In this essential exploration of the American heartland, Kayleigh McEnany presents an eye-opening collection of interviews and stories about the powerful grassroots populist movement of frustrated Americans left behind by the government that changed the landscape of political campaigns foreverKayleigh McEnany spent months traveling throughout the United States, conducting interviews with citizens whose powerful and moving stories were forgotten or intentionally ignored by our leaders. Through candid, one-on-one conversations, they discussed their deeply personal stories and the issues that are most important to them, such as illegal immigration, safety from terrorist attacks, and religious freedom. The New American Revolution chronicles both the losses of these grassroots voters, as well as their ultimate victory in November 2016. Kayleigh also includes interviews with key figures within President Trump’s administration—including Ivanka Trump, Secretary Ben Carson, Jared Kushner, and many more—and their experiences on the road leading up to President Trump’s historic win. Kayleigh’s journey takes her from a family cabin in Ohio to the empty factories in Flint, Michigan, from sunny Florida to a Texas BBQ joint—and, of course, ends up at the White House. The collective grievance of the American electorate reveals a deep divide between leaders and citizens. During a time of stark political division, Kayleigh discovers a personal unity and common thread of humanity that binds us nevertheless. Through faith in God and unimaginable strength, these forgotten men and women have overcome, even when their leaders turned their heads. An insightful book about the triumph of this powerful movement, The New American Revolution is a potent testament to the importance of their message.
It’s a shame that this book will likely be dismissed by the left because it was written by a conservative and the recently appointed RNC spokesperson. And it’s a shame because just about every point in here might help them actually understand the “why” of Trump’s election, and eventually move away from baseless narratives that include (but are not exclusive to) Russia, the country is just bunch of racist males, America must hate women, and half the country is a basket of low information deplorables. Instead, the author has actually taken the time to dig into the country and people who cast Trump votes to better understand the mindset that drove their decisions.
If you’re a liberal expecting a bunch of backwood, ass-scratching dumb-down hillbillies, you will be disappointed. If you’re a conservative expecting a bunch of Obama/Clinton/Democrats bashing, you will also be disappointed. While there are some applicable and brief commentary regarding various policies or statements made by the aforementioned, the author really doesn’t focus on that - rather, the narrative is really driven by actual real people, including those who identify as Democrat and still voted for Trump.
And while the individuals stories themselves are compelling, as well as the author’s section on violation of basic liberties, what I found most compelling was the third part of the book, which focused on Trump, the media, the debates and the election. I was fascinated to read about how truly awful the left views conservatives. While I have seen and read stuff like this via various media outlets (as someone who is fairly socially liberal but supports small, accountable government and state rights, I and many others spent the last 8 years being called racist solely because we objected to big government policies of Obama - so it’s not like I’m not aware of how the left view me based on nothing other than how I cast a vote) this section of the book really brought it all together to explain how 1) conservatives and the average American with very real concerns (jobs, economy) are largely ridiculed and villainized by the mainstream 2) which causes most of us to feel unsafe in sharing views and thus 3) leads the left to believe we don’t actually exist, and hence the utter shock when Trump won. Moreover this section spoke to the underlying anger that Americans by the disconnect between the average American and the DC elite. This is where I think the author nailed it (at least for me, a PhD psychologist female who spent 35 years of her life in one of the most liberal cities in the US, has worked exclusively serving low income social services programs and is far from an uninformed backwood imbecile). The book did a nice job of identifying all these factors and how they snowballed to result in Trump’s election - factors that are much more realistic (and evidence based) than simply “Russia!”
This is one of the good counter-read alongside Clinton’s What Happened. You would see the side of Clinton that was not mentioned in her book, like she disappeared for 2 weeks to rehearse for the Presidential debate, the fact that her team did not visit Wisconsin, so certain that she got it. This is a book about Americans who are fed up with the Washington elites who had no clue about the anger of the people outside of their bubble.
Throughout the book McEnany travelled back and forth between rural America and DC and could tell the total disconnect between the people and the elite. She described personal stories from the people to explain why they voted for Trump:
1. Illegal immigrant crime: an illegal immigrant killed a mother’s son and was nonchalant about it. So to send back the illegals and build the wall.
2. Obamacare that does not cover a rare disease and left a family ruined so the repeal.
3. VA hospital mismanagement so new laws.
4. A family destroyed because 2 members were killed in Nice, France. So the aggressive foreign policy, temporary ban, bombing Syria.
5. Carrier plants being moved to Mexico. Trump intervened and thus some 1000 jobs were saved.
I know anecdotes are not good statistics; however it is time that the elite take a good look at real people’s fears and struggles. Otherwise they would lose again and again.
About as biased as I expected, a very naive, sophomoric person. When drifting feathers and butterflies are proof or evidence of a deity you know the believer is deeply indoctrinated.
I have to admit that I haven’t felt a huge impact of government policy on a personal level. That’s why I loved this compilation of stories of ordinary Americans and how a government policy could mean life or death to them, whether it be on immigration, healthcare, or the treatment of veterans in the VA hospitals. Instead of always listening to the media and government politicians about what America is like, we should give the voices of every day Americans a chance and hear it for ourselves on what it’s like, no matter which party you classify under. Overall a very great book from the always articulate Kayleigh McEnany.
This is my first politically based book. Due to the increasing number of negative news, I have never been into political matters. I chose to read Kayleigh's book after I saw discrepancies in media. I searched her name on Twitter and found out she had this book. Not only was my decision to read this book based on her meetings with the press in the White House. It was also due to her faith background. I wanted to hear from her. Ever since I have more awareness of the political issues in our country, I have begun to realize that my "game show" view of our president is incorrect. If anyone wants to know the truth and has an open mind, they should read this book. I applaud the author for what she stands for. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about what it takes to search for the truth. As well as standing up for what you believe in. I hope the author writes more.
I think the author spent a lot of time telling the sad stories of a few families and workers. She spent a lot of time discussing her time on air during the debates and on election night. She pointed out some good things that Trump said that I was not aware of. She spent very little time on the electoral college. Even though the man received less votes than Hillary Clinton, he won due to the electoral college. I don't know that she made her case for a populist revolution.She ended her book at one year into his presidency. She spent no time talking about the ways that he verbally demeaned many people, such as Elizabeth Warren. If I had a chance to talk to her, I would have a lot of questions for her, with the main one being whether she still feels that he has been good for the American people.
Loved this book! I love the stories that Kayleigh told about how terrible policies truly can damage the lives of every day Americans. Thanks for sharing their stories!
Prepare yourself for the tears to flow. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, which lended even more emotion to the already heart-wrenching stories of American citizens who suffered at the hands of mismanaged government. Read this book to get psyched for 2022 midterms!
There are dozens of books explaining why Hillary lost. Kayleigh McEnany has written a book that explains, at least partially, why Trump won. She provides sketches of ordinary people whose lives were affected by big-time politics and the disillusionment that resulted.
The thing that Donald Trump was able to tap into was voter anger at what The System had become. As McEnany says, they were looking not for change but for someone willing to "burn the place down" and start from scratch. The two candidates who fit that bill were Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
The last section of the book deals with the media's treatment of Trump during the campaign, and their effort to marginalize him. The refrain "Trump will never be president" was repeated even up into election night.
No matter what your political leanings are, this is a worthwhile book. The insights into voter alienation with the status quo can serve as a lesson to future campaigns, and may just open the eyes of both GOP and Democratic old guard establishment types as to why the electorate turned on them.
I like and respect the author but this was a very hard book to get through. Some interesting stories from real people affected by our government decisions, but as I said, hard one for me to get through.
This is an outstanding account of many of the problems that plagued our society under prior leadership and what Donald Trump has done to address them. It provides a rarely seen human side of President Trump unfiltered by media, both liberal and conservative. He would be well served to show the side of his persona more often. Most encouraging is his focus on bringing religious liberty and faith based institutions back into our nations fabric.
This book has not aged well. It was written in 2018- so much had already happened, and so much more was about to happen. It comes across as naive, happily soaring over the fact that Mr Trump did not win the popular vote in 2016 (she describes his win as a landslide). She describes his coarse language as an "innuendo" and "real talk." She also repeats the claim that he sincerely apologized for his sexual exploits and became a follower of Christ at some point during his campaign. While I cannot verify or deny his personal spiritual beliefs, I can point to the fruit of his behavior from the past 8 years, and I can emphatically argue that he does not remind me of Jesus in any way, shape, or form. To assert that he is a Christian is laughable; though from the perspective of a Christian nationalist, it makes sense, as power tends to gloss over ethics and morality in favor of domination of the "other."
Two stars for the following:
1. She told the stories of Americans who, at no fault of their own, have been subjected to difficulties and tragedies that many of us will never know. Some of those stories are a direct result of political inaction (acts of terrorism, VA hospital corruption, insurance problems, etc) and what better way to write a book about populism than to highlight the struggles of everyday Americans?
2. She points out her respect and admiration for her CNN co-panelist Van Jones (whom I deeply respect) and describes the way they treated one another despite their differences.* I would like to see more of that in all corners of our society, so any pundit who promotes civil discussion/disagreement has my attention.
*I'm scraping for this one, considering the fact that she enthusiastically promotes a president who verbally abuses, degrades, and threatens his political opponents.
All in all, I feel that her pro populist argument is weak. McEnany fancies herself an intellectual but seems to be disdainful of those whose intellect overshadows her own. In a more critical approach to this book, she would get zero stars, insofar as the stories of people's misfortunes could be viewed as exploitation, and the talk about mutual respect could be undermined by pointing out Trump's disregard for those who disagree with him (as I mentioned earlier). My strong belief is that Donald Trump was terrible for the country. Despite the feeling of self rightness indignation that disaffected Americans felt on election night 2016 when they elected a populist for President in place of the establishment candidate, I cannot believe that we are better off now as a result of that decision; and this book did not change that perspective.
The entire book was exceptionally well written, and I greatly enjoyed the author's narration--she really made the stories come alive! Content-wise, I felt like Part 1 was much better, so I split up my review below.
Part 1: 4.5 ⭐️
The stories in part 1, especially the first few, were emotionally engaging as they humanized the victims of several political issues and the poor policies accompanying them. McEnany sees people beyond their political party and writes with grace. She also emphasizes that our greatest hope is in God, not government. I deducted half a star because there were a couple of times when this message did not seem clear; instead, Donald Trump seemed to be presented as the hope for changing these policies. This book was written after his first year as president, but I read it after his term ended. Therefore, I would have rather heard about the ideologies behind the better policies rather than Trump's specific actions.
Part 2: 3.5 ⭐️
I got pretty bored in the second part hearing about Trump's rise to the Presidency. I felt like his character and even the popular opinion about him was inflated a bit without addressing the very obvious flaws. While I did vote for Trump (albeit hesitantly the first time), and I think he did a lot of good during his term, again I would have appreciated a greater emphasis on the ideas that made his campaign attractive and his policies successful. I think an approach like that would have given the book a broader focus and made it a bit more timeless.
Kayleigh is a strong, confident young woman, as seen during her time as press secretary, and I have a deep admiration for her strength and sticking to her beliefs. When I discovered that she penned a book, I instantly wanted to read it and placed a hold on it at my library! I was not disappointed. The stories she tells of the American people-- overlooked by the media and the establishment politicians for years-- are heartwarming and heart-wrenching, each in turn. In addition, she sheds a lot of truth upon President Trump's character, which was frequently mischaracterized and maligned by the media without any true base for their accusations. She also describes many of his political viewpoints that were ignored by many mainstream sources, and explains how they appealed to many Americans for the 2016 elections. Overall, this book is wonderful and very insightful, and I learned a lot! Some of the chapters got a bit tedious for me as a reader with the amount of information packed into them (such as the chapter about law and free speech on college campuses--I agree with much of what she said, but it just felt like an overload of information to me, as law is an area I am otherwise unfamiliar with.) The at-time tedious reading led me to give a 4-star rating rather than 5. Otherwise, I highly recommend!
-God not government. -Terrorist attack meant to pull people apart, brought them together. To me this is a great example of being a victim vs acceptance and turning to God. -We are hurt by political correctness. On 911 there were suspicious things going on but because of political correctness people couldn't report it because they would look racist and intolerant. This is one reason immigration is so hard. Some come to the country to attack. Obama's CIA advisor warned Trump of this. Obama wouldn't listen. -Hillary vs Trump in caring about vets. Hillary kept talking about immigrants and helping them. It seems like the left is more interested in taking care of illegal immigrants than in taking care of their own people. War vets suffer because of this. -There are big problems with governmental healthcare. It's too big and people lack motivation. There is a story of a family whose identity was stolen and their information was put in incorrectly. They weren't able to get coverage. No one takes responsibility for this though because it is a government employee who isn't motivated to do it correctly. -Trump wasn't a typical candidate. He wasn't poll testing his every word. He said what he thought.
I am and always will be warmed by the enlightened view of this young Lady. One who, without doubt, has shamed the rabble and bore the sword of truth, the shield of the Bible, and a towering faith. It took tremendous energy to comport herself when facing the mob of morbidity that hunts for gore as a living. Those disgusting animus who lap at the doorways of truth desperately seeking a snippet they can expand into a shard or even a spear. All they gained during her term was a crushing humiliation and a vacant confused stare of the Nation! Kayleigh McEnany is without question my vision of an Angel here on earth, and her views match my own, but the mental agility and acumen leave me hungry for more like a prisoner denied the light. As we all know the divide in this land, to comprehend how fanatical and divided we all are is both frightening and infectious, how even the slightest action or word can now cost a life or skewer a business simply because one dares to have a belief that opposed another, as a South African Immigrant I am a White "African American" born of Scottish heritage that has no history in racism or slavery I have been a victim of all kinds of flavours of restitution. My story will also soon be revealed Le-Guttersnipe.com :)
This book was heavy on my heart hearing what so many other American's were going through unnecessarily. All of these heartbreaking situations could have been prevented if we would have had a government who worked for the people. Listening to why President Trump ran for president and why Kayleigh McEnany believed in him so much was wonderful, yet heartbreaking to hear. President Trump eluded to all these issues as to why he ran for president, and he even mentioned several of them by name. However, until now I didn't realize exactly how many and how extensive they were. I had never watched a White House press conference until McEnany was White House Press Secretary. She was so together. She knew the correct answers to all the questions thrown at her...there were no circle backs later. She was calm and assured. She was an awesome representative for President Trump. She made me proud to be a Christian woman and American. I've already recommended this book to others.
A clear and candid look at the factors in the American citizenry that brought President Trump to the White House, from his current press secretary. I particularly valued her insight into the caring qualities within President Trump...qualities certainly not shared by the liberal press. McEnany's interviews with many members of the American public, disgruntled with and abandoned by the Obama administration and mainstream political leaders in general, provide the undergirding for the 2nd part of her book, which details the candidacy and election of our president. Throughout, McEnany shines light on his love for our country, our Constitution, and for WE the American people.
This book is split into two main parts (The People and The President), and three subsections (Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness). In The People section, McEnany uses stories of individual people to illustrate the real world effect of government policies and the implementation thereof. Some people think that government failures are rare, as with the Parkland shooter. This book shows that government failure is the norm when it really counts. Ordinary people are realizing this, thus the roots of the current populist movement.
I appreciate the other side of the story, as you all know that there are three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth. I see the need to share the other side of the story as there is generally a media bias as it relates to Donald Trump. Kayleigh does a great job explaining the ground swell of people that were ready to vote for the 45th president. There really were two stories, the people that she interviewed and her time at CNN.
I hope that more people would read books by people that share the opposite view, there is a lot to learn from people with other opinions.
A mostly anecdotal account of the populist movement underpinning the successful presidency of Donald Trump. I picked this up because I’ve been impressed by McEnany’s performance as press secretary. The highlight of the book is at the conclusion, in which she recounts election night 2016, from her perspective onsite at CNN witnessing their meltdown, while simultaneously texting with the Trump campaign as their historic victory took shape.
A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF KAYLEIGH'S LIFE DURING THE CAMPAIGN AND ELECTION OF TRUMP. HOW "ALL THE EXPERTS" GOT IT WRONG ABOUT TRUMP AND THE ELECTION. SHE ALSO GIVES YOU PERSONAL STORIES OF PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE OF THE POLICIES OF THE LEFT, TRAGIC STORIES FROM THE VA SCANDEL, HEALTH CARE POLICIES, MILITARY, POLICE AND FREE SPEECH CONTROVERSIES. SHE WAS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE FEW CHRISTIAN VOICES ON CNN THAT ACTUALLY HAD IT RIGHT REGARDING TRUMP.
The real story behind the 2016 election is all in this book. McEnany reports the news that the American public never saw. The book is written from a Christian’s point of view. For those that love inspiration and wanted to know more about why the American people elected Donald J. Trump to be the 45th President of the U.S., I highly recommend this book.
I loved the viewpoint that Kayleigh McEnany wrote this from, everyday Americans and their stories. I found the stories engaging. It was also nice to learn some of the authors history and get her insight on events. I would definitely recommend this book.