by the president - distracting and derailing him from remembering dangerous and impulsive reactions by stealing letters and important documents from his desk. He tried to persuade Trump from limiting his Twitter usage. It was Porter who drafted a speech and convinced Trump to publicly denounce the violence and racism in Charlottesville a second time. Porter resigned after two of his ex wives alleged he was a domestic abuser.

-Steve Bannon: Human scab and Chief Strategist, met Trump in 2010, six years before Trump ran for the presidency. Bannon schooled Trump on how to be "more Republican", by telling him he needed to be pro-life, a populist, and more conservative. According to Bannon, Trump was stunned he won the election. “He had done no preparation. He never thought he would lose, but he didn’t think he would win. " Bannon and Sessions believed it was the "hand of God" that worked through Trump's presidential win.

Bannon tried to get Trump to stop watching 6-8 hours of cable news a day. He suggested Trump "go play some slap and tickle with Melania", or play with his 11 year-old son Barron. Trump never listened.

Bannon once got into a screaming match with Ivanka and called her a "goddamn fucking staffer!". She shouted back, "I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter, and I'm never going to be a staffer."

Trump's Idiocy:

-Trump referred to Twitter as his "megaphone", and that it was his only way to communicate. He referred to himself as the "Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters".

-Trump clung to an outdated view of America - one where Americans worked in assembly factories, coal mines, and factories with smoke-stacks. He couldn't accept that 80%+ of our economy is in the service sector, and ignored what 99.9% of the leading economists said about the global economy and free trade. When asked by Gary Cohn, "Why do you have these views?" Trump replied, "I just do. I've had these views for 30 years."

-Trump gave some private advice to a friend who acknowledged bad behavior toward women:
“You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women,” he said. “If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead. That was a big mistake you made. You didn’t come out guns blazing and just challenge them. You showed weakness. You’ve got to be strong. You’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to push back hard. You’ve got to deny anything what’s said about you. Never admit.”

-Trump had a giant TV (with Tivo) in his own bedroom which Priebus deemed, "the devil's workshop". Sunday nights were called "the witching hour".

-In morning meetings, Trump would bring up what he had seen on Fox news, and would seek opinions from anyone who was around during the day. He once asked his 27 year old body man if he should send more troops to Afghanistan.


The Shit Show:
-When the Access Hollywood "pussy tape" came out, it essentially buried the HUGE and more important news that US intelligence was confident the Russian government directed the compromise of emails from US persons and institutions. "The Russia story essentially disappeared."

-Reince Priebus, Chris Christie, and Rudy Guiliani, all thought it was over for Trump after the "pussy tape", and tried to convince him to drop out of the race so Pence could step in and take over. Bannon and Trump refused and doubled down. “Stories circulated that Pence had given Bannon a sealed letter urging Trump to drop off the ticket.”

Dossier/Russian Election Meddling:
-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers met with Trump at Trump Tower to brief him on the dangers of Russian election interference. Comey asked Trump for a private meeting between them and relayed what he knew about the Russian prostitutes and the "pee tape". It did not go over very well. “I’ve got enough problems with Melania and girlfriends and all that. I don’t need any more. I can’t have Melania hearing about that",Trump said.

-Woodward believes the dossier was an unverified "garbage document" that should've never been presented as part of an intelligence meeting. He believes the whole "episode" of Comey presenting Trump with the salacious parts of the dossier launched Trump's war with the intelligence world, the FBI, and Comey.

Syria:
-After the Syrian gas attack on it's own people, Trump wanted to kill Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Bannon hated the idea of America being the world's policeman and tried to deter Trump from taking action. Ivanka beat him to it and showed her Daddy photos of the Syrian children dying and being gassed.

-Trump finally approved his first significant military action, and ordered 59 Tomahawak missiles to hit their targets in Syria. He later bragged to Graham about the attack by calling Obama a "weak dick" who would've "never done that".

Comey's Firing:
-Bannon believed "100%" that the reason Trump wanted Comey fired was that the FBI was seeking financial records from Jared, and Ivanka's complaints to her Daddy about the FBI.

-May 17th, 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller to look into Russian election meddling and any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

-May 18th, 2017: “The president erupted into uncontrollable anger, visibly agitated to a degree that no one in his inner circle had witnessed before.” “Everybody’s trying to get me. It’s unfair. Now everybody’s saying I’m going to be impeached.”

-May 25th, 2017 John Dowd was hired as Trump's attorney. Trump called Dowd at "all hours, all days". “Despite Trump’s outgoing, in-your-face style, Dowd could see the president was very lonely.” Dowd urged Trump cooperate with Mueller, and that if he had nothing to hide, Trump's cooperation would speed up the resolution process.

Charlottesville:
-Trump replaced the ending of a script he was handed, sharply condemning the violence in Charlottesville by adding, "On many sides. On many sides." Many on his team including Porter and Sarah Sanders urged Trump to give another speech directly to the American people about Charlottesville, but Trump refused, and said, "It's not as if any one group is at fault or anything like that."

-After much convincing, Trump agreed to give a speech attacking racism and the necessity for love and healing. After the speech, Trump left to watch Fox News, and became infuriated after some Fox correspondents implied Trump was apologizing for his previous remarks. He lashed out and continued to stew about how he was forced to give the speech, and that he'd never do "anything like that again". “That was the biggest fucking mistake I’ve made,” the president told Porter. “You never make those concessions. You never apologize. I didn’t do anything wrong in the first place. Why look weak?”

North Korea:
-Gary Cohn, Trump's chief economic adviser, stole a letter off of Trump's desk in order to prevent a national security catastrophe. He was afraid if Trump saw it, he'd sign it, and it would pull the US out of a deal with South Korea as an ally, which would get us into deep shit with North Korea.

-In a meeting regarding economic relationship with South Korea, Trump questioned the US military presence in South Korea, and asked why "we are even friends with South Korea?" His generals were dumbfounded by Trump's inability and unwillingness to comprehend the importance of South Korea as an ally. "We're doing this in order to prevent World War III", Mattis had to explain.

-Before and after the Olympics in South Korea, the Air Force had planned some R&D tests of it's nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from California into the Pacific Ocean. The tests subsequently were postponed.

DACA:
-In a meeting about DACA, Senators Graham and Durbin tried to compromise a deal which included the money Trump wanted for a border wall and security. It was then that Trump referred to immigrants coming from African countries as "shithole countries". Durbin and Graham were sickened. Graham pushed back and revealed Trump's comments publicly and refused to buddy it up with Trump on the golf course for future games.

-Trump, along with Stephen Miller as his adviser, pushed back further on DACA, and read that dumb snake poem that he's read 1,000 times before.

Mueller and the Beginning of the End?
-January 27, 2018: Dowd suggests practice sessions for what testimony would be like if Trump were to be questioned by Mueller. The testimony didn't go so well. Trump became apoplectic at questions about Comey, and started raging about how the whole thing was a "goddamn hoax, bullshit", and that Comey was a "liar!"

-Dowd suggests a full written script for Trump to read if Mueller wanted to meet with Trump regarding the questions.

-March 5, 2018: Mueller meets with Dowd about Trump's testimony, and raises the possibility of a grand jury subpoena - Dowd goes apeshit, and describes the president as "clearly disabled" in regards to his memory about ANYTHING. He didn't want Trump to look like a "goddamn dumbbell". He asks Mueller what he wants to know. “Well, I want to know if he had corrupt intent.”, replied Mueller.

-Mueller comes back with 49 questions for Trump to answer under oath- he wouldn't take no for an answer. Dowd urges Trump not to testify. “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jump suit.”

-After failing to convince Trump not to testify, John Dowd resigns as Trump's lawyer. “Trump had one overriding problem that Dowd knew but could not bring himself to say to the president: “You’re a fucking liar.”(less)


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Sep 09, 2018J_BlueFlower marked it as to-read · review of another edition


Just ordered hardcover.


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Sep 11, 2018Authentikate rated it really liked it


😳

I’m torn. As the kids say, “I’m shook.” But above it all, I’m jaded. I’ve heard it all before. I expected it. Yes, it really is as bad as it seems. We’ve read the articles, the books. We’ve heard it all said (and debated) before. Yet, I’m back to being torn: I have to tell myself to not get distracted by the fact we’ve been living this madness for nearly two years—force myself to examine the information anew. So now, I’m back to being ‘shook.’

I fully understand that the repetitious nature of crisis and scandal we have all been living through has sort of dulled our senses, made us acquire a film of resistance to such information. It’s difficult to view books like this anew, with the thoughtful fresh eyes works like this deserve. We’re collectively fatigued. I get that.

This work is familiar. Fire and Fury touched on many of the anecdotes, had many of the same quotes: that’s not the point. The point is that the anecdotes are becoming so voluminous, so similar that there has to be truth there. Like it or not.

Hence the title of the book: FEAR.

I won’t spoil the book by quoting from it or sharing thoughts on pages I’ve dog-eared. I will leave it with a few generalizations/take-aways: Trump is a bully. Often a belligerent one. Trump doesn’t let his ignorance get in the way of anything. Ivanka is whiny (and thinks “First Daughter” is an actual title bestowed to her). No one has control yet everyone has control; back-biting in this administration is an art form. Things are worse than chaotic. Things are dangerous. Too many cooks in the kitchen and no lead chef. Trump views himself as “Shakespearean King” or an aggrieved Victorian (back of hand on forehead swoon). Often both at once. And we should all be afraid. 😳

No really. We should. (less)


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Sep 11, 2018Mike rated it liked it


So this paints a portrait of a bunch of senior executives trying to control their narcissistic, impetuous boss. It's a tale that should be familiar to anyone who's worked in corporate America -- especially the entertainment industry -- with the difference being that Trump is the President of the United States and therefore wields immense power. It's not about Elon Musk cratering the stock price; it's about Trump going to war with North Korea.

Based on my reading, the primary sources appear to be Gary Cohn, Rob Porter, Bannon, Don McGahn, and Lindsey Graham. Porter is portrayed as a kind of hero, the one man who can keep the President in check... which is a complicated view to hold, to say the least, given the domestic abuse allegations that drove him from the White House.

I'll add that Trump seems to be obsessed with trade deficits above all else. And he clearly doesn't understand them at all either. At one point he says something like, "I've believed this stuff for 30 years," referring to the need to reinvigorate the manufacturing and coal industries. Which of course does not mean that he's right.

The excerpts that were pre-released give you the gist of it, although taken in those short bursts, they probably make the situation seem a bit more out of control than a careful reading of the book does. Woodward's writing is acceptable enough. He doesn't get in the way of the behind the scenes anecdotes, but I can always tell when a nonfiction writer is attempting to write dialogue. (less)


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Sep 10, 2018Howard Pavane rated it it was amazing


I started reading Fear as soon as it dropped tonight on Apple iBook. Could not wait to finish James Clapper’s fascinating audiobook edition. With the present state of politics and President Trump’s imperialism, almost every book I’ve read this year is about the chaos surrounding the White House. I also find myself reading two books simultaneously - one print, and the other audio.

I’ve only read about 28 pages and I can’t stop reading it (except to write this review). It’s a nonfiction page-turner that every American who cares about saving our Democracy should read.
(less)


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