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Understanding Trump
Learn how Trump is making America great again -- and why government and media elites attack his vision -- in this "inspiring and informative" book from one of his key political advisors (Sean Hannity).Donald Trump is unlike any president we've ever had. The only person ever elected to be commander in chief who has not first held public office or served as a general in the military, Trump's principles grow out of five decades of business and celebrity success -- not politics.The president owes his position to the people who believed in him as a candidate, not to the left-wing government and media who have expressed contempt for him since his first day on the campaign trail. Trump has enacted policies and set goals that send our country in a bold new direction -- one that is "unreasonable" to Washington elites but sensible to millions of Americans outside the Beltway. With Understanding Trump, Newt Gingrich provides unique insight into how the president's past experiences have helped to shape his life and style of governing, including a thorough analysis of how President Trump thinks and makes decisions, as well as his philosophy, doctrine, and forward-thinking political agenda.Discover Trump-style solutions for national security, education, health care, economic growth, government reform, and other important topics. In this eye-opening book, Gingrich also investigates and exposes the forces in the Washington establishment, media, and bureaucracy that oppose the president at every turn.Finally, Understanding Trump explains the president's actions so far and lays out a vision for what Americans can do to help make President Trump's agenda a success. With your help, President Trump will be able to overcome corrupt interests in Washington and fulfill his promise to make America great again.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 13, 2017
665 people are currently reading
1586 people want to read
About the author
Newt Gingrich
114 books545 followersNewt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. After he was elected Speaker, he disrupted the status quo by moving power out of Washington and back to the American people. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, the first balanced budget in a generation, and the first tax cut in sixteen years. In addition, the Congress restored funding to strengthen defense and intelligence capabilities, an action later lauded by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.
Today Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. He is a Senior Advisor at Dentons, the world’s largest law firm with more than 6,500 lawyers in 50 countries and offices in more than 125 cities. He advises the firm’s world-class Public Policy and Regulation practice. He is also a Senior Scientist at Gallup.
From May 2011 to May 2012, Newt Gingrich was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, winning the South Carolina and the Georgia primaries. The campaign was especially notable for its innovative policy agenda, its effort to bring new coalitions into the Republican fold, and for Newt’s debate performances. His $2.50 a gallon energy plan set off a nationwide discussion about the use of America’s energy resources.
But there is a lot more to Newt Gingrich than these remarkable achievements. As an author, Newt has published twenty-nine books including 14 fiction and nonfiction New York Times best-sellers.
Non-fiction books include his latest, Breakout, in addition to A Nation Like No Other, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, To Save America, Rediscovering God in America, 5 Principles for a Successful Life, Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less, Real Change, A Contract with the Earth, Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America, To Renew America, Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Saving Lives & Saving Money, Window of Opportunity, and The Art of Transformation. He is also the author of a series of historical fiction books including, Gettysburg, Grant Comes East, Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant the Final Victory, 1945, Pearl Harbor, Days of Infamy, To Make Men Free, To Try Men’s Souls, Valley Forge, and Victory at Yorktown. These novels are active history studies in the lessons of warfare based on fictional accounts of historical wartime battles and their aftermaths. His latest novel, Treason, is the sequel to Duplicity and is a thriller of Washington intrigue and international terrorism.
Newt and his wife, Callista, host and produce historical and public policy documentaries. Recent films include The First American, Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II, A City Upon A Hill, America at Risk, Nine Days That Changed The World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, and We Have the Power.
In his post-Speaker role, Newt has become one of the most highly sought-after public speakers, accepting invitations to speak before prestigious organizations throughout the world. Because of his own unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newt is able to share unique and unparalleled insights on a wide range of topics. His audiences find him to be not only educational but also inspirational. For more information about Newt’s speaking engagements, please visit the Worldwide Speakers Group.
Widely recognized for his commitment to a better system of health for all Americans, his leadership in the U.S. Congress helped save Medicare from bankruptcy, prompted FDA reform to help the seriously ill and initiated a new focus on research, prevention, and wellness. His contributions have been so great that the American Diabetes Association awarded him their highest non-medical award and the March of Dimes named him their 1995 Citizen of the Year.
To foster a modern health system that provide
Today Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. He is a Senior Advisor at Dentons, the world’s largest law firm with more than 6,500 lawyers in 50 countries and offices in more than 125 cities. He advises the firm’s world-class Public Policy and Regulation practice. He is also a Senior Scientist at Gallup.
From May 2011 to May 2012, Newt Gingrich was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, winning the South Carolina and the Georgia primaries. The campaign was especially notable for its innovative policy agenda, its effort to bring new coalitions into the Republican fold, and for Newt’s debate performances. His $2.50 a gallon energy plan set off a nationwide discussion about the use of America’s energy resources.
But there is a lot more to Newt Gingrich than these remarkable achievements. As an author, Newt has published twenty-nine books including 14 fiction and nonfiction New York Times best-sellers.
Non-fiction books include his latest, Breakout, in addition to A Nation Like No Other, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, To Save America, Rediscovering God in America, 5 Principles for a Successful Life, Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less, Real Change, A Contract with the Earth, Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America, To Renew America, Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Saving Lives & Saving Money, Window of Opportunity, and The Art of Transformation. He is also the author of a series of historical fiction books including, Gettysburg, Grant Comes East, Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant the Final Victory, 1945, Pearl Harbor, Days of Infamy, To Make Men Free, To Try Men’s Souls, Valley Forge, and Victory at Yorktown. These novels are active history studies in the lessons of warfare based on fictional accounts of historical wartime battles and their aftermaths. His latest novel, Treason, is the sequel to Duplicity and is a thriller of Washington intrigue and international terrorism.
Newt and his wife, Callista, host and produce historical and public policy documentaries. Recent films include The First American, Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II, A City Upon A Hill, America at Risk, Nine Days That Changed The World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, and We Have the Power.
In his post-Speaker role, Newt has become one of the most highly sought-after public speakers, accepting invitations to speak before prestigious organizations throughout the world. Because of his own unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newt is able to share unique and unparalleled insights on a wide range of topics. His audiences find him to be not only educational but also inspirational. For more information about Newt’s speaking engagements, please visit the Worldwide Speakers Group.
Widely recognized for his commitment to a better system of health for all Americans, his leadership in the U.S. Congress helped save Medicare from bankruptcy, prompted FDA reform to help the seriously ill and initiated a new focus on research, prevention, and wellness. His contributions have been so great that the American Diabetes Association awarded him their highest non-medical award and the March of Dimes named him their 1995 Citizen of the Year.
To foster a modern health system that provide
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
July 10, 2017
Newt Gingrich does some biography for Trump before his run for President and other personal friendship of years and intersect information before he begins. But the gist of the book is about the run, how it happened- and the resultant 4 blocks (sectional boxes of category for his term) that model the Trump Agenda. These were explained in a common sense and easy language description and were the core of the book. Safety, American Competitiveness, Health, Making-the-Government Work were the 4 boxes which held separate chapters.
There are tidbits of information that I did not know that are pertinent to the last run too. Past history now, but very revealing. All that money spent and Clinton's people had no idea or concept that the people in MN often get WI channels for "local" and vice versa. They didn't even know how networks and news was organized to their audiences in the Midwest and prairie states. So when Trump went to MN they had no idea that he had appealed and been fully exposed in speech in Central WI.
This is a book that those who detest Trump the most should read, but won't. It's filled with "eyes" of the people who voted for Donald Trump and how the "off the edge of the sane world they know" leftist agenda has become to them. Because seriously, they have not begun to learn the lesson of why they lost and what the working person sees. Nor what their (lost Dems who are now Independent or solidly in Rep. party) home and loyalty concepts are either. This is somewhat explained in the Media and Toxic Identity Politics chapters and in other sections of the book. Americans also do not want to be told what to think or say. Never will. Never have. And when their Free Speech Rights become visibly assaulted, it is NOT a small issue that they forget. The author lists a bunch of common liberal blog headlines that are the exact kind of tone, attitude that causes this blue collar and rural "reaction". It would probably be very helpful for progressives to begin to understand this reaction. Just my opinion.
It's a simple and non-theory book. Like Trump this is entirely about Practical Application skills and no theory. Like most of the former Presidents of other centuries, he has NOT come from government occupation but in business or livelihoods of extended associations for product or service that applies to actions and physical techniques and not thought and theory. Erudite language and evasive language is far less important than making the better outcome or more improved happen. What is "nice" in the self-segregating elites manner and speech is not "nice" in working class laboring populations manners or context. Less so every year. Gingrich also gives excellent stats in several ways of the reality right now in which the most educated and the most successful have with one method or another segregated themselves (increasing all the time too) into sections of the country and literally encapsulated themselves from the general concerns and trials for daily living of the "other" in the USA. Not with word count but with their lifestyle and living "crisis" concerns /prime focuses of their hours. Ironically I just heard an entire documentary on Marin County in California which has rejected any state mandated affordable housing because they have "exceptional" reasons. That and security that they pay for- and yet they want the rest of us to be continually under some danger or assault where we live and try to get to work. I've been assaulted twice in my life for being a stranger, white or just available (pick two out of three). And have had several friends murdered or dead from long term result of assault/ robbery. Or like at least 50% of my family now, becoming taxed out (we have at least 5 major tax levels in IL beyond the humongous Sales Tax) of the places we can work because of high property taxes and/or impossible rents. Some areas (most areas) of the country now are reaching lowest home ownership in decades. My state is losing population in droves and the occurrences of this week have just put the last nail in the coffin. HIGHER state income tax (now gone up from 3rd in the nation). And NO property tax freeze we were promised. We cried in IL this week. We did. Many of us who are leaving or who have had most of our friends gone are now seeing the entire end of a superlative place becoming something it wasn't. And much less in every sense as it loses its best resource- it best, hardest in hours and most productive in quality or education levels workers.
Jokes aside to the Trump hate ridicule- laugh all you want. If you are an open minded person of any sort you should read this book. Hate the man all you want too- but he has the pulse of the country. As long as the faults of the past (blame and guilt attached by anchors) are the core of a belief system, it will be unsuccessful. Humans do not advance or prosper in that mode looking continually backwards. Diversity of thought is as important to all, as diversity (as it has been redefined twice in my lifetime) is for peoples' conditions and subdivisions by "type". You should never forget that because that IS America. The very FIRST principle it was founded upon was the expression of diversified FREE SPEECH.
But if I were a Progressive I would probably skip the chapter on IYI (Intellectual Yet Idiot). You won't like it.
There are tidbits of information that I did not know that are pertinent to the last run too. Past history now, but very revealing. All that money spent and Clinton's people had no idea or concept that the people in MN often get WI channels for "local" and vice versa. They didn't even know how networks and news was organized to their audiences in the Midwest and prairie states. So when Trump went to MN they had no idea that he had appealed and been fully exposed in speech in Central WI.
This is a book that those who detest Trump the most should read, but won't. It's filled with "eyes" of the people who voted for Donald Trump and how the "off the edge of the sane world they know" leftist agenda has become to them. Because seriously, they have not begun to learn the lesson of why they lost and what the working person sees. Nor what their (lost Dems who are now Independent or solidly in Rep. party) home and loyalty concepts are either. This is somewhat explained in the Media and Toxic Identity Politics chapters and in other sections of the book. Americans also do not want to be told what to think or say. Never will. Never have. And when their Free Speech Rights become visibly assaulted, it is NOT a small issue that they forget. The author lists a bunch of common liberal blog headlines that are the exact kind of tone, attitude that causes this blue collar and rural "reaction". It would probably be very helpful for progressives to begin to understand this reaction. Just my opinion.
It's a simple and non-theory book. Like Trump this is entirely about Practical Application skills and no theory. Like most of the former Presidents of other centuries, he has NOT come from government occupation but in business or livelihoods of extended associations for product or service that applies to actions and physical techniques and not thought and theory. Erudite language and evasive language is far less important than making the better outcome or more improved happen. What is "nice" in the self-segregating elites manner and speech is not "nice" in working class laboring populations manners or context. Less so every year. Gingrich also gives excellent stats in several ways of the reality right now in which the most educated and the most successful have with one method or another segregated themselves (increasing all the time too) into sections of the country and literally encapsulated themselves from the general concerns and trials for daily living of the "other" in the USA. Not with word count but with their lifestyle and living "crisis" concerns /prime focuses of their hours. Ironically I just heard an entire documentary on Marin County in California which has rejected any state mandated affordable housing because they have "exceptional" reasons. That and security that they pay for- and yet they want the rest of us to be continually under some danger or assault where we live and try to get to work. I've been assaulted twice in my life for being a stranger, white or just available (pick two out of three). And have had several friends murdered or dead from long term result of assault/ robbery. Or like at least 50% of my family now, becoming taxed out (we have at least 5 major tax levels in IL beyond the humongous Sales Tax) of the places we can work because of high property taxes and/or impossible rents. Some areas (most areas) of the country now are reaching lowest home ownership in decades. My state is losing population in droves and the occurrences of this week have just put the last nail in the coffin. HIGHER state income tax (now gone up from 3rd in the nation). And NO property tax freeze we were promised. We cried in IL this week. We did. Many of us who are leaving or who have had most of our friends gone are now seeing the entire end of a superlative place becoming something it wasn't. And much less in every sense as it loses its best resource- it best, hardest in hours and most productive in quality or education levels workers.
Jokes aside to the Trump hate ridicule- laugh all you want. If you are an open minded person of any sort you should read this book. Hate the man all you want too- but he has the pulse of the country. As long as the faults of the past (blame and guilt attached by anchors) are the core of a belief system, it will be unsuccessful. Humans do not advance or prosper in that mode looking continually backwards. Diversity of thought is as important to all, as diversity (as it has been redefined twice in my lifetime) is for peoples' conditions and subdivisions by "type". You should never forget that because that IS America. The very FIRST principle it was founded upon was the expression of diversified FREE SPEECH.
But if I were a Progressive I would probably skip the chapter on IYI (Intellectual Yet Idiot). You won't like it.
August 6, 2017
The people who SHOULD read it, won't.
The people who WILL read it already know most of this stuff.
That makes a review rather pointless.
I think I will mail a copy to CNN. But why should they mess up their narrative with sloppy things like facts?
The people who WILL read it already know most of this stuff.
That makes a review rather pointless.
I think I will mail a copy to CNN. But why should they mess up their narrative with sloppy things like facts?
September 16, 2017
I eagerly anticipated this book because I was under the impression it was going to be an analysis of the psyche of President Trump. Though Newt Gingrich makes occasional references to Trump, the vast majority of this novel is understanding Gingrich's vision for America. Once he lays out that vision, he lets us know that Trump shares that vision as well. I didn't understand Trump any more after reading this novel, than I did beforehand. I have tremendous respect for Gingrich as a politician and historian and writer, but I truly feel that the content of the book should reflect its title.
I think my short foray into political topics is over for a while. After much anticipation that something in this country would change, and then watching eight months go by without a single piece of meaningful legislation passed that changes the lives of real people, I have officially given up on politics and politicians for good. I hope everyone can understand.
I think my short foray into political topics is over for a while. After much anticipation that something in this country would change, and then watching eight months go by without a single piece of meaningful legislation passed that changes the lives of real people, I have officially given up on politics and politicians for good. I hope everyone can understand.
July 4, 2017
Deepen Your Insights With This Book
If I’m going to read about someone, I want that writer to intimately know the person—especially when the person is living like President Donald J. Trump. Newt Gingrich has done a great service to the American public through writing UNDERSTANDING TRUMP. As he advises in the opening pages, “If you want to understand President Trump, ignore what the political establishment and the mainstream media say about him. Instead, start with the key elements of his background that make him different from normal politician an affect the way he operates.” (Page 3)
As a historian and political insider, Gingrich writes with authority and insights such as, “Trump quickly learning Washington the way he learned the hotel and real estate businesses, and his ability to get things done will be amazing. One key to his success is that Trump hires really good people and demands a lot from them. He also delegates details to competent people. But he always gives credit to those who earn it.” (Page 250)
I read UNDERSTANDING TRUMP cover to cover and enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book.
If I’m going to read about someone, I want that writer to intimately know the person—especially when the person is living like President Donald J. Trump. Newt Gingrich has done a great service to the American public through writing UNDERSTANDING TRUMP. As he advises in the opening pages, “If you want to understand President Trump, ignore what the political establishment and the mainstream media say about him. Instead, start with the key elements of his background that make him different from normal politician an affect the way he operates.” (Page 3)
As a historian and political insider, Gingrich writes with authority and insights such as, “Trump quickly learning Washington the way he learned the hotel and real estate businesses, and his ability to get things done will be amazing. One key to his success is that Trump hires really good people and demands a lot from them. He also delegates details to competent people. But he always gives credit to those who earn it.” (Page 250)
I read UNDERSTANDING TRUMP cover to cover and enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book.
September 29, 2017
I read this book so you don't have to.
I had a plan going into this book. No, honestly, I did. I thought Newt Gingrich, given his experience as a constitutional officer and in academia, would be able to use his far-out-of-the-box perspectives (He prefers to call it 'entrepreneurial.') to provide some small workable understanding of Donald Trump. It was a sort of a 'use one bad lens to correct another' theory. Well, it doesn't work, folks.
All right then. Let's get this over with.
The first two sections praise all things Trump, and perdition to his (Gingrich's) enemies. They contain all the usual elements expected of a candidate for the Red State/ Red Meat book club. There are the accusations and the insults. There is the endless application of the superlative. There are the expected shibboleths to misrepresent why the Left does anything. There are the requisite scapegoat components of the Big Lie, including liberals, the media and the Washington elite, which Gingrich is so bitterly grateful never, ever, ever accepted him. There are the 'proven' theories of conservatism that will certainly amaze us in their performance once enough factual information is jettisoned. There are the unfair comparisons, akin to comparing apples to oranges. And there are a surprising number of wildly unfair comparisons, akin to comparing apples to honey badgers.
Maybe I can demonstrate this last point with an example from Page 10: Donald Trump, a builder and a doer, wants a building. He builds a building. (Okay, he hires people to do it for him, but let's not quibble.) At the same time, government entity NASA wants to put a man on Mars. So when was the last time you saw anybody on Mars? Q.E.D. Advantage: Trump.
Until now, I was unaware that throwing together an upscale Day's Inn was as tough as the Mars shot.
The third section of the book was where I'd pinned my hopes that there was more than the usual diatribe to this effort. Gingrich outlines four key 'boxes' from which a Trump administration will 'radically' change America: The first is Safety, which is essentially the Trump position on the border and immigration. The second is Competitiveness, which boils down to deregulation and the on-going conservative desire to finally lure out trickle-down from wherever it's been coyly hiding for the last 37 years.
The third box, Health, had the most promise, with lists of discuss-able (not just debatable) possibilities for the health care industry and its regulators. Unfortunately, recent 'Repeal/ Replace' legislation has not gone anywhere near these ideas, and the White House has shown little leadership on the topic, at odds with a book outlining an active administrative agenda.
The fourth box is Make Government Work, which mostly calls for a coup d'etat of American Civil Service, as well as a drive to replace Their Guys with Our Guys.
One can't help but notice that after only five months on the shelves, how very dated the book seems, likely due to the constant-crisis nature of current politics.
I have given this book one star, but, to be frank, I really don't know who I would recommend it to. Progressives have had a belly full of this stuff. I can't see an academic interested, except perhaps as an example of how not to frame an argument. Perhaps a moderate would want to 'reach out' to understand Trump, but would he rely on Newt Gingrich to do that? (I did, but in my defense, I'm not a moderate.) And, as the author constantly reminds us, the Trump voter already knows Trump. Why would they turn to Establishment Gingrich to explain to them what they already know?
The one conclusion I can reach is this book was written primarily to scoop up some of the storm surge of cash-flow the Trump winds were pushing. This book is a pot-boiler, and should be regarded as such.
I had a plan going into this book. No, honestly, I did. I thought Newt Gingrich, given his experience as a constitutional officer and in academia, would be able to use his far-out-of-the-box perspectives (He prefers to call it 'entrepreneurial.') to provide some small workable understanding of Donald Trump. It was a sort of a 'use one bad lens to correct another' theory. Well, it doesn't work, folks.
All right then. Let's get this over with.
The first two sections praise all things Trump, and perdition to his (Gingrich's) enemies. They contain all the usual elements expected of a candidate for the Red State/ Red Meat book club. There are the accusations and the insults. There is the endless application of the superlative. There are the expected shibboleths to misrepresent why the Left does anything. There are the requisite scapegoat components of the Big Lie, including liberals, the media and the Washington elite, which Gingrich is so bitterly grateful never, ever, ever accepted him. There are the 'proven' theories of conservatism that will certainly amaze us in their performance once enough factual information is jettisoned. There are the unfair comparisons, akin to comparing apples to oranges. And there are a surprising number of wildly unfair comparisons, akin to comparing apples to honey badgers.
Maybe I can demonstrate this last point with an example from Page 10: Donald Trump, a builder and a doer, wants a building. He builds a building. (Okay, he hires people to do it for him, but let's not quibble.) At the same time, government entity NASA wants to put a man on Mars. So when was the last time you saw anybody on Mars? Q.E.D. Advantage: Trump.
Until now, I was unaware that throwing together an upscale Day's Inn was as tough as the Mars shot.
The third section of the book was where I'd pinned my hopes that there was more than the usual diatribe to this effort. Gingrich outlines four key 'boxes' from which a Trump administration will 'radically' change America: The first is Safety, which is essentially the Trump position on the border and immigration. The second is Competitiveness, which boils down to deregulation and the on-going conservative desire to finally lure out trickle-down from wherever it's been coyly hiding for the last 37 years.
The third box, Health, had the most promise, with lists of discuss-able (not just debatable) possibilities for the health care industry and its regulators. Unfortunately, recent 'Repeal/ Replace' legislation has not gone anywhere near these ideas, and the White House has shown little leadership on the topic, at odds with a book outlining an active administrative agenda.
The fourth box is Make Government Work, which mostly calls for a coup d'etat of American Civil Service, as well as a drive to replace Their Guys with Our Guys.
One can't help but notice that after only five months on the shelves, how very dated the book seems, likely due to the constant-crisis nature of current politics.
I have given this book one star, but, to be frank, I really don't know who I would recommend it to. Progressives have had a belly full of this stuff. I can't see an academic interested, except perhaps as an example of how not to frame an argument. Perhaps a moderate would want to 'reach out' to understand Trump, but would he rely on Newt Gingrich to do that? (I did, but in my defense, I'm not a moderate.) And, as the author constantly reminds us, the Trump voter already knows Trump. Why would they turn to Establishment Gingrich to explain to them what they already know?
The one conclusion I can reach is this book was written primarily to scoop up some of the storm surge of cash-flow the Trump winds were pushing. This book is a pot-boiler, and should be regarded as such.
noway-josé
June 15, 2017Trump 'could shift so quickly from topic to topic' on campaign trail
12.06.2017: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), an unofficial adviser to Trump whose new book on the president comes out Tuesday, is leading the charge, calling on the Justice Department to scrap the special investigation it launched to bipartisan praise less than one month ago.
12.06.2017: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), an unofficial adviser to Trump whose new book on the president comes out Tuesday, is leading the charge, calling on the Justice Department to scrap the special investigation it launched to bipartisan praise less than one month ago.
July 17, 2017
This actually could be considered three different books - 1) Understanding Trump, 2) What Trump Should Do as President, and 3) A Collection of Trump's Speeches.
I listened to the Audio Book, so "Book 3" was actually live recordings of Trump's speeches. They are a nice keepsake, but kind of an odd way to end a book.
The first 1/3 of the book is by far the most interesting, since it's the only part that actually gives an insight into the campaign and into Trump's mind and strategic thinking. Gingrich had behind-the-scenes access to candidate Trump, so this could have been a truly fascinating book.
If you want to know what Gingrich would have done as president, with a little bit of Trump thrown in, then you'll like this book. But if you're sincerely looking to "understand Trump," you may be disappointed.
I listened to the Audio Book, so "Book 3" was actually live recordings of Trump's speeches. They are a nice keepsake, but kind of an odd way to end a book.
The first 1/3 of the book is by far the most interesting, since it's the only part that actually gives an insight into the campaign and into Trump's mind and strategic thinking. Gingrich had behind-the-scenes access to candidate Trump, so this could have been a truly fascinating book.
If you want to know what Gingrich would have done as president, with a little bit of Trump thrown in, then you'll like this book. But if you're sincerely looking to "understand Trump," you may be disappointed.
January 31, 2018
People often give books one star when they would like to rate something as zero stars, but I honestly feel that this book deserves a single star for providing a few nuggets of insight about Trump's supporters amongst the deluge of whitewashing, poor memory and wilful misinterpretation. But that's just for the coverage of the right. It should surprise no one that Gingrich gets it wrong when it comes to trying to describe motivations or interpret decisions or anything really relating to the other side of the aisle.
Gingrich's definition of "liberalism" is insane and pathological, and of course anti-American, but what he's describing is a lot more like Reagan Republicans than Clinton or Obama Democrats. It''s like the bizarro world version of liberalism. Oh, well.
This is a hard book to get through, harder when listening to Gingrich and his annoying accent (I have the same complaint about a lot of politicians reading their own books, BTW, not just Gingrich). I felt like I should be taking notes on all the false claims and ridiculous conclusions and so on. But then I never would have finished it because you can't do that very well while driving -- pause, dictate an incredulous response, resume.... doesn't seem like a good idea in traffic. Anyway, the reason I felt I should go through the process is mostly to get a well-rounded image of what the guy's supporters are thinking, since I already hear a lot of what his detractors are saying.
There wasn't really anything new here for me after having read/listened to a number of other books about the election and having lived through the whole process in the first place as things unfolded, and having survived a year of this administration. I think if Newt Gingrich really believes all the stuff he wrote, he is the one who needs to be taught how to understand Trump. I don't think he actually does, though. I suspect this was written as red meat for the base, to fire them up, to make them feel like they hadn't just entered into a horrible bargain and that they really had held off an apocalypse by electing this guy into office.
The section where Gingrich waxed eloquent about "Intellectual Yet Idiots" who run government without any practical experience in their field and how Trump was going to fix all this really made me laugh because this book was published AFTER Betsy Devos, Ben Carson and Rick Perry were appointed and I'd say they are the epitome of lacking any sort of applicable experience related in any way to the positions they are supposed to run. If Gingrich really believes that these are practical-minded and effective people, as opposed to the actual climate scientists and educators and so on who have run things in the past, well, all I can say is, WOW. I don't think Gingrich is that stupid, but I guess he could have a blind spot. We all do, but still, this is a seriously huge blind spot. Of course around the same area he was talking about all the swamp-draining that would happen, and how all the government waste would be cut and so on.... The cognitive dissonance is strong with this one.
I put off reading/listening to this for a long time, but I finally felt that it was necessary, and that the time had come to get it over with. Yes, I started it multiple times before I managed to get through the introduction from Eric Trump which was only a couple minutes, but hey, I survived a glimpse through the curtain into the mind of someone who is, well, Intellectual yet clearly idiotic. He can't possibly believe half of what he wrote, but the fact that he thinks his base will believe it is significant, right?
Gingrich's definition of "liberalism" is insane and pathological, and of course anti-American, but what he's describing is a lot more like Reagan Republicans than Clinton or Obama Democrats. It''s like the bizarro world version of liberalism. Oh, well.
This is a hard book to get through, harder when listening to Gingrich and his annoying accent (I have the same complaint about a lot of politicians reading their own books, BTW, not just Gingrich). I felt like I should be taking notes on all the false claims and ridiculous conclusions and so on. But then I never would have finished it because you can't do that very well while driving -- pause, dictate an incredulous response, resume.... doesn't seem like a good idea in traffic. Anyway, the reason I felt I should go through the process is mostly to get a well-rounded image of what the guy's supporters are thinking, since I already hear a lot of what his detractors are saying.
There wasn't really anything new here for me after having read/listened to a number of other books about the election and having lived through the whole process in the first place as things unfolded, and having survived a year of this administration. I think if Newt Gingrich really believes all the stuff he wrote, he is the one who needs to be taught how to understand Trump. I don't think he actually does, though. I suspect this was written as red meat for the base, to fire them up, to make them feel like they hadn't just entered into a horrible bargain and that they really had held off an apocalypse by electing this guy into office.
The section where Gingrich waxed eloquent about "Intellectual Yet Idiots" who run government without any practical experience in their field and how Trump was going to fix all this really made me laugh because this book was published AFTER Betsy Devos, Ben Carson and Rick Perry were appointed and I'd say they are the epitome of lacking any sort of applicable experience related in any way to the positions they are supposed to run. If Gingrich really believes that these are practical-minded and effective people, as opposed to the actual climate scientists and educators and so on who have run things in the past, well, all I can say is, WOW. I don't think Gingrich is that stupid, but I guess he could have a blind spot. We all do, but still, this is a seriously huge blind spot. Of course around the same area he was talking about all the swamp-draining that would happen, and how all the government waste would be cut and so on.... The cognitive dissonance is strong with this one.
I put off reading/listening to this for a long time, but I finally felt that it was necessary, and that the time had come to get it over with. Yes, I started it multiple times before I managed to get through the introduction from Eric Trump which was only a couple minutes, but hey, I survived a glimpse through the curtain into the mind of someone who is, well, Intellectual yet clearly idiotic. He can't possibly believe half of what he wrote, but the fact that he thinks his base will believe it is significant, right?
August 15, 2018
I thought this would be an unbiased book about Trump that would discuss his doings on every angle. That would have been interesting and educational.
Instead the book is written by a Trump fanboy who gushes over his every doing.
FAKE NEWS!
Instead the book is written by a Trump fanboy who gushes over his every doing.
FAKE NEWS!
June 21, 2017
Excellent book well worth my time.
Read
October 4, 2017DNF @ 5%
I want to understand, but the wound is still too fresh.
I want to understand, but the wound is still too fresh.
August 11, 2017
The first half of the book, Newt does a good job explaining who Is Trump and how he works. He draws off person experience, observation and references topics covered by Trump in "The Art of the Deal".
Personally, the IYI chapter was the highlight of the book. Newt describes the know it all, control the message intellectuals in the media/ political spectrum who are nay Sayers against a Trump agenda.
The end portion of the book covers Newt's ideas/suggestions for Trump and America. Personally, some ideas are a re-run, some are brilliant and others are just over the top.
Overall, a recommended read for those wanting to understand Trump, the current political culture and entertain yourself with Newt's ideas for America.
Personally, the IYI chapter was the highlight of the book. Newt describes the know it all, control the message intellectuals in the media/ political spectrum who are nay Sayers against a Trump agenda.
The end portion of the book covers Newt's ideas/suggestions for Trump and America. Personally, some ideas are a re-run, some are brilliant and others are just over the top.
Overall, a recommended read for those wanting to understand Trump, the current political culture and entertain yourself with Newt's ideas for America.
August 12, 2017
This was a very hard read for me. I didn't like trump and didn't vote form him. I read this to hope to understand what he is doing and him better. He is our president and I want to understand our president. The forward, intro and first 2 chapters were just praising him. There where a few chapters that I liked and some good points that the author makes to help understand him. Out side of those chapters it was just what the Author thought should be done, witch is not what I wanted to hear though I think some of those thoughts are good.
August 25, 2021
It was a little odd reading a book written about 6 months into President Trump’s term in 2021. That said, good read. Chapters 1-9 are about understanding President Trump and why he rose to the office. Chapters 10-15 are advice to President Trump, but can be considered advice to any conservative wanting to know how to reform government written by someone who has substantial experience.
October 21, 2018
Newt Gingrich is one of the few career politicians from Washington who I believe sincerely has the best interests of our nation at heart. Therefore, I put a great deal of confidence in what he says. I was actually quite surprised by his support for Trump since many of the establishment Republicans who have been serving in Washington for a long period of time have voiced opposition to Trump due to their fears of Trump undermining the status quo of the Republican Party (one of the very reasons why I've been a Trump supporter). As this is a favorable take on Trump written during the early months of his administration, Gingrich explains throughout the book why he supports the President.
The book is not entirely about Trump, and one shouldn't suppose that this should be akin to a biography. Gingrich provides plenty of his own personal commentary on political issues.
There is so much of value to take from the book. In the section below I listed a handful of quotes that I found particularly useful or interesting in no particular order. The statements were made by Newt Gingrich himself unless otherwise noted.
The book is not entirely about Trump, and one shouldn't suppose that this should be akin to a biography. Gingrich provides plenty of his own personal commentary on political issues.
There is so much of value to take from the book. In the section below I listed a handful of quotes that I found particularly useful or interesting in no particular order. The statements were made by Newt Gingrich himself unless otherwise noted.
July 5, 2017
A fascinating look at the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Gingrich helps readers understand what makes Trump tick and provides a wealth of encouraging insight. Gingrich has a tendency to articulate his specific vision for America which overshadows the stated aim of the book. Overall, a terrific read.
June 14, 2017
I have never believed in rating a book prior to reading it.
It appears that some Goodreads members don't share my conviction.
So I'm joining the pre-read rating club.
I tell you what though . . I heard the Audible sample, and it was great! :-)
It appears that some Goodreads members don't share my conviction.
So I'm joining the pre-read rating club.
I tell you what though . . I heard the Audible sample, and it was great! :-)
March 30, 2022
My initial reaction prior to reading Gingrichs' book (copyright 2017) tweeted my curiosity being that I had voted for Trump in the 2016 election. I knew a little about Gingrich and wanted to entwine my curiosity of then and what went wrong in in the 2020 election. Moving forward I wasn't surprised that the author was a Speaker of the House, and had a Presidential run in the past, and always struck me as being intelligent and high powered as was his book.
Gingrich stressed his points and opinions on what had to do, how to do it by building a strong team within the House and Senate--or Fail; redefine the Goverments with society and replace 8 decades of bureaucracy and regulations with bold modern approaches. Newt was high on Reganomics past Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt, critical of Obama, Dole, the New Media and fake news--I was impressed!
Gingrich touched on 35 "projects" including the Vet Admin, Learning & Work Projects, Welfare etc., and gave recoments and ideas to better them if indeed Trump won another term. Hoo-Haa! I was forced to investigate what went wrong with Gingrich for President etc.
Reseached and Newt had his "demons" in the past. Aha! Dont they all!?
I skipped approx 40 pages of essays and Trumps past speaches.
Although the book was very informative and well written as I expected, and a bit high powered and political, 2022 brought a possible 4 to 5 star down to a 3 star.
Would I vote for Trump if he runs in 2024? Doubtful. My concerns are Trump over stepped his bounds more than once condoning the riot, Putin debacle etc., but then again--it depends who his running. God forbid Harris or the likes of....
Gingrich stressed his points and opinions on what had to do, how to do it by building a strong team within the House and Senate--or Fail; redefine the Goverments with society and replace 8 decades of bureaucracy and regulations with bold modern approaches. Newt was high on Reganomics past Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt, critical of Obama, Dole, the New Media and fake news--I was impressed!
Gingrich touched on 35 "projects" including the Vet Admin, Learning & Work Projects, Welfare etc., and gave recoments and ideas to better them if indeed Trump won another term. Hoo-Haa! I was forced to investigate what went wrong with Gingrich for President etc.
Reseached and Newt had his "demons" in the past. Aha! Dont they all!?
I skipped approx 40 pages of essays and Trumps past speaches.
Although the book was very informative and well written as I expected, and a bit high powered and political, 2022 brought a possible 4 to 5 star down to a 3 star.
Would I vote for Trump if he runs in 2024? Doubtful. My concerns are Trump over stepped his bounds more than once condoning the riot, Putin debacle etc., but then again--it depends who his running. God forbid Harris or the likes of....
March 24, 2025
Autographed Copy. How fun. If you want to understand what Trump is doing, what he is about and his plan of attack to Make America Great Again...this is good read for you. Everything written in this book (2017) is now coming true today. Whether you love the man or hate him, he is doing what he said he would do. Gingrich writes well.
June 1, 2018
About 20% too long. That's my only complaint.
Otherwise, this is a guide to things that have happened, things that are currently happening, and things to look forward to from the Trump administration.
Whether that provokes anxiety or glee in you is your business.
Otherwise, this is a guide to things that have happened, things that are currently happening, and things to look forward to from the Trump administration.
Whether that provokes anxiety or glee in you is your business.
November 18, 2018
Whether or not you agree with Donald Trump’s policies. This book provides a great examination of his reasoning and thought processes. I strongly recommend this book.
October 16, 2017
Newt Gingrich is a brilliant historian with a gift of telling a story. He is also familiar with Donald Trump and his family, so having said that and Newt's knowledge of political arena, experience as a speaker of the house and background with political history, provides a very good picture of what we have in Trump as a candidate and eventually a president.
Whether you agree on politics with the election of our 45th president, no one can deny the fact that this man has a vast experience in business and understands the 'art of the deal'. Also, another point that has to be made and reinforced is that Trump didn't need to make his life more difficult by going into politics, but the man wanted to make a difference and difference he will make, due to his knowledge of making a good deal for America and the working class. We had career politicians running Washington for many decades and so far it has made no positive change to our nation or our economy. If someone suggests that we needed someone with foreign affairs knowledge, I say, that a good leader knows how to best delegate and find people who can get the job done. That is the kind of strength and positive approach that we need. We can't manage what has not worked, but start to make changes on what will. One doesn't have to look further to understand that most politicians do not possess any real world experience and somehow most have been getting wealthy in politics without having a 'real' job, so how about we try something new and Trump was the answer to that change that millions of Americans were looking for.
We have become a nation of people whose feeling can be hurt just by stating out facts or saying what is on someone's mind. Whether it is truth or a fact has no place in our nation’s political correctness and now, we have become a society of feelings rather than facts. Well, without offending anyone, we have to start thinking and communicating honestly, and some of that honesty is inconvenient truths that today's generation is unable to hear. It is not a secret that we have become a divided society, but the only way we will ever come together, is by talking and facing our real problems, what our nation's issues are and for far too long identity politics diverted people from speaking their mind or talking about the real issues, the issues that keep most working Americans up at nights. The slander politics has been running our nation for several decades, but slander politics and ‘divide and conquer’ approach will not fix the many problems that we are facing. The politicians of several decades have been pointing fingers on anything and everything that has nothing to do with policies of helping anyone, because they had nothing to offer. The economy, the job market and many fiscal issues were covered by smoke and mirrors of social and environmental items that only those who had no real solution to anything have presented them and the ball of deceit kept rolling, and our nation kept slowly falling into abyss. Politicians talked about education, but nothing was getting better. Unions were fighting for unions, not those who depended on them and then that Union power and money went back into politics, hence special interest groups, because the politicians were talking about poverty as a pawn, but never actually doing anything or helping anyone. Trump has nothing to gain from politics and a man who has everything he needs, actually is going to make the changes that others were only promising. The character and experience mean a lot, and this book explains both about Trump the man, the business man and a president. Without knowledge of politics and how Washington operates, Trump has ability to learn and evolve into a new kind of a politician, someone who is not your career Politian, but the kind that can bring something else into Washington, into White House, something anti establishment. For those who wanted to see the change, this is the real change, the change that will raise economy, create jobs and better our education. The change is what America and Americans wanted and elected in the 2016 election.
A good book and a very interesting read. Newt delivers well on what he aims to bring to the reader and educates the audience in his personal knowledge of Donald J Trump and what he stands for.
Whether you agree on politics with the election of our 45th president, no one can deny the fact that this man has a vast experience in business and understands the 'art of the deal'. Also, another point that has to be made and reinforced is that Trump didn't need to make his life more difficult by going into politics, but the man wanted to make a difference and difference he will make, due to his knowledge of making a good deal for America and the working class. We had career politicians running Washington for many decades and so far it has made no positive change to our nation or our economy. If someone suggests that we needed someone with foreign affairs knowledge, I say, that a good leader knows how to best delegate and find people who can get the job done. That is the kind of strength and positive approach that we need. We can't manage what has not worked, but start to make changes on what will. One doesn't have to look further to understand that most politicians do not possess any real world experience and somehow most have been getting wealthy in politics without having a 'real' job, so how about we try something new and Trump was the answer to that change that millions of Americans were looking for.
We have become a nation of people whose feeling can be hurt just by stating out facts or saying what is on someone's mind. Whether it is truth or a fact has no place in our nation’s political correctness and now, we have become a society of feelings rather than facts. Well, without offending anyone, we have to start thinking and communicating honestly, and some of that honesty is inconvenient truths that today's generation is unable to hear. It is not a secret that we have become a divided society, but the only way we will ever come together, is by talking and facing our real problems, what our nation's issues are and for far too long identity politics diverted people from speaking their mind or talking about the real issues, the issues that keep most working Americans up at nights. The slander politics has been running our nation for several decades, but slander politics and ‘divide and conquer’ approach will not fix the many problems that we are facing. The politicians of several decades have been pointing fingers on anything and everything that has nothing to do with policies of helping anyone, because they had nothing to offer. The economy, the job market and many fiscal issues were covered by smoke and mirrors of social and environmental items that only those who had no real solution to anything have presented them and the ball of deceit kept rolling, and our nation kept slowly falling into abyss. Politicians talked about education, but nothing was getting better. Unions were fighting for unions, not those who depended on them and then that Union power and money went back into politics, hence special interest groups, because the politicians were talking about poverty as a pawn, but never actually doing anything or helping anyone. Trump has nothing to gain from politics and a man who has everything he needs, actually is going to make the changes that others were only promising. The character and experience mean a lot, and this book explains both about Trump the man, the business man and a president. Without knowledge of politics and how Washington operates, Trump has ability to learn and evolve into a new kind of a politician, someone who is not your career Politian, but the kind that can bring something else into Washington, into White House, something anti establishment. For those who wanted to see the change, this is the real change, the change that will raise economy, create jobs and better our education. The change is what America and Americans wanted and elected in the 2016 election.
A good book and a very interesting read. Newt delivers well on what he aims to bring to the reader and educates the audience in his personal knowledge of Donald J Trump and what he stands for.
March 2, 2020
After reading a few anti-Trump books, I decided I needed a more well-rounded picture of what is going on and why there is such a disconnect between people and their political party beliefs.
I made a request on Goodreads and was recommended Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich. With trepidation, I checked out a copy from my local eBook library and proceeded to be amazed.
I am only giving Understanding Trump a 3 star rating because although there are some great insights, there is still a lot of hatred and finger pointing. If Gingrich had stayed on topic and not digressed a few times into the "stupidity of liberalism" and demeaning the Democratic party and certain people within the Democratic party, I would have rated his book higher.
Note:
This review contains quotes from the book that I found important to someone trying to understand the other side of the story. In fact, this is more of a blog than a review. I have written a full personal blog, but Goodreads will not let me share the link. Additionally, I have already lost friends over this blog. Not a lot, but a few. Enough that it hurts but not enough that I will change my mind about trying to understand my friends and family who voted for Trump in 2016 and who may or may not vote for him in 2020. This is for me but I'm sharing with you because we all need a few insights into the other side of the coin. I have cut down my blog and made it more on topic of the book instead of my realizations of where I think the actual disconnect happen and some additional insights into people.
In 2016, I started reading President Trump’s tweets. Instead of believing the news, I wanted information from the source.
For the longest time, I thought him Tweeting directly was stupid and did him no favors. I was wrong. This is how Gingrich explains how Twitter worked during Trumps campaign and thus began my adventure into a surprisingly new perspective.
“So what was a perfect day for Trump on the campaign? It was not meeting with consultants, raising money or filming ads.
“He would wake up and tweet — speaking directly to millions of his supporters. That would kick off the news day across the country. Then he would watch Morning Joe and call in and argue over what he tweeted. Then he would call in to Fox & Friends and calmly explain what he meant by the tweet. By the time he finished his 10:00 am press conference — which was covered by the major media — he had saturated the news cycle all morning and set the tone for the day’s news. Later that day, he would hold a twenty-thousand-person rally followed by an hour-long spont on Sean Hannity that evening.
“It was routine for Trump to get millions of dollars’ worth of free media attention without spending a penny. His primary opponents were drowning in his coverage. Most often, they only got attention by responding to something Trump said or did. This strategy worked through the general election — I’ve never seen anything like it in American politics. Hillary Clinton would speak at an event and none of the major networks would go cover it, because they knew viewers would immediately switch over to see the next thing Trump did or said.”
It worked then and it still does. His Tweets get more press coverage than anything I have ever seen.
How did this man with so much controversy win the presidential election? Well, he knew how to manipulate people and more importantly the media. He is first and foremost a business man.
Gingrich wrote “What Trump intuitively understood, and which completely eluded reporters, was that the constant hostility was hurting their cause. Each time Trump was attacked for saying American interests were more important than global concerns, or that American jobs were more valuable than cheap products from other countries, or that rights of Americans should be protected over those of immigrants, normal Americans felt attacked themselves.
“And to those Americans, the assault on Trump for expressing rational self-interest on behalf of our country was a breaking point. The growing liberal bias and animosity towards dissenting opinion that had developed over the Obama era had become too great to endure.”
It took a while, but finally I could grasp this. Where I feel that the specifics of Trump’s platform was anti-everything I stood for, I have since realized that I have friends and family who support these causes but don’t feel that they are the center concern in their lives. Most people want the basics: life (health, prosperity), liberty (freedom) and the pursuit of happiness and they want to be able to protect these basic rights(right to bear arms).
People only want what is best for their family and and those were personalized by their own definitions of their basic rights. Perhaps after that (I have to believe) many of them support basic rights for others. People who voted for President Trump are worried about themselves first (Make America great again). So while someone who is a minority have basic rights that are more specific because they have been without rights for so long, basic rights for the majority are the generic rights that are still part of the constitution. This is where the disconnect happens. This is where the people in our country are split. The rights for the majority (don’t change our rights) and the rights for minorities (we should have the same rights as everyone else).
An insight that I wasn’t expecting from Gingrich was “Seeing that level of support from Americans looking for change, I told Callista as we left the Capital that if Obama governed from the center, he could split Republicans in the House and Senate and build an enduring Democratic governing majority for decades.
“As President, Obama did anything but govern from the center. Instead of enacting mainstream politics to solidify his broad-based support, he pursued what I described in an earlier book as a “secular-socialist” agenda that alienated key segments of the people who had voted for him in 2008.
“But it wasn’t just Obama and the Left’s policies that alienated Americans, it was their politics. The Left, and the Democratic Party apparatus that is its vehicle, decided a permanent Democratic majority could be built mainly on the strength of blacks, Hispanics, college-educated women, sexual identity politics and the young liberal voters — leaving out the rest of the broad coalition Obama had built in 2008.”
Again I look at what went awry in 2016 and to do that I look back at 2008 and 2012. It was not minority votes that made Obama president, rather it was a combination black voters and voters from the upper Midwest. “The Left overlooked this fact and pursued a strategy of base mobilization by doubling down on explicitly identity-oriented politics. Rather than finding unifying fights that attracted broad-based support based on mutual self-interest and common values, the Left obsessed over race and gender issues.” ..
“By focusing so much of its rhetoric on explicitly identity-based appeals, the Left forgot to study the actual message that Obama had used.”
One of my favorite parts of this book was this nod towards President Obama:
Obama was “the most agile interpreter and navigator of the color line that I had ever seen. He had an ability to emote a deep and sincere connection to the hearts of black people while never doubting the hearts of white people.”
~Ta-Nehisi Coates
Obama had the magic, but no one has had it since and that leaves other means of gaining votes.
“Of course the results of the election were shocking at the time, but in hindsight, they were consistent with the trends of previous elections. Trump continued to build on Republican advantages with the middle class and the non-college educated whites. Meanwhile, the power of identity liberalism to boost turnout among the minority community proved to be a mirage. African American turnout was down significantly from 2008 and 2012 without the nation’s first black president on the ticket. And Trump actually increased the share of the vote received from African Americans and Hispanic over Mitt Romney. It turns out the identity liberalism even alienates members of minority groups more concerned about economic issues than niche social justice fights.
“Furthermore, Donald Trump was making an appeal based on identity as well — that of being an American. His patriotic call to Make America Great Again overwhelmed explicit appeals to race, gender and sexual orientation. This universal appeal based on broad issues and common culture trumped identity liberalism,” Gingrich stated in his book.
Universal appeal. That’s what it came down to. More people believed in the generalization than they did the specifics. Individual rights are important, but it comes down to family and individuality and even if many of the people believed in equal rights, they were still of the mind-set to take care of their own first.
I made a request on Goodreads and was recommended Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich. With trepidation, I checked out a copy from my local eBook library and proceeded to be amazed.
I am only giving Understanding Trump a 3 star rating because although there are some great insights, there is still a lot of hatred and finger pointing. If Gingrich had stayed on topic and not digressed a few times into the "stupidity of liberalism" and demeaning the Democratic party and certain people within the Democratic party, I would have rated his book higher.
Note:
This review contains quotes from the book that I found important to someone trying to understand the other side of the story. In fact, this is more of a blog than a review. I have written a full personal blog, but Goodreads will not let me share the link. Additionally, I have already lost friends over this blog. Not a lot, but a few. Enough that it hurts but not enough that I will change my mind about trying to understand my friends and family who voted for Trump in 2016 and who may or may not vote for him in 2020. This is for me but I'm sharing with you because we all need a few insights into the other side of the coin. I have cut down my blog and made it more on topic of the book instead of my realizations of where I think the actual disconnect happen and some additional insights into people.
In 2016, I started reading President Trump’s tweets. Instead of believing the news, I wanted information from the source.
For the longest time, I thought him Tweeting directly was stupid and did him no favors. I was wrong. This is how Gingrich explains how Twitter worked during Trumps campaign and thus began my adventure into a surprisingly new perspective.
“So what was a perfect day for Trump on the campaign? It was not meeting with consultants, raising money or filming ads.
“He would wake up and tweet — speaking directly to millions of his supporters. That would kick off the news day across the country. Then he would watch Morning Joe and call in and argue over what he tweeted. Then he would call in to Fox & Friends and calmly explain what he meant by the tweet. By the time he finished his 10:00 am press conference — which was covered by the major media — he had saturated the news cycle all morning and set the tone for the day’s news. Later that day, he would hold a twenty-thousand-person rally followed by an hour-long spont on Sean Hannity that evening.
“It was routine for Trump to get millions of dollars’ worth of free media attention without spending a penny. His primary opponents were drowning in his coverage. Most often, they only got attention by responding to something Trump said or did. This strategy worked through the general election — I’ve never seen anything like it in American politics. Hillary Clinton would speak at an event and none of the major networks would go cover it, because they knew viewers would immediately switch over to see the next thing Trump did or said.”
It worked then and it still does. His Tweets get more press coverage than anything I have ever seen.
How did this man with so much controversy win the presidential election? Well, he knew how to manipulate people and more importantly the media. He is first and foremost a business man.
Gingrich wrote “What Trump intuitively understood, and which completely eluded reporters, was that the constant hostility was hurting their cause. Each time Trump was attacked for saying American interests were more important than global concerns, or that American jobs were more valuable than cheap products from other countries, or that rights of Americans should be protected over those of immigrants, normal Americans felt attacked themselves.
“And to those Americans, the assault on Trump for expressing rational self-interest on behalf of our country was a breaking point. The growing liberal bias and animosity towards dissenting opinion that had developed over the Obama era had become too great to endure.”
It took a while, but finally I could grasp this. Where I feel that the specifics of Trump’s platform was anti-everything I stood for, I have since realized that I have friends and family who support these causes but don’t feel that they are the center concern in their lives. Most people want the basics: life (health, prosperity), liberty (freedom) and the pursuit of happiness and they want to be able to protect these basic rights(right to bear arms).
People only want what is best for their family and and those were personalized by their own definitions of their basic rights. Perhaps after that (I have to believe) many of them support basic rights for others. People who voted for President Trump are worried about themselves first (Make America great again). So while someone who is a minority have basic rights that are more specific because they have been without rights for so long, basic rights for the majority are the generic rights that are still part of the constitution. This is where the disconnect happens. This is where the people in our country are split. The rights for the majority (don’t change our rights) and the rights for minorities (we should have the same rights as everyone else).
An insight that I wasn’t expecting from Gingrich was “Seeing that level of support from Americans looking for change, I told Callista as we left the Capital that if Obama governed from the center, he could split Republicans in the House and Senate and build an enduring Democratic governing majority for decades.
“As President, Obama did anything but govern from the center. Instead of enacting mainstream politics to solidify his broad-based support, he pursued what I described in an earlier book as a “secular-socialist” agenda that alienated key segments of the people who had voted for him in 2008.
“But it wasn’t just Obama and the Left’s policies that alienated Americans, it was their politics. The Left, and the Democratic Party apparatus that is its vehicle, decided a permanent Democratic majority could be built mainly on the strength of blacks, Hispanics, college-educated women, sexual identity politics and the young liberal voters — leaving out the rest of the broad coalition Obama had built in 2008.”
Again I look at what went awry in 2016 and to do that I look back at 2008 and 2012. It was not minority votes that made Obama president, rather it was a combination black voters and voters from the upper Midwest. “The Left overlooked this fact and pursued a strategy of base mobilization by doubling down on explicitly identity-oriented politics. Rather than finding unifying fights that attracted broad-based support based on mutual self-interest and common values, the Left obsessed over race and gender issues.” ..
“By focusing so much of its rhetoric on explicitly identity-based appeals, the Left forgot to study the actual message that Obama had used.”
One of my favorite parts of this book was this nod towards President Obama:
Obama was “the most agile interpreter and navigator of the color line that I had ever seen. He had an ability to emote a deep and sincere connection to the hearts of black people while never doubting the hearts of white people.”
~Ta-Nehisi Coates
Obama had the magic, but no one has had it since and that leaves other means of gaining votes.
“Of course the results of the election were shocking at the time, but in hindsight, they were consistent with the trends of previous elections. Trump continued to build on Republican advantages with the middle class and the non-college educated whites. Meanwhile, the power of identity liberalism to boost turnout among the minority community proved to be a mirage. African American turnout was down significantly from 2008 and 2012 without the nation’s first black president on the ticket. And Trump actually increased the share of the vote received from African Americans and Hispanic over Mitt Romney. It turns out the identity liberalism even alienates members of minority groups more concerned about economic issues than niche social justice fights.
“Furthermore, Donald Trump was making an appeal based on identity as well — that of being an American. His patriotic call to Make America Great Again overwhelmed explicit appeals to race, gender and sexual orientation. This universal appeal based on broad issues and common culture trumped identity liberalism,” Gingrich stated in his book.
Universal appeal. That’s what it came down to. More people believed in the generalization than they did the specifics. Individual rights are important, but it comes down to family and individuality and even if many of the people believed in equal rights, they were still of the mind-set to take care of their own first.
December 5, 2017
I picked up this book truly hoping to get a new, deeper insight into what drives Trump and his supporters. I'm not sure it left me with much more than the same, seemingly superficial ideas we hear all the time (he's anti-PC, "anti-stupid," pro-American, etc.).
A lot of the book comes across as being written by someone who is likely intelligent and knowledgeable, but didn't have the time or inclination to really think things through and develop their arguments. For instance, to demonstrate media bias in favor of Democrats, he cites how McCain didn't lead in news coverage over Obama or Clinton after he clinched the nomination and their primary battle continued -- duh! I imagine there are metrics one could cite that would show preferential treatment of Democratic candidates, but that is not one of them; that is an outcome anyone would expect and not attribute to political bias.
There are also a lot of easily rebutted claims such as "He knows he will fail if he makes his presidency about Donald Trump." Here's a quote from Trump that many of us remember: "I alone can fix it." It's a sentiment he's repeated many times and I think most people would agree is central to his personality. Lines like this in the book make me think Gingrich is hoping Trump will read the book and that it will shape his thoughts and opinions.
A clearer sign that Gingrich is trying to influence Trump is that at least half the book is explicitly dedicated to suggestions for how to govern and specific policy proposals. While some of the ideas were mildly interesting, they did not serve the expected intention of a book entitled Understanding Trump.
The redeeming aspect of this book is that it does aggregate the many things Trump supporters regularly say are what they like about him. While the book did provide some cursory, surface-level context to these ideas (i.e., linking middle income growth stagnation to immigration), I wished it had dug deeper and provided more historical context. Then again, I enjoyed Downton Abbey, so I'm apparently one of the elites this book is talking about and not for!
A lot of the book comes across as being written by someone who is likely intelligent and knowledgeable, but didn't have the time or inclination to really think things through and develop their arguments. For instance, to demonstrate media bias in favor of Democrats, he cites how McCain didn't lead in news coverage over Obama or Clinton after he clinched the nomination and their primary battle continued -- duh! I imagine there are metrics one could cite that would show preferential treatment of Democratic candidates, but that is not one of them; that is an outcome anyone would expect and not attribute to political bias.
There are also a lot of easily rebutted claims such as "He knows he will fail if he makes his presidency about Donald Trump." Here's a quote from Trump that many of us remember: "I alone can fix it." It's a sentiment he's repeated many times and I think most people would agree is central to his personality. Lines like this in the book make me think Gingrich is hoping Trump will read the book and that it will shape his thoughts and opinions.
A clearer sign that Gingrich is trying to influence Trump is that at least half the book is explicitly dedicated to suggestions for how to govern and specific policy proposals. While some of the ideas were mildly interesting, they did not serve the expected intention of a book entitled Understanding Trump.
The redeeming aspect of this book is that it does aggregate the many things Trump supporters regularly say are what they like about him. While the book did provide some cursory, surface-level context to these ideas (i.e., linking middle income growth stagnation to immigration), I wished it had dug deeper and provided more historical context. Then again, I enjoyed Downton Abbey, so I'm apparently one of the elites this book is talking about and not for!
September 5, 2017
I didn't vote for Donald Trump. So do not look to me to defend his remarks about women, immigrants, or the KKK protestors or his Tweets putting down fellow candidates or reporters. But, I am interested to understand Trump and how he won the election.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a great thinker, excellent writer, and keen political mind (he would be a useful asset in the current administration). Newt has big ideas for the next 10 years (a non-addictive pain killer to replace opioids, landing on mars, Islamic radicals destroyed, cure for alzheimers).
This book highlights Trump's strengths (ability to negotiate, fix things (like the Wollman skating rink in NYC), get things done on time and under-budget, his passion for practical knowledge (often likes to talk to builders, painters, contractors) vs. theoretical DC knowledge. This book also highlights Trumps weaknesses including dealing with Congress, reaching across the aisle to democrats, and reactionary nature.
4 stars. This book is not really an assessment of Trump--this is a book of what Gingrich would recommend Trump do..mostly good things (deregulate the economy, cut down on fraud, simplify the tax code, improve infrastructure, how to get American Health Care Act approved and how to repeal ObamaCare). Trump would be wise to seek Newt's counsel and stop burning any political capital he may have left on misguided tweets.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a great thinker, excellent writer, and keen political mind (he would be a useful asset in the current administration). Newt has big ideas for the next 10 years (a non-addictive pain killer to replace opioids, landing on mars, Islamic radicals destroyed, cure for alzheimers).
This book highlights Trump's strengths (ability to negotiate, fix things (like the Wollman skating rink in NYC), get things done on time and under-budget, his passion for practical knowledge (often likes to talk to builders, painters, contractors) vs. theoretical DC knowledge. This book also highlights Trumps weaknesses including dealing with Congress, reaching across the aisle to democrats, and reactionary nature.
4 stars. This book is not really an assessment of Trump--this is a book of what Gingrich would recommend Trump do..mostly good things (deregulate the economy, cut down on fraud, simplify the tax code, improve infrastructure, how to get American Health Care Act approved and how to repeal ObamaCare). Trump would be wise to seek Newt's counsel and stop burning any political capital he may have left on misguided tweets.
September 1, 2018
This book is nothing but propagandist tripe spewed by Mr. Gingrich. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a lifelong Republican who did not vote for Mr. Trump and my opinion of his governing ability has declined all the way to the basement level and is still falling. I read this book in hopes of finding some consolation that even if Mr. Trump is a bully and divisive (the least offensive descriptions I could muster), he could be capable of his presidential duties for his term. It did just the opposite. The book did reveal two things to me. The first, although I suspected as much, Mr. Gingrich clearly states that Mr. Trump does not believe one can plan for all contingencies, therefore he does not believe in planning at all. That scares me to no end, especially in light of Mr. Trump’s very private meeting with Putin. The second is although Mr. Gingrich touts his Ph.D. in history, he is remarkably ignorant of the most basic difference between the history of America and the history of the United States. In my opinion, this drivel between pretty portraits of Mr. Trump and Mr. Gingrich is that reading this “book” was nothing but a waste of my time.
August 29, 2019
Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich represents a valiant effort by a suppliant to ingratiate himself to the halls of power by putting forward a soft piece of propaganda that seeks to reframe and explain who the 45th president is. Gingrich succeeds rather well. If one did not follow the election that closely, you could walk away with a very favorable understanding of President Trump. Even if you followed it closely, its done well enough that you'll at least consider what is being told to you. What makes this book more problematic has to do with the metanarrative of the book. Newt does not really deal with Trump, but the Trump he wishes our president was. While I may not have liked Newt's vision being our leader, I would have preferred to have that over what we received. Much of what Gingrich describes as the policies of Trump and the team Trump has unravels with the hindsight of even just a couple of years. The book has some utility to be read, even after all that has happened since its publication, but a lot of it has been supplanted elsewhere. I suppose I am sympathetic to what Newt wanted our president to be, but we can do better.
75/100
75/100
July 11, 2021
Number 43 of my 60 book reading challenge for 2021
This book has been on my shelf for several years, but it finally made its way down to the stack a few months ago. I wish I had read it sooner.
There was so much insight into what led President Trump to make the decisions and enforce the policies that he did while in office.
I would have liked a bit more personal background, but I think Mr. Gingrich did a great job of making the book less biographical and more of a quick way to get up to speed on the thought process of our visionary 45th President.
The author also offered much to consider about weighty issues that continue to face our nation. God bless the leaders who go to sleep every night with responsibility for these issues upon their shoulders.
Although we don’t all agree, and I respect those who think otherwise, I’m a huge fan of Donald Trump. Had the pandemic not occurred, I wonder what great strides we might have continued to make for all Americans.
This book has been on my shelf for several years, but it finally made its way down to the stack a few months ago. I wish I had read it sooner.
There was so much insight into what led President Trump to make the decisions and enforce the policies that he did while in office.
I would have liked a bit more personal background, but I think Mr. Gingrich did a great job of making the book less biographical and more of a quick way to get up to speed on the thought process of our visionary 45th President.
The author also offered much to consider about weighty issues that continue to face our nation. God bless the leaders who go to sleep every night with responsibility for these issues upon their shoulders.
Although we don’t all agree, and I respect those who think otherwise, I’m a huge fan of Donald Trump. Had the pandemic not occurred, I wonder what great strides we might have continued to make for all Americans.
December 1, 2017
Newt Gingrich. Understanding Trump. New York: Center Street, 2017. Pp. xi, 339. Paper $16.79., aims to improve the understanding of Donald Trump and how his tactics helped him successfully gain supporters throughout the election, while arguing the simple and relatable nature to Trump. Through his personal experiences from working on the campaign and his interaction with Mr. Trump, Gingrich provides an array of tactics and information used throughout the campaign, that decidedly won him the presidential election. A common misconception, Gingrich repeatedly tries to disprove, is the idea that Donald Trump, is a normal person like everyone else and is not just the multi-billionaire that everyone portrays him as. There is more to him and his ideas of what is right for the country. As a far-right conservative, Gingrich repeatedly shows bias towards support of Trump, which is where the fault in the book lies. As a conservative and a major Trump supporter, his bias is although expected, still discerning to the idea of being unable to see the other side of the political spectrum.
From the beginning of the book, Gingrich uses Trumps children and their feelings towards their father regularly, to promote the idea that Trump is normal, just like everyone else. Gingrich is successful in doing this, by having Trump’s son, Eric, begin the book with the foreword only saying positive things about his father. And he also does this but using quotes from interviews with each child, with the exception of Barron, to show how Trump is the everyday, average, American father, that goes to his son’s baseball games every sunday, that no one truly makes him out to be. Gingrich shows the balance between Trump being a father to each of his children, and also being the successful businessman that he is. Although, these interviews and quotes are supportive of Gingrich’s goal, they are clearly biased, since no person would outright bash their father in live interviews that is running to be the leader of the free world. Even if the children did feel an opposing way towards their father then what they portray in these interviews and on TV, most likely they would out right voice their true opinions about him, even if in their eyes, he is the worst person in the world.
Gingrich successfully lays out the process of Trump's campaign during the election, and how he his tactics and being new and being a nonconventional presidential candidate landed him the gig. Throughout the book, Gingrich goes back to the idea that Trump is not a politician and he doesn’t play by the rules that everyone before him had. One of the ways Gingrich says this worked is because of all of the insane things (some believed) Trump was saying during the election, gave him the free TV time and support of people who had felt rejected or unhelped by the government in the past. Although this method wasn’t something Trump was intentionally planning to do throughout the election, people began staying tune to his speeches, conferences, etc., just to hear what possibly insane thing he would say next. “It was routine for Trump to get millions of dollars’ worth of free media attention without spending a penny… Hillary Clinton would speak at an event, and none of the major networks would go cover it, because they knew viewers would immediately switch over to see the next thing Trump did or said” (pp. 18). One of the things that makes Trump is so unique, is his ability to gain so much attention, for doing almost everything wrong during the election in many people’s eyes.
Overall, Newt Gingrich was very successful in getting his message across to the American people, who had horrible opinions of Trump as soon as his name was announced as a candidate. After reading Gingrich’s book, it made me really think about Trump in a different light, not entirely, but it made it much easier for me to understand why people voted him, and why he ended up winning the election. After hearing a perspective of Trump from the other side of how I normally look at things, it made it easier to see that there were in fact some things I agreed with Trump about, when if I hadn’t read this book I would most likely say I disagreed with him about every topic. One of the major topics I agreed with him on was the time it took for drugs to be tested and cleared before they could be actually used on patients in real life. “One of the drugs Abigail was requesting was called Erbitux. It was invented in 1983, when she was a toddler. The FDA didn’t clear the drug for late-stage head and neck cancer like Abigail’s until 2011, ten years after she died at age twenty-one. It took twenty-eight years to approve” (pp. 31). I do agree with Trump in that sense, and Gingrich played that card well in using sad stories, like the death of Abigail Borroughs, in order to get people to support his cause and see what the government is doing wrong.
Even though Gingrich was successful from this book in getting readers to either to further understand or possibly convince him to support Trump it is clear that their is a lot of bias in the book. Due to working on Trump’s campaign and developing a friendship with the family as said in Eric Trump's foreword, “Newt became more than just a surrogate; he became a friend who profoundly understood my father’s tenacity and his passion for one singular goal: to Make America Great Again! (pp. xi). Clearly working for someone, politically, and developing a friendship with them and their family would want them to only speak positively about their person and hope to spread the same feelings across America, considering he believes so strongly in Trump’s campaign and everything he stands for. Overall the book was well written and gave me an entirely new perspective on Trump and how everything he did, intentional or not, won him the election, and the presidency.
From the beginning of the book, Gingrich uses Trumps children and their feelings towards their father regularly, to promote the idea that Trump is normal, just like everyone else. Gingrich is successful in doing this, by having Trump’s son, Eric, begin the book with the foreword only saying positive things about his father. And he also does this but using quotes from interviews with each child, with the exception of Barron, to show how Trump is the everyday, average, American father, that goes to his son’s baseball games every sunday, that no one truly makes him out to be. Gingrich shows the balance between Trump being a father to each of his children, and also being the successful businessman that he is. Although, these interviews and quotes are supportive of Gingrich’s goal, they are clearly biased, since no person would outright bash their father in live interviews that is running to be the leader of the free world. Even if the children did feel an opposing way towards their father then what they portray in these interviews and on TV, most likely they would out right voice their true opinions about him, even if in their eyes, he is the worst person in the world.
Gingrich successfully lays out the process of Trump's campaign during the election, and how he his tactics and being new and being a nonconventional presidential candidate landed him the gig. Throughout the book, Gingrich goes back to the idea that Trump is not a politician and he doesn’t play by the rules that everyone before him had. One of the ways Gingrich says this worked is because of all of the insane things (some believed) Trump was saying during the election, gave him the free TV time and support of people who had felt rejected or unhelped by the government in the past. Although this method wasn’t something Trump was intentionally planning to do throughout the election, people began staying tune to his speeches, conferences, etc., just to hear what possibly insane thing he would say next. “It was routine for Trump to get millions of dollars’ worth of free media attention without spending a penny… Hillary Clinton would speak at an event, and none of the major networks would go cover it, because they knew viewers would immediately switch over to see the next thing Trump did or said” (pp. 18). One of the things that makes Trump is so unique, is his ability to gain so much attention, for doing almost everything wrong during the election in many people’s eyes.
Overall, Newt Gingrich was very successful in getting his message across to the American people, who had horrible opinions of Trump as soon as his name was announced as a candidate. After reading Gingrich’s book, it made me really think about Trump in a different light, not entirely, but it made it much easier for me to understand why people voted him, and why he ended up winning the election. After hearing a perspective of Trump from the other side of how I normally look at things, it made it easier to see that there were in fact some things I agreed with Trump about, when if I hadn’t read this book I would most likely say I disagreed with him about every topic. One of the major topics I agreed with him on was the time it took for drugs to be tested and cleared before they could be actually used on patients in real life. “One of the drugs Abigail was requesting was called Erbitux. It was invented in 1983, when she was a toddler. The FDA didn’t clear the drug for late-stage head and neck cancer like Abigail’s until 2011, ten years after she died at age twenty-one. It took twenty-eight years to approve” (pp. 31). I do agree with Trump in that sense, and Gingrich played that card well in using sad stories, like the death of Abigail Borroughs, in order to get people to support his cause and see what the government is doing wrong.
Even though Gingrich was successful from this book in getting readers to either to further understand or possibly convince him to support Trump it is clear that their is a lot of bias in the book. Due to working on Trump’s campaign and developing a friendship with the family as said in Eric Trump's foreword, “Newt became more than just a surrogate; he became a friend who profoundly understood my father’s tenacity and his passion for one singular goal: to Make America Great Again! (pp. xi). Clearly working for someone, politically, and developing a friendship with them and their family would want them to only speak positively about their person and hope to spread the same feelings across America, considering he believes so strongly in Trump’s campaign and everything he stands for. Overall the book was well written and gave me an entirely new perspective on Trump and how everything he did, intentional or not, won him the election, and the presidency.
September 9, 2017
I must confess that this book made me feel a little bit better about Donald Trump, but just a little (2.5 stars). Half the book was Trump's history: a recitation of things he has accomplished in the past, and which should set him in good stead to be effective as president. The other half is Newt Gingrich's prescription for Trump's success in the future (with no guarantee that Trump will follow Gingrich's prescription. The obvious problem for Trump (never addressed in the book) is that despite his ideas or good intentions or abilities, none of that matters when he undercuts his credibility by opening his mean mouth (or tweets) and alienating any possible support from the opposition. It is, however, a book worth reading.
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