Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power

by Alex Isenstadt

From Axios’ Senior Political Reporter Alex Isenstadt, a fly-on-the-wall account of Donald Trump’s history-defying reelection campaign, illustrating how he overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges to return to the White House.
 
Over the course of the last four years, the American public looked on as the former president faced a series of daunting obstacles to return to the White House. The lingering cloud of January 6, a shadow effort within the Republican establishment to defeat him in the primary, multiple indictments, assassination attempts, and an 11th hour change of his opponent all threatened to derail his return to power at any moment.
 
In Revenge, journalist Alex Isenstadt takes readers deep into Mar-a-Lago, inside the courtroom, and aboard “Trump Force One” to show how Trump and his revamped team responded, overcame, and in some cases orchestrated each and every surreal moment in this one-of-a-kind presidential campaign. Based on extraordinary access and over 300 interviews, Isenstadt paints a unique and deeply revealing portrait of a man bent on returning to the White House at all costs – and who successfully portrayed himself as an avatar of vengeance for the millions of Americans who voted for him.
 
Now, for the first time, readers will experience Trump’s reelection bid from the inside. 

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Presidents, American History, Government

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

Reviews

[Thomas Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I wish didn't exist because that would mean that the 2024 election went in a direction I would have preferred but the history buff side of my brain means I have to keep up with the events as they happen.

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, straight-forward account of the President’s strategy during his last campaign. Learned some things & had me a giggle a time or two

[Dryan1066 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but if you followed campaign closely not much new

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perfunctory and bland. Gallingly uncritical in perspective. And sleep-inducing in execution. Anyone who is drawn to pick up this title will already be fully informed as to the timeline of events. This books offers no new information - and even less insight into Trump World - than those political junkies already know. The plodding linear litany of events makes for a very dull read.

[Hugo's Mom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pace was decent, and while biased, it could have been far worse. But if you followed this election closely at all, you already knew 99% of everything in this book.

It missed discussing some of the things I was hoping it would include on data collection etc., that is at an all time high, to get a read on outcome pre-election and how both campaigns dealt with that.

Reading Mark Halperin's 2024 X feed and watching old 2Way episodes would honestly give you more information than this did.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

nothing new or that interesting. lazy and uninteresting setups to the parts that should be more riveting. seemed rushed and too short for such a topic.

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on our politics today.

[laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book, the narration was fine. From the title you get a sense of where the author is coming from, but I thought it might be interesting.

Clearly Trump is one of those love him or hate him type of people. While, I think the author intended and attempted to paint Trump as a narcissist villain, my larger take away was how phenomenally astute he is when it comes to marketing (whatever you think of him). I really found the discussion about him choosing JD Vance as his VP very interesting. I was unaware that Maria Bartiroma and Harris Faulkner had been potential candidates. There was plenty of Trump bashing, but I got the sense that the author, despite his personal distaste for the man, couldn’t help but admire his communication skills and ability to turn the tide and create and shift a narrative.

[Jim Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revenge is a good inside look at the Trump resurrection and 2024 election campaign. It has a great deal of insight into Mr. Trump and the people around him. If there is a weakness in the book it is that it is written by an obvious Trump cheerleader who is incapable of any critical thinking or analysis when it comes to Trump and his campaign.

Mr. Isenstadt titled the book "Revenge" because it was obviously the force driving Trump in his quest to regain the American Presidency. And as events have shown since the election Trump would prefer to have a gross incompetent in any position of authority so long as they are loyal to him and compliant with his every suggestion.

The best part of the book is the insight that Mr. Isenstadt provides on the work that Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita did on the Trump campaign. They took the unorganized mess that is Trumpworld and put it into something of a semblance of a campaign. That part of the book is fascinating.

The book also confirms many of the rumors that surrounded the Trump campaign. Trump does not keep his word - even to his campaign managers. Corely Lewandowski is a scumbag that Trump has unquestioning affection for. Wiles and LaCivita were largely able to diminish the backstabbing that usually occurs around Trump. And Natalie Harp really is the sycophant to Trump that she plays on TV.

But it also confirms the nonsense that Trump considers important. Isenstadt confirms that the final days of the Trump campaign were dominated by the racist jokes of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump's Madison Square Garden's event and Biden calling Trump supporters garbage. Of course, Trump did not want to deal with Hinchcliffe's joke, he wanted to know who was responsible for putting Hinchcliffe on the stage. Trump wanted "Revenge". And Trump took Biden's ill-advised comment and posed with a garbage truck. And while Trump thought that this nonsense was important it is clear that many American's thought that nonsense and idiocy rather than actual policy was important and ultimately that it the tragedy of the 2024 election and the chaos that it has wrought in the United States and around the world.

But the underlying cataclysm underlying this book, and the 2024 election, is the disastrous SCOTUS decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) which found that laws restricting the political spending of corporations and unions are inconsistent with the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As a result, spending limits in American elections do not exist. Why is this problematic? Mr. Isenstadt reports that Elon Musk provided the Trump campaign with a staggering $250,000,000 in financial support. The amount sounds ridiculously large until you think about the fact that Mr. Musk is now empowered to take milk money aways from the children of single mothers to help support the billions and billions of subsidies that he and his companies get from the American government. When considered in that light the money Musk spent was chump change. But this obvious cancer at the heart of American democracy is never mentioned in the book as it would take critical analysis and independent thinking which Mr. Isenstadt clearly either does not have or is unwilling to say out loud in case it offended Trump supporters and they decided to come after him for "Revenge".

In the epilogue of the book Mr. Isenstadt talks about Elsie Stefanik being the "first person chosen to serve in Trump's cabinet" when he granted her request to be the ambassador to the United Nations and the struggle to nominate Pete Hegseth. The week that I finished the book Trump withdrew Ms. Stefanik's nomination to the United Nations, and Pete Hegseth had leaked confidential military secrets in his Signal group chat. The clown show has moved, once again, from Mar-A-Lago to D. C.

[Paul Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been there, done that… but not THAT.
While it is not the most exciting or titillating retrospective I have read regarding the 2024 presidential election, Alex Isenstadt does nonetheless fill in much of the character and detail he promises to address in his chosen title. And he does so in the voice and the temperament I expected from the seasoned and ethical journalist he is. Even his selection of "Revenge" as the slug suggests the author's commitment to the objectivity of his approach and his commitment to the tenets of his profession.
The more colorful--and more accurate--term employed in Washington today is "retribution."

In compiling his comprehensive analysis of the Iraq war, Thomas E. Ricks was not nearly so circumspect. Having served as the Pentagon correspondent for both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, he unabashedly titled the Baghdad botch-up not simply "Misadventure" but as the disaster many of us had known it to be: "Fiasco."
When former FBI counterintelligence investigator Peter Strzok published his analysis of reported links between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election, he didn't pull his punches at "Dalliance," he went directly to "Compromised."
Isenstadt settled for “Revenge,” and he displays similar moderation and perspective throughout his focused view on the years between Trump presidencies. And "focus" is what he brings to the pages of his book. He puts into context and continuity the names and events and dynamics surrounding Donald Trump and his fixation on "Revenge." He describes a broad but intimate view of the public, private, personal, and political energies swirling from Mar a Lago to Washington, DC, to the courtrooms of Manhattan. The journalist uses both his personal and professional contacts to enrich the mood and the dialogue of meetings and situations from the trivial to the politically pivotal.
Don't look for any surprises or revelations in this book. You have, after all, lived it vicariously in the blur of more than 50 months... so much, so fast, and so relentless that it is a relief to have an informed viewpoint bring so much of it into (there's that word again) focus.

[Tony Siciliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best rendering of the 2024 election so far. Isenstadt, no fan of Mr. Trump, focuses on the inner workings of the Trump campaign. He doesn't repeat the usual timeline of events that other authors have done (and probably much better). The premise seems to be that revenge was the single driving force of Trump trying to win the presidency again. Perhaps it was. Much more interesting was how Susie Wiles and Chris La Civita, entrusted as co-managers of the campaign, skillfully kept the volatile Trump on message (most of the time). Their management skills, their wisdom, their focus, and their down and dirty hard work gave Trump a running start to victory. Unexplored in other books, Corey Lewandowski is portrayed as a serial abuser of women, a randy and rodent-like presence who was ultimately kicked out of the campaign. Wiles' hatred of Gov. Ron DeSantis is recounted several times and in several situations throughout the book. The author repeats several Trump statements that have long been proven untrue, which is disappointing. Overall, however, I think the author focuses on the Trump campaign with dispassionate eyes and, very clearly, gives Trump and his associates great credit for winning this most unusual election.

[Diane C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have rated this 1 star, but if you do, no review allowed. This is one of the biggest bunches of hooey about Trump I've read. Gives him and his strategizing (which was admittedly forceful and him squeezing out all the con man powers he has) total credit for coming back to be seated in 2025 as prez. I suggest to you all that you read the book Stench: The Making of the Thomas Court, and the Unmaking of America by David Brock, a former right wing tool who ultimately became horrified by how Leonard Leo and the Heritage Foundation bonded right wing, old energy billionaires and the GOP to implement the christo-fascist Project 2025, aggressively stacking the courts Supreme and otherwise with right wing Catholic judges. They couldn't have done this w/o Trump. He is merely a useful idiot with a cult of personality and tool of the GOP and Vladimir Putin, nothing more. Vaulted into his level of incompetence by people he told he would let do whatever they wanted if they let him get rich off the executive office, and stay out of prison. Don't read this nonsense, don't waste your time.

[Ken Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you watched the campaign of 2024, you'd already know most of the things Alex Isenstadt includes in Revenge. However, there are some behind the scenes information and more anecdotes that show some of the players' personalities.

I thought he glossed over the assassination attempt at Butler, Pa., like how security failed, how Trump used that moment as a campaign boost and more on the actually "injury" to his ear he supposedly suffered.

Isenstadt did a good job of showing the backstabbing that went on and the theme of revenge with Trump was done well. It truly is a "kiss the ring of the godfather" type of culture that the president lives in. Again, if you're a news junky, there's not a lot of new things here other than more anecdotes and personalities. If you didn't follow it too closely, this is an easy, quick book to read. It does really show Trump's personality. The book doesn't take a political view; it's very unbiased, but reading between the lines makes the reader realize we really are doomed.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may not break much new ground for anyone already steeped in Trump’s political universe—we all know by now he’s one of a kind and can’t resist getting in his own way. (Someday, there’ll be a normal president again, and we’ll have to go back to TV and books for entertainment. Ho hum. 🥱)

What’s impressive, though, is how even-handed and well-balanced the reporting is, especially coming from a POLITICO journalist, an outlet often viewed as leaning center-left. The narrative is clear, fair, and notably generous in crediting Susie Wiles, whose strategic skill as a campaign manager is spotlighted throughout.

It’s a straightforward, well-written walk down memory lane through the chaotic 2023–24 campaign, capturing the spectacle. And while it doesn’t shy away from warning readers to buckle their seatbelts for a ‘revengeful’ unchecked Trump’s second term, (hence the title and horror novel red font,) the story itself ends shortly after the inauguration, leaving the next chapter unwritten for now.

[Dan Watts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose if you spent the last couple of years under a rock then this book will fill you in on the highlights and lowlights of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

For the rest of us, this is just a review of what we already read, watched and possibly tried to forget. The author doesn't appear to have inside sources to provide previously unreported tidbits, with the exception of some gossip about the bizarre behaviour of Trump's "human printer", Natalie Harp.

I suppose the author should be commended for keeping any personal bias out of the writing, though given the subject matter I'm not sure that's a plus.

I look forward to reading a retrospective of the campaign by someone with connections to the two parties.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good recap of the crazy four-year stretch between 2020 and 2024. It’s easy to forget how unlikely Trump’s ‘24 win seemed for most of that time. I was always a little curious about how he was able to build and maintain the motivation to run a campaign against such long odds and this book scratched that itch. It also sheds some light on how his staff responded to all of the well-publicized (to say the least) ups and downs of the campaign. No bombshell revelations or anything but no real dull spots either. I bought the audiobook on a Wednesday afternoon and finished it Thursday morning so it obviously held my interest pretty well!

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capturing all of the people in politics motivated by vendettas, especially in the 2024 year marred by assassination attempts, this is a book that holds true to its name. Fairly balanced, given the intensity of Donald Trump, it holds him at his word and in the process creates a fairly neutral and objective narrative. Much of the content within has been covered in many other books, showing how it is designed more for the casual fan than people like me who have read dozens of books like it, but I got a kick out of it nonetheless. Brutal modern history and popcorn entertainment all at once, this is a good contemporary look back at one of the most important elections in American history.

[Kenny Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love post election books, and this one was no exception. A very good account of the various twists and turns of the Trump re-election effort in 2024. While this book was rich in detail on looking at this material through the Trump campaign’s lenses, the coverage on Biden/Harris/Walz was pretty light and nearly made the Democrats seem like two-dimensional characters. A more thorough account from both campaigns could have greatly enhanced the book. Still the book was very well done and an enjoyable quick read.

[Richard Littel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third book I’ve read on the 2024 campaign. All of them, while interesting, seem to be written too quickly. They are written more as a series of brief essays about particular events vs a unified narrative. Also, rather than being written as a historical account, it is clear that the author is trying to make a larger, personal point and unfortunately this biases the writing. I learned some interesting things here, but it was very tabloid in nature.

[Alan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book that gives Trumps side of the story.

Having followed the election, it's amazing how much has been glossed over but when viewing this as a pro Trump book, it does its job well.

This version of Trump is distilled from the hateful figure we all saw from his speeches and the figure it portrays is somewhat likable. Something I don't think I could have said about Trump previously.

[Jquick99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how it seemed improbable that Richard III would ever be king when Edward IV was alive and healthy….yet, it happened? Well, this is the modern day equivalent. This is fascinating.

Even if you despise Trump, you really do need to read this AND All Or Nothing by Michael Wolff (which I think is better). Why read fiction when real life can be a thriller?

[Rennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these Trump books to get a little more commentary and insight into on the daily onslaught of news, especially since I can’t absorb all that much on a day to day basis, or else I can’t sleep. This one didn’t have all that much new to add. It seems like Trump has somehow become more mellow but also more obsessed with ⚡️REVENGE ⚡️what even, I don’t know.

[Johnny Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

My summary is just another book with the same information. It was ok written and flowed fine. However, if you want a deeper understanding of Trump and his demeanor, this is not the place to find it. It simply gives an overview and a few more in the backstage events--
I would say skip this one -- there are better accounts elsewhere

[Susan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eh, it was alright. This book is like looking at a glossy magazine cover of Trump's second campaign. I don't feel like it really got into the nitty gritty truth of the campaign. And it wasn't anything that wasn't plastered all over right-wing news sources. It kind of even has the viewpoint that none of the negative things during the campaign were Trump's fault.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Factual, honest and yet very heartwarming

I enjoyed reading this book. The author seemed to stay very factual even when it wasn’t a good look for the former and now current president. I recommend this book.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is more similar to a timeline of Trump campaign than a true inside story. If you're expecting anything new, you'll be disappointed. However, if you didn't pay attention to the 2024 campaign, the book is a good summary of the election.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may be THE inside story, but most of this was not new to me. There were a few things that were behind the scenes, but nothing I couldn't have surmised from my close observations of DJT over the last few years (like actually saying he was going for revenge).

[David LaBrot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than expected

With the exception of a couple of highly inaccurate statements in the prologue, it was good balanced reading, and much better than the dribble that was put out in “Uncharted”.

[Natalie Grim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid narrative, deeply reported, very definitive account of the campaign. Good read. Not too much new from this but having it compiled makes it a worthy resource that I'm sure will have staying power through the next four years and beyond.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like him any more than what I did - which wasn't much. it was a fascinating look into all that went on, those people who believed in him, and there is more to him then just the facade that is portrayed on both sides of the media