Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America

Presidency of Donald Trump #4

by Jonathan Karl

The must-read new book from Jonathan Karl, the author of New York Times bestsellers Tired of Winning, Betrayal, and Front Row at the Trump Show

In Retribution, Jonathan Karl’s unparalleled access brings us behind closed doors deep inside the White House and presidential campaigns, revealing the extraordinary moments that ended one man’s presidency and brought another back to power.

This is a story of unprecedented political plot twists, showing what happened behind the scenes as political fortunes fell and rose again, and as a new team coalesced around President Trump with the goal of creating an entirely new world order. From President Biden’s shocking withdrawal and Vice President Harris’s historic run, to the multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, his election, and the changes he has brought to every corner of the country, this book reveals in surprising new detail how we got here, and what we can expect from American politics in the years to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Audiobook, Government, Historical

Audible Audio

First published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Frank Luntz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, the Real Story of 2024.

I don’t normally take the time to write reviews of books. But over the past few years, I’ve made a commitment to my American politics students to pick just one book each year that I think matters most.

Retribution is that book. It will correct the record and dispel all the myths about what actually happened in 2024 that led to the biggest political comeback in modern times. But equally important, it really doesn’t matter whether you love Donald Trump or hate him. This book will help you understand him and why he is back at the White House -- regardless of what side you’re on.

So let’s get specific. There are several components of Retribution that are particularly fascinating and enlightening because of the behind-the-scenes first-person accounts:

1) The personal, powerful, emotional conversations between Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the assassination attempt, the post-election meeting in the Oval Office, and in the presidential limo on Inauguration Day. Despite the acrimony between these men, readers will be surprised by the genuine humanity shown by Trump and the level of empathy shown by Biden.

2) The unraveling of the Biden reelection effort, a step-by-step (blow-by-blow) account of how leading Democrats turned against the former President. It reads like an Agathy Christie novel – and the competing and occasionally brutal roles played by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi is almost Shakespearian. It all seemed so carefully orchestrated from the outside, but you’ll realize how ugly and bitter it was internally. (This chapter could be a book in itself. Thanks to the author’s impeccable research, we now know what actually transpired in those final ten days – and that it doesn’t make anyone involved look good.)

3) The formation of President Trump’s cabinet and why so many Big Names were rejected in favor of lessor known loyalists. Never in American history have we had a more politically, personally and ideologically loyal group of advisors around the President. What’s particularly fascinating is how some of the most influential people readers will recognize were done in by inuendo, circumstantial evidence and (to be blunt) lies.

4) The tall tales and sordid gossip, from the Hollywood debate watch party that led President Biden’s strongest supporters to drop him … to the various interactions with Hunter Biden, Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and the other prominent names. If you want to know “the rest of the story,” as told by the people who were in the room … you’ll get it here.

I’ve told my students that Retribution is the most essential political book right now because it is the definitive account of the most consequential election of my lifetime. The decisions chronicled in such vivid detail will surely impact every reader for the rest of our lives.

The only negative I can offer – you really can’t skim the book. You need to read it cover to cover to fully capture the significance of what really happened and why. So if you’re just interested in a cursory 30-minute read, you should look elsewhere.

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America by Jonathan Karl

In Retribution, veteran political reporter Jonathan Karl offers a meticulous, behind‑the‑scenes account of the 2024 United States presidential election and the early phase of Donald Trump’s second presidency, grounded in extensive reporting and interviews with key figures from both Trump’s campaign and the opposing Biden‑Harris effort, including on‑the‑record conversations with Trump himself. Karl examines how Trump’s political comeback unfolded after his 2021 departure from office and how dynamics inside the White House and campaigns shaped pivotal moments leading up to and following the 2024 contest, including shifting strategies, internal conflicts, and broader political consequences for the nation.

From the start, this book struck me as a deeply reported chronicle that pulls no punches, inviting you into the strategy rooms, courtroom corridors, and pivotal campaign moments with granular detail that feels both urgent and revelatory. Karl’s seasoned perspective and direct sourcing make the political drama tangible and consequential, even as conclusions about motivations and impact will resonate differently depending on one’s own views of the actors involved.

4 out of 5: an engrossing travel‑through‑power that enriches understanding of a transformative election and its aftermath.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all three of Jonathan Karl's prior books about Donald Trump and the modern state of American politics, leading me to pick this one up with great interest. I was not disappointed, either in its compelling writing style or the revelations within that were new to me even as a political junkie, including how many Democratic Senators would have called on Joe Biden to step aside from the party's 2024 nomination if he had not done so voluntarily. Karl manages to simultaneously express journalistic neutrality and all-too-real exasperation, both of which are appreciated in a present day history such as this. Karl's many interviews with Trump and Hunter Biden, both of which come with a sense of entitlement and anger that can make one question why they warrant so much time, show how his access to powerful people makes this an accurate tome. I highly recommend this book as an assessment of our nation's most recent presidential election, one that is very readable by people of almost all political affiliations.

[Mark Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Karl has done it again - with pain staking research and superb investigative skills he has pulled back the curtains on Trump 47. Karl does not just explain how Trump practices retribution but more importantly explains why President Trump has been so aggressive in his first few months of the second Administration.

I did not expect a book would have me think that Indiana was the epicenter of our Constitutional core - but revealing storytelling by Karl explains how both Mike Pence and Dan Quayle were key to the saving of our democratic process on January 6th. Quayle deserves a statue in Congress’s Statutory Hall

Retribution has similar anecdote after anecdote that explain Americas political condition today - it is MUST reading this Fall. and superb investigative skills

[Jane Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. Misleading title. 90% of info has been available from 2024 tv & books by Jake Tapper, Kamala Harris & others. Well written & nice audio, though. Looking forward to J Karl’s next book that will hopefully have more info on the horrors of continuing retribution by that awful person in the White House.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next one needs to be about the demise of Trump.

[Sandra Mistretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth book by Jonathan Karl about Trump. There was nothing new, Trump hasn't changed- just become meaner, more vindictive, more openly greedy, and more demented from age, at 79 years old.

Karl talks about Merrick Garland, the past DOJ head, and how Biden and others felt that he took too long to indict Trump on the January 6th insurrection, and was too harsh with Biden's son Hunter's conviction on drug charges.

Karl presented the other side that because of appeals and the court system, the Trump indictment could never have been completed before the election. When Trump won, they had to set the case aside because they couldn't charge an elected president. Jack Smith wanted to tell the American people the charges in detail so that the truth of Trump's involvement in the insurrection was known.

He also discussed the reluctance with which Biden finally pardoned his son before he left office because he knew that Trump would be merciless towards him just for spite.

[alfred hair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book sucks.

Who wants to be reminded in detail of these awful events and the terrible people involved
Screw this awful history

[Imlac · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first part of this book rehearses some of the most salient moments of the 2024 presidential campaign while completely ignoring some others. (There's no mention, for example, of the Vice-Presidential debate.) Karl is quite critical of Trump, despite repeatedly mentioning, evidently with eager pride, all the times he and Trump talked by phone. The whole opening section - the "Prologue" as it were - is a set up for its last line, which Karl seems to be both unhappy and happy to have delivered to Trump himself.

The second half of the book turns to the post-election maneuverings of the Trump team, at which point I totally lost interest and skimmed through to the end.

The one thing that will stay with me: Hunter Biden, who it seems gave unhindered (and unhinged) access to Karl, is a thoroughly despicable, repugnant and also pitiable man. It can't have been easy growing up in the shadow of an adored older brother, who ascended to sainthood upon his demise; but Hunter's utter self- and other-destructive behavior evades understanding and resists sympathy. To the extent that Beau mirrors Biden's better nature, Hunter is a reflection of his insecure, narcissistic and destructive worst.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous read by Mr. Karl. In each of his books, including his latest, Retribution he delivers a fact based telling of the events that led up to the situation we live with today. While you can say "he's a journalist, of course he's a good writer." But I've read books by other journalists who write in a dry manner. Mr. Karl takes you behind the scenes, giving attribute where he can to the witnesses he interviewed and includes anonymous sources with verification of their stories. He gives a fair and unbiased telling of each side -- or the many sides if there are more. I look forward to his next book.

[Drew Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This makes me feel… things.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, I wanted to like this book more than I did. Fair warning, I’ve already read three books breaking down the 2024 election (Fight, Uncharted, and 107 Days), and this book really didn’t add much to what I already knew. I feel like the other books I read (especially Fight and Uncharted) added a lot to my knowledge about 2024, even as someone who followed the election closely. Only a few chapters of this book did that for me. If you want to read about Trump’s re-election, go with Fight or Uncharted instead.

[Nanci Catalano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Karl does it again! An exceptional behind the scenes account of Trump’s return to the White House. A real eye opener.

[Earl Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reasonably unbiased look into the wildest U.S. election in recent memory.

[Carol N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently the citizens of the United States are experiencing the many outcomes of the 2024 election. Example being, when will the government open once again??? The subject matter of this election has been examined on television shows, through written material and the ever present internet. While the election of Donald Trump has been told from various perspectives, Jonathan Karl's new book, gives the reader a refreshing analysis of what really happened behind the scenes. He makes a point to include various sources to explain the twists and turns of the 2024 election.

[Silky Johnstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there was an underlying hint of sucking up to Trump all the way through this that I found off putting. Also these type of books seem to rely on a lot of quoting from Steve “The Sand Eel” Bannon who seems a ridiculous character.

[Loree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book! The author tells what was going on from the end of the Biden Administration to the beginning of the Trump Administration. Very well done!

[Matt Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of Karl's books on Trump; they're well researched and fair. Great insights and analysis.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this and several of Karl's previous books about trump, I'm struck by the theme of predominantly positive things he says about him. Is this good investigative reporting or is he a closet trump supporter?

[Dan Waller · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Maybe you expected this, but with Jonathan Karl being a journalist rather than a political scientist or analyst, his book is largely just a narrative of events and not so much an insightful analysis of why Donald Trump managed to win the 2024 election, as well as what his election means from this point forward. That is indeed good for the profession of journalism, that a prestigious journalist like Jonathan Karl (and he's one of my favorite political journalists out there) largely just sticks to the facts rather than inserting excessive amounts of his own perspective / spin.

But there are two issues there, as far as a book like this is concerned. For one, this was one of the most watched, most closely followed presidential elections in history. Very little of what Karl recounts in this book is unknown to the public, particularly the type of people who would want to read this book. He does have some interesting tidbits of knowledge here and there, from exclusive conversations he had, or recounting details that may have been underreported. But I was already aware of about 80-90% of what he describes in this book.

The other more pressing issue is, what I really want to know is WHY this happened. Karl hypothesizes that Trump's election was "the greatest comeback in political history". Which begs the question: how did he do it? And retelling the story of Biden's debate disaster, withdrawal from the race, and emergence of Harris doesn't really answer the question. Trump won, yep. But why? And how? These are the questions burning in my mind, and I don't know that I got much closer to answering a critical question like this one. Because, and pardon me for showing my true colors here, but we simply cannot ever let something as abominable as this ever happen again. We cannot ever again in history elect a felon / rapist / narcissist / despot like Donald Trump to the highest office ever again, so I'd love to know why and how he did so, so we can stop it from happening in the future.

That said, I have the utmost respect for Jonathan Karl's work, and I appreciate his attention to detail and his efforts to tell a story as objectively and fairly as possible. No journalist is truly free of bias, but Karl is still able to give a truthful and accurate narrative, much as he may have a strong distaste for everything that occurred.

[Burpee Bibliophile (Ty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better books detailing the crazy circus-like 2024 presidential election. What I appreciate most about Jonathan Karl, is his commitment to accuracy and balance. He reports the facts regardless of who it might upset. He gives blame to both sides of the isle wherever it’s warranted which you have to respect. And this book is no different. He highlights the failures, misconduct, corruption, and incompetence from both the left and right. I learned a lot of things that I wasn’t previously aware of so that was an added bonus. The writing is top notch and it reads like a thriller. With that said, it’s obvious our political system is an absolute mess. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are in total disarray and both of their extreme sides are catastrophic and cancerous to our country. After reading this book, I was left even more angrier with the Democratic Party because it was their embarrassing incompetence and complete total failure that allowed this autocratic corrupt criminal coward to win office and fill his administration with a bunch of corrupt inept ignorant clowns. And we are now seeing and experiencing the devastating consequences of that in real time. Unfortunate and frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe it. This book gets a solid recommendation from me. Happy reading!

[Simon Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and unique audiobook. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to read an autopsy of the dem campaign and hear what trump is like behind closed doors.

The author references several private conversations with trump and his circle, choosing to insert recording their phone calls in place of quotations. The most jarring element of this book is the way in which Trump is present— in private conversations and intimate moments, he is reasonable, mellow, and, at times seemingly, generous. Seconds later, when given a stage and an audience he becomes combative, vindictive, and frightening. At first I felt like this juxtaposition was a disservice that played-down the danger that trump poses. However, I by but he end that these two sides of trump are part of what made him so dangerous. The reasoning behind common phrase “that’s just trump being trump” on the right, alongside the perception that he’s “putting on a show” is makes more sense now. Fortunately, the author doesn’t lose sight of the danger that “show” poses to the Americans who are persecuted by trump and his goons.

[Dennis Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America by Jonathan Karl, published in 2025. Karl has been the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.[4] Karl served as the chief White House correspondent for ABC News from December 2012 through the end of the first Trump administration in January 2021. I am amazed at Karl’s access to key players across the entire political spectrum. In particular I’m fascinated with his access to President Trump. They seem to enjoy an easy rapport while each speaks candidly of the others shortcomings in public. I found most of this book uncomfortable as Karl describes the incompetence and downright political malpractice of the Democrats. Biden trashed his legacy by staying too long and those around him deluded him into thinking he was still viable as president. His late exit from the race left Harris in a vulnerable position and additionally she ran poorly and so we are left with what we have today.

[disneypal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting book. Karl recounts the 2024 Trump campaign. As a Emmy nominated journalist, it’s his job to report the news without bias. He starts out saying that he called DJT to congratulate him on winning the presidency and when he call and said “I’m calling to congratulate you”. DJT said “For what”. Why did he say “For What?” Because he wanted Karl to actually say the words “because you won”. Anyone that knows anything about DJT knows he as an ego maniac and loves being praised.

Karl goes on to talk about the assassination attempt in which DJT tried to fight off the secret service and one of the first questions asked as he was being in treated at the hospital was “How did it look on TV”

Karl also talks about DJT’s smart campaign moves against Biden and Harris and how he won all the battle states during the election. He also mentions the follies of Biden and his forgetting major points or mixing up names and he seem to shed light on that Biden may not have been mentally fit another presidential run. He didn’t say a lot about Harris but he did mention the debates and how he thought Harris and Trump had good points in those debates.

Ultimately, as you have guessed, I’ve never been a fan of DJT and this book didn’t change my opinion about him, but it did backup some of my thoughts. It opened my eyes a bit to Biden a bit too.

I thought it was a very good book and I’m not one that normally reads political books.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jon Karl somehow always makes the unfathomable and indigestible completely digestible, no matter how many times you feel nauseous during the journey. I will continue to read everything he publishes.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly left wing media bias. With that said, there are some interesting things in the book. One is that DJT is a bit of a buffoon. But remember what the great philosopher of the 21st century said: “every time I go to town and vote I come home with the blues. The lesser of two evils is all we ever get to choose. “

[Bubber Hutto · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book conveniently omits any explanations for the abject dishonesty of the trump campaigns and his incompetent administration.
It is a glorification of an imaginary political paradigm, acceptable only to those who are still willing to accept his criminality.

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Karl is ABC’s chief Washington correspondent. He has reported on the last four presidencies. He is well acquainted with Donald Trump and it seems that he can call and get Trump on the phone almost anytime he wants to; sometimes Trump even calls first.

In this book about the 2024 Presidential election, Karl covers very familiar ground to anyone who has been paying any attention to politics. It’s a review for most, but there are insider details that not everyone will have known. These details give us a more complete understanding of who Trump is and what makes him tick. I’ve just picked a few that were interesting to me.

The Debate
We all know that Biden’s disastrous debate performance doomed him but that he, his family, and his diehard staff felt that the Democrats betrayed him. Karl gives us some of the details. Many of Hollywood’s elite and the elite among Democrats political liberals gathered at a Hollywood’s friend’s house to watch the debate. Their reaction was instant and horrified.
Governor Pritzer of Illinois burst out, “This is a fucking disaster.” Jane Fonda began crying. Rob Reiner shouted, “We’re fucked. We’re going to lose.” Tom Friedman wrote in the “New York Times,” I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime, precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has not business running for re-election.” A few days later Nancy Pelosi called Biden and got a private meeting, unknown to his staff. She did not directly tell him to drop out but told him he had been a good president with a great legacy of legislative accomplishment which would all be in jeopardy if Trump won. At the end of their meeting, Pelosi suggested that she and Biden, two devout Catholics, pray. They fingered their pocket rosaries. Biden’s family, especially wife Jill and son Hunter, and the close members of his staff urged Biden to stay in the race, said that he could still win. Hunter went wild blaming everyone; he accused Obama of betraying his father. In the end, it was Biden’s decision alone. Biden’s family has never forgiven the Democrats who were honest enough and bold enough to speak the truth.

Trump Gets Shot and in this Instance and Others Reveals Key Aspects of His Personality

I’m sure we all remember the campaign rally where a sniper almost took Trump out. A bullet grazed his ear and Trump either slumped or was pushed to the floor immediately by the secret service. Blood dripped from his ear. Karl refers to this time as Trump’s finest moment. And that’s how long it lasted – a moment. The incident also revealed some key insights into both Trump and J.D. Vance. One of the first things Trump asked after getting shot was, “How’s it playing on TV?” He knew it was going to be big news. He was rushed to the hospital, of course, and given a brain scan (among other precautions). Karl writes that Trump wanted his staff to send a copy of the scan to the news media to show the media how much better his brain is than Biden’s. We’re getting to the finest moment!

Trump was still in the hospital and no one knew anything about the gunman or his motives; yet Vance immediately announced that Trump’s Democratic opponents were squarely behind the attempted assassination. Unlike Vance, Trump did not immediately lash out against his political opponents but, Karl reports, he tried to calm things down. It worked at that moment. Biden had called him to express concern for his safety and to wish him well. Trump expressed appreciation for Biden’s call. But he was back to his old self very quickly, displaying his personal pettiness and desire for revenge. We see this characteristic often, Karl writes. He can turn on a dime, be gracious one moment and vicious the next or be vicious one minute and be forgiving the next. He loves to behave this way, we are told. He loves to welcome his former critics to MAGA causes (Vance is one of them), as long as they prove they have shifted loyalties. He loves the idea of winning people over; mostly he loves watching them grovel. Witness Lindsey Graham.

Another instance of this aspect of Trump’s personality occurred during the brief meeting between the outgoing President and the Incoming One. “We’d be great friends if it weren’t for politics,” Trump told Biden, according to one source familiar with what was said. Trump continued to be complimentary to Biden shortly after the meeting was over. “It’s been a lot of work on both sides, and he[Biden] did a very good job with respect to campaigning and everything else. We really had a good meeting. We got to know each other again… . I wanted to know his view on where we are and what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very gracious.”

But we know that in almost every other sentence since Trump has called Biden the worst President ever and has blamed him for everything that has gone wrong. And he has gone far beyond merely being ungracious; he has been cruel, unfeeling, and malignant. Karl writes that when Biden was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, Trump initially wished him well. Days later he called him a “decrepit corpse” and said, “If you feel sorry for him, don’t feel sorry . . . because he’s vicious.”

Cabinet Vetting
One by one Karl goes through the list of some of Trump’s most notorious Cabinet appointees. Heading the transition team was Howard Lutnick, now Commerce Secretary. Yes, he whose name has been found in the Epstein files after he claimed to have broken all contact with Epstein, but that connection was not known when Karl wrote this book. Whether Trump knew, we don’t know. But don’t blame Lutnick for Trump’s terrible Cabinet. Karl tells us that almost none (maybe none, I don’t quite remember) of the people Lutnick and his transition team suggested were chosen by Trump. In fact the transition team opposed most of them and was surprised by almost all of the names Trump surfaced. “Trump had little interest in the transition, but Lutnick took the job seriously . . .” Karl writes.

Trump went with his gut when choosing his Cabinet. Arguing on the merits and/or on relevant experience was not of interest to Trump. He asked how a person looked on TV (Hegseth) or how his wife looked on TV (Duffy) or what Lewandowski asked for (Noem) or who would be unquestionably loyal (first Gaetz and then Bondi). And so on. When GOP senators voiced concerns, one top Trump advisor told Karl, “The president gets to decide his cabinet . . . And if you’re on the wrong side of the vote, you’re buying yourself a primary. That is all. And there’s a guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it.” After all, Musk had spent nearly $290 million to help Trump get elected.

Karl points out that Trump was not going to be caught in the bind he found himself in during his first Presidential term when he didn’t know anyone. This time, Trump said, he was going to have people who were aligned with his views, i.e. no Jim Mattis (defense), no Mark Milley (Jt. Chiefs of Staff), or no John Kelly (Chief of Staff), for example. Mattis and Kelly later called Trump a fascist or, in Milley’s case, “fascist to the core,” and Mattis accused him of making “a mockery out of our Constitution” and “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people.”

Retribution. "I was the hunted, and now I’m the hunter.” - Donald J. Trump, June 18, 2025

Two people Trump did listen to when acting to implement some of the most extreme things he had promised on the campaign trail were the notorious Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Emil Bove, Trump’s one-time personal attorney who later was award with a federal judgeship. Even Steve Bannon, Karl writes, was surprised at how fast Bove moved. According to Karl’s account, Bannon told him that Bove and Miller were separated at birth. “They’re fucking out of control. I love it, because this is the way you deconstruct the administrative state,” Bannon is quoted as telling Karl.

But Biden had some retribution (or norm-busting behavior) of his own, Karl says, listing the last minute pardons he issued to people who had come under relentless attack from Trump when retribution had become a central theme. None of these people had been charged with a crime or even credibly accused of one. Biden said if they were, he was certain they would be exonerated; but he felt the duty to spare them irreparable damage to their reputations and finances. So he issued pardons for General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney and other members of the congressional committee that investigated January 6, as well as their staff, and the police officers who testified about being assaulted.

And members of his family, most notably son Hunter whom he had declared he would not pardon.

Back to Trump’s revenge.
He created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) striking out against diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives following up on the openly racist tone of his campaign. And eliminated the Office of USAID, claimed it competed with his America First slogan.

He enacted revenge on the “liberal elite.” He forced or tried to force the country’s premier universities to modify their curriculum to eliminate aspects of U.S. history that he didn’t like; he greatly curtailed their acceptance of foreign students, tried to deport some, and he made federal grants contingent on the universities' compliance. He did the same to many of the nation’s top law firms, punishing them for taking on clients or legal work he didn’t like.

He revealed his pettiness by removing all portraits of General Milley and snubbed Biden by replacing his portrait in the White House Gallery with a photo of an autopen.

He struck back against the Biden administration’s justice system by issuing what amounted to get-out-of-jail-free card to everyone charged with an assault on the Capitol on January 6. “And just like that,” Karl wrote, “one of the largest and most far-reaching investigations in the history of the FBI was effectively erased.”

And Damage Beyond Retribution (or enhancing it)

He put his personal legal team in charge of the Justice Department, demolishing the practice that criminal justice and politics should operate separately.

Ethical people were forced out of his administration and family business and government business mingled in many instances.

He has done his best to politicize and corrupt the army.

He gave the world a horrifying picture of the disintegration of US-Ukrainian relations. After the shouting match between Trump and Vance and Zelensky had ended and the reporters were starting to leave the room in shock, Trump turned to them, “What do you think? This is going to be great television. I will say that.” A little known fact is that prior to his meeting with Zelensky when they were set to sign an agreement wherein Ukraine would promise a share in the development of its natural resources in exchange for continued military support, one of Trump’s advisors asked if the agreement had been reviewed by White House advisors. Lawyers at the Treasury and the State Departments had reviewed it, but the then National Security Advisor Mike Waltz had not asked the White House lawyer to review it. Not to worry, said VP Vance, “I can have Usha take a look at it.” (Vance’s wife is an accomplished lawyer and honors graduate of Yale Law School.) We have no knowledge of what she said, but we do know she had no role in the National Security Council or any experience in foreign relations.

Much else had happened since Karl wrote this book. None of it good, in my opinion; but if Karl’s book sounds like a rant, it is not. It is an even-toned report of what he observed and heard as a long time and well sourced reporter. The things I have highlighted may have made Karl seem unfair. I don’t think he was, but he does see Trump as a threat, perhaps not to democracy as such, but to the psyche of the country in that he has legitimized targeting anyone disagreeing with your not just as a political opponent but as an enemy. On Memorial Day 2025 Trump wrote in his customary all caps: “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL MINDS" And went on to rail against “USA HATING JUDGES,” calling them “MONSTERS WHO WANT OUR COUNTRY TO GO TO HELL.”

Perhaps the most disturbing part was not the “vile and hateful rant,” but the reaction, Karl wrote. There was almost none.
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It’s now 2026 and the tide may be turning. There’s an ever-gathering tide of reaction.

[John Daniell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good summary of the Trump presidency and the campaign. Karl offers a lot of insight and while I think he tries too hard to be balanced, it was still an insightful read and the best of his books this far.