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The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America
A rare, insider's look at the life of Donald Trump from Bill O'Reilly, the bestselling author of the Killing series, based on exclusive interview material and deep researchReaders around the world have been enthralled by journalist and New York Times bestselling author Bill O'Reilly's Killing series-riveting works of nonfiction that explore the most famous events in history. Now, O'Reilly turns his razor-sharp observations to his most compelling subject thus far-President Donald J. Trump. In this thrilling narrative, O'Reilly blends primary, never-before-released interview material with a history that recounts Trump's childhood and family and the factors from his life and career that forged the worldview that the president of the United States has taken to the White House. Not a partisan pro-Trump or anti-Trump book, this is an up-to-the-minute, intimate view of the man and his sphere of influence-of how Donald Trump's view of America was formed, and how it has changed since becoming the most powerful person in the world- from a writer who has known the president for thirty years. This is an unprecedented, gripping account of the life of a sitting president as he makes history. As the author will tell you, If you want some insight into the most unlikely political phenomenon of our lifetimes, you'll get it here.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2019
1641 people are currently reading
1456 people want to read
About the author
Bill O'Reilly
59 books3,427 followersBill O'Reilly's success in broadcasting and publishing is unmatched. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. His website BillOReilly.com is followed by millions all over the world.
In addition, he has authored an astonishing 12 number one ranked non-fiction books including the historical "Killing" series. Mr. O'Reilly currently has 17 million books in print.
Bill O'Reilly has been a broadcaster for 42 years. He has been awarded three Emmys and a number of other journalism accolades. He was a national correspondent for CBS News and ABC News as well as a reporter-anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City, among other high-profile jobs.
Mr. O'Reilly received two other Emmy nominations for the movies "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Jesus."
He holds a history degree from Marist College, a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another master’s degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Bill O'Reilly lives on Long Island where he was raised. His philanthropic enterprises have raised tens of millions for people in need and wounded American veterans.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billor...
In addition, he has authored an astonishing 12 number one ranked non-fiction books including the historical "Killing" series. Mr. O'Reilly currently has 17 million books in print.
Bill O'Reilly has been a broadcaster for 42 years. He has been awarded three Emmys and a number of other journalism accolades. He was a national correspondent for CBS News and ABC News as well as a reporter-anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City, among other high-profile jobs.
Mr. O'Reilly received two other Emmy nominations for the movies "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Jesus."
He holds a history degree from Marist College, a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another master’s degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Bill O'Reilly lives on Long Island where he was raised. His philanthropic enterprises have raised tens of millions for people in need and wounded American veterans.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billor...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 529 reviews
September 26, 2019
This in not a pro-Trump or anti-Trump book. It is a history book. There are no unnamed sources and O'Reilly does a fine analysis of describing how Donald Trump sees America and what motivates him. It was excellent!
January 16, 2020
Better than I thought it would be and immensely more cringe revealing. What a world!
There are at least 20 top notch quotes in this book, and most of them are NOT from Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. My original thought was to put a few down in the reaction, but I decided against it. Read this book. If you are a Trump Hater, nearly all aspects of his personality and character most loathed will be fully revealed. If you are NOT, you will learn more about him than you knew. And might be more surprised than you think re the fact that he said the exact same politico and in the same exact wordings for the last 30 plus years. He is who he is. Never changed. And the 3 or 4 top issues he cares about the most are unchanged, as well. And he is and WILL do something about every one of the 4.
What I liked the most about O'Reilly's take, was not his own personal stories as much as his historical knowledge. He has noted in this book with examples nearly the same things I have after reading so many Presidential biographies. Trump is the most like Andrew Jackson. But has strong connection with Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and in some ways Eisenhower too. He's very transaction based. The opposite of Obama in nearly every single operational category.
O'Reilly brought all the 2015-2018 scenarios into full view of "he said", "she said" and media vs population reactions. Never psychoanalyzing either 2016 candidate- but going head to head with all the movers and shakers within all those debates and election aftermath, as well. It was super illuminating in the Network and Media corporations involved.
Every punch he gets, he's going to punch back harder.
As he is impeached yesterday, he passes both 1st Phase China deal and the US-Mexico-Canada that day and in the very next. Pure Trump.
Strongly recommend this book if you are in break down like the Democratic Party. Trump is a doer, and it's NOT about racism, misogyny, and every other ism or loathe quality attributed to Trump. Or to American of now or past either. It's about the core culture of the United States and where the working Joe and Jane want it to go. Don't forget, there are OODLES of us who have escaped and left Socialism. For very good reasons.
There are at least 20 top notch quotes in this book, and most of them are NOT from Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. My original thought was to put a few down in the reaction, but I decided against it. Read this book. If you are a Trump Hater, nearly all aspects of his personality and character most loathed will be fully revealed. If you are NOT, you will learn more about him than you knew. And might be more surprised than you think re the fact that he said the exact same politico and in the same exact wordings for the last 30 plus years. He is who he is. Never changed. And the 3 or 4 top issues he cares about the most are unchanged, as well. And he is and WILL do something about every one of the 4.
What I liked the most about O'Reilly's take, was not his own personal stories as much as his historical knowledge. He has noted in this book with examples nearly the same things I have after reading so many Presidential biographies. Trump is the most like Andrew Jackson. But has strong connection with Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and in some ways Eisenhower too. He's very transaction based. The opposite of Obama in nearly every single operational category.
O'Reilly brought all the 2015-2018 scenarios into full view of "he said", "she said" and media vs population reactions. Never psychoanalyzing either 2016 candidate- but going head to head with all the movers and shakers within all those debates and election aftermath, as well. It was super illuminating in the Network and Media corporations involved.
Every punch he gets, he's going to punch back harder.
As he is impeached yesterday, he passes both 1st Phase China deal and the US-Mexico-Canada that day and in the very next. Pure Trump.
Strongly recommend this book if you are in break down like the Democratic Party. Trump is a doer, and it's NOT about racism, misogyny, and every other ism or loathe quality attributed to Trump. Or to American of now or past either. It's about the core culture of the United States and where the working Joe and Jane want it to go. Don't forget, there are OODLES of us who have escaped and left Socialism. For very good reasons.
October 11, 2019
I’ve read most of Bill O’Reilly’s books, “Killing Lincoln,” “Killing Kennedy,” etc., and I although I’m not a super-fan, I do like President Trump. So it probably was not surprising that I’d be eager to read O’Reilly’s latest: The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America.
The first few chapters talked about Trump’s early years, and to me that was probably the most interesting part of the book. O’Reilly talked quite a bit to Trump’s oldest son, Don Jr., about what it was like to grow up with Donald Trump as your dad:
"We’d see him in the morning briefly before he went to work and we went to school. It was the daily lecture: you know, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, and then ‘Don’t trust anyone.’ There were a couple of times he’d follow up with a question: ‘Do you trust me?’ “Of course, you’re my dad!” He’s like, ‘Wrong! You can’t trust."
Another insight about Trump from son Don Jr.: “He’s not a teacher that puts you on his lap and says this is how you do something. He puts you in a situation to learn, and you rise to the occasion or you fail.” Trump was not the dad at all the baseball games. He did ensure that his kids observed him at work and hopefully learned from what they saw.
O’Reilly explores Trump’s personality, suggesting that he is basically a loner with few close friends. Due to many life experiences (and I’m sure exacerbated by current events), he hardly trusts anyone. He has incredible energy, often sleeping just four hours or so a night. He loves Diet Coke — drinking up to 15 each day.
Of course, Trump is incredibly wealthy. But O’Reilly points out that he uses his wealth as a marketing tool — a “success brand.” He is not obsessed with jewelry, fine food, and certainly not wine (his oldest brother died an alcoholic, and Trump does not drink).
Why does Donald Trump act in the over-the-top way he often does? According to O’Reilly, there’s a method to his madness. When asked about this during an O’Reilly interview, Trump said, “Nobody would listen (if I worked normally) … If I attack it on a purely intellectual basis, nobody would listen and the response would not have been nearly as effective.” I think he’s probably right. Without the tweets, would Trump and his agenda get nearly the coverage?
The national press certainly doesn’t understand this, and apparently aren’t in on the joke. They cover the president “more as a national menace” than as the leader of the country. As someone who originally thought of majoring in and working in journalism, I am chagrined to see our press so biased and apparently so unaware of that bias. It was sad for me to read about press coverage of Trump after he won. There were no glowing accolades like Obama got as “first African-American President” or Hillary would have gained as “first female President.” No, the Associated Press opened with:
"The combative billionaire businessman and television celebrity won election in November over Hillary Clinton, and today he’s leading a profoundly divided country — one that’s split between Americans enthralled and horrified by his victory."
Another example, this one from the Los Angeles Times: "(Trump) has proved himself an incompetent and ignorant chief executive."
Can you even imagine anything with a similar tone being written about Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? O’Reilly points out that the article, and press coverage in general, offers “not one kind word” toward Trump. No wonder he doesn’t trust the media.
While reading this book, I could almost hear Bill O’Reilly monologuing, with mentions of “the folks” and “the Obama ‘birther’ thing,” etc. The book was interesting without being truly ground-breaking. If you enjoy politics and would like to learn more about our President, I recommend The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America.
The first few chapters talked about Trump’s early years, and to me that was probably the most interesting part of the book. O’Reilly talked quite a bit to Trump’s oldest son, Don Jr., about what it was like to grow up with Donald Trump as your dad:
"We’d see him in the morning briefly before he went to work and we went to school. It was the daily lecture: you know, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, and then ‘Don’t trust anyone.’ There were a couple of times he’d follow up with a question: ‘Do you trust me?’ “Of course, you’re my dad!” He’s like, ‘Wrong! You can’t trust."
Another insight about Trump from son Don Jr.: “He’s not a teacher that puts you on his lap and says this is how you do something. He puts you in a situation to learn, and you rise to the occasion or you fail.” Trump was not the dad at all the baseball games. He did ensure that his kids observed him at work and hopefully learned from what they saw.
O’Reilly explores Trump’s personality, suggesting that he is basically a loner with few close friends. Due to many life experiences (and I’m sure exacerbated by current events), he hardly trusts anyone. He has incredible energy, often sleeping just four hours or so a night. He loves Diet Coke — drinking up to 15 each day.
Of course, Trump is incredibly wealthy. But O’Reilly points out that he uses his wealth as a marketing tool — a “success brand.” He is not obsessed with jewelry, fine food, and certainly not wine (his oldest brother died an alcoholic, and Trump does not drink).
Why does Donald Trump act in the over-the-top way he often does? According to O’Reilly, there’s a method to his madness. When asked about this during an O’Reilly interview, Trump said, “Nobody would listen (if I worked normally) … If I attack it on a purely intellectual basis, nobody would listen and the response would not have been nearly as effective.” I think he’s probably right. Without the tweets, would Trump and his agenda get nearly the coverage?
The national press certainly doesn’t understand this, and apparently aren’t in on the joke. They cover the president “more as a national menace” than as the leader of the country. As someone who originally thought of majoring in and working in journalism, I am chagrined to see our press so biased and apparently so unaware of that bias. It was sad for me to read about press coverage of Trump after he won. There were no glowing accolades like Obama got as “first African-American President” or Hillary would have gained as “first female President.” No, the Associated Press opened with:
"The combative billionaire businessman and television celebrity won election in November over Hillary Clinton, and today he’s leading a profoundly divided country — one that’s split between Americans enthralled and horrified by his victory."
Another example, this one from the Los Angeles Times: "(Trump) has proved himself an incompetent and ignorant chief executive."
Can you even imagine anything with a similar tone being written about Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? O’Reilly points out that the article, and press coverage in general, offers “not one kind word” toward Trump. No wonder he doesn’t trust the media.
While reading this book, I could almost hear Bill O’Reilly monologuing, with mentions of “the folks” and “the Obama ‘birther’ thing,” etc. The book was interesting without being truly ground-breaking. If you enjoy politics and would like to learn more about our President, I recommend The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America.
August 15, 2020
I was given this book as a Christmas gift from my Mother, I assume as payback/equal time for all of the anti-Trump books that I pass on to her to read. She said it was a gag gift, but, hey...It cost her $28.00, so, why not give her her equal time, and read it...?
The book is presented as straight reporting/history, neither pro-or-anti-Trump. For the most part, Author Bill O'Reilly manages to stick to that. (In all fairness, I must disclose that I, to use the same words that he uses over and over and over again in this book, to the point or ridiculousness, both "Loathe" and "Despise" Bill O'Reilly. I was a channel 5 viewer in NYC when he started to rise to prominence on tabloid shows, and the guy was known city-wide to be a liar, an agitator, and a general creep.) O'Reilly is not shy about reporting the bad things about Trump, but he can't resist throwing in qualifiers of his own:
Trump's Father had a Podiatrist tenant of his fake a bone spur diagnosis to keep Trump out of Viet Nam.
So what? Lots of Politicians dodged the draft!
Trump's Father was in the KKK.
So what? He never discussed race with his son!
My favorite: Trump has gained a lot of weight since becoming President.
He can lose it whenever he wants, but does not want to change the shape of his face, which he finds very pleasing.
As I read on, the feeling that grew inside me was irritation, mainly because Trump's overriding view on everything, which I have been familiar with since I was a child in The Bronx, is "Fill-in-the-blank is unfair to me." Growing up and seeing this man on local television every night, I learned that casino laws were unfair to him, building codes were unfair to him, construction unions were unfair to him, tax laws were unfair to him, newspapers were unfair to him. Now, as President, the trend continues. The book closes with O'Reilly questioning Trump about whether his views on America have changed since he took office. The question is never answered, because he launches into a three-page pity-fest about how nothing is fair to him. I don't remember another President in my lifetime ever complaining about how unfair life was to them. Boo-hoo.
O'Reilly agrees, at least once a chapter, about the unfairness of the press and the media. Which is fine, since that is his opinion. At one point he addresses something that Trump did, and goes on to complain that the media as a whole, had not "one kind word to say. Not ONE." I don't remember Fox News having many kind words to say about Obama, so these kinds of comments are disingenuous at best, and blatant lies at worst. Considering how Fox News, and Bill O'Reilly made political outrage and bile a daily part of life in America, it seems a tad hypocritical to start complaining about it now, when the shoe is on the other foot. (Also, the book is practically brand new, yet already hasn't aged well...the fallback to every Trump complaint is "The economy is doing great."....Less that a year later, wow...how that has changed.)
The book is presented as straight reporting/history, neither pro-or-anti-Trump. For the most part, Author Bill O'Reilly manages to stick to that. (In all fairness, I must disclose that I, to use the same words that he uses over and over and over again in this book, to the point or ridiculousness, both "Loathe" and "Despise" Bill O'Reilly. I was a channel 5 viewer in NYC when he started to rise to prominence on tabloid shows, and the guy was known city-wide to be a liar, an agitator, and a general creep.) O'Reilly is not shy about reporting the bad things about Trump, but he can't resist throwing in qualifiers of his own:
Trump's Father had a Podiatrist tenant of his fake a bone spur diagnosis to keep Trump out of Viet Nam.
So what? Lots of Politicians dodged the draft!
Trump's Father was in the KKK.
So what? He never discussed race with his son!
My favorite: Trump has gained a lot of weight since becoming President.
He can lose it whenever he wants, but does not want to change the shape of his face, which he finds very pleasing.
As I read on, the feeling that grew inside me was irritation, mainly because Trump's overriding view on everything, which I have been familiar with since I was a child in The Bronx, is "Fill-in-the-blank is unfair to me." Growing up and seeing this man on local television every night, I learned that casino laws were unfair to him, building codes were unfair to him, construction unions were unfair to him, tax laws were unfair to him, newspapers were unfair to him. Now, as President, the trend continues. The book closes with O'Reilly questioning Trump about whether his views on America have changed since he took office. The question is never answered, because he launches into a three-page pity-fest about how nothing is fair to him. I don't remember another President in my lifetime ever complaining about how unfair life was to them. Boo-hoo.
O'Reilly agrees, at least once a chapter, about the unfairness of the press and the media. Which is fine, since that is his opinion. At one point he addresses something that Trump did, and goes on to complain that the media as a whole, had not "one kind word to say. Not ONE." I don't remember Fox News having many kind words to say about Obama, so these kinds of comments are disingenuous at best, and blatant lies at worst. Considering how Fox News, and Bill O'Reilly made political outrage and bile a daily part of life in America, it seems a tad hypocritical to start complaining about it now, when the shoe is on the other foot. (Also, the book is practically brand new, yet already hasn't aged well...the fallback to every Trump complaint is "The economy is doing great."....Less that a year later, wow...how that has changed.)
August 3, 2020
Bill O’Reilly should just stick to killing people. Lest I be accused of vicious libel and “fake news”, let me just say that that is in reference to his popular series of historical nonfiction books in which he tackles famous assassinations. He is not, as far as I know, an actual murderer.
I’ve read “Killing Lincoln”, which I actually enjoyed, and I have read some of his other non-”Killing” books, like “The No-Spin Zone”, in which he likes to talk about how he is an amazing journalist.
Here’s my take on O’Reilly: I had always thought of him as an arrogant but likable and charismatic guy. In truth, my view of him hasn’t changed that much, except for the fact that I now know that he is guilty (probably) of chronic sexual misconduct, which considerably taints my view of him. (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/21/bu...) Settling out of court one time, I might think that maybe it was a disgruntled woman just out to get him, but settling out of court six times? Nah. That’s a habit, one that he was willing to dish out a shitload of money to hide. Plus, in this #MeTooMovement era, I am no longer willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt.
O’Reilly insists---several times---that he is being fair and objective in his approach to Donald Trump’s life and worldview in his book “The United States of Trump”, and I’ll concede that, in his mind, he probably believes that he is being fair and objective. But his credibility has long been shot, which is why he is no longer the media mogul that he once was. I mean, it says a lot that he was fired from FOXNews. They normally treat their star commentators’ peccadillos like the Catholic Church treats pedophile priests: sweep it under the rug and shut up about it forever. I’m personally amazed they didn’t just give him a 3 a.m. time slot.
O’Reilly says that he had to separate the fact from the fiction when it came to Trump, most of the fiction, he claims, from a liberal media that hates Trump. He calls it the “Hate Trump Club” and that almost every single major news source in America is in it, doing nothing but inventing stories to make Trump look really bad. You know: “fake news”.
I cry bullshit, O’Reilly. I’m tired of the “fake news” accusations. I hear it (still) from so many Trump supporters: how The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, et al are viciously trying to denigrate Trump, for no good reason, and that you’ll never see a pro-Trump story in any of those venues.
I’ve heard that FOX News is the only news source willing to tell the truth about Trump. I also recall, a few months ago, hearing rumblings (only from FOX News) about the horrible scandal known as Obamagate. I haven’t heard anything about it recently.
My Trump supporter friends (and, yes, I still have some) told me that I wouldn’t hear about it in any of the liberal news media, only on FOX News. I never had the heart to tell them that if the other news outlets weren’t reporting it, it was probably bullshit. Because a story that big and outlandish wouldn’t be ignored by any media outlet. Unfortunately, unlike FOX News apparently, those other news outlets require that the story have evidentiary support, of which Obamagate had none. It was purely an attempt to distract the public from the fact that Trump has done a horrible job with the coronavirus pandemic. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethcohe...)
O’Reilly would have us believe that Trump is simply a decent guy---sure, with a few foibles and idiosyncrasies---who has enraged the Democrats, the liberal media, and those members of “the swamp” of Washington politics so much that they will say anything negative about him---true or false---just to see him squirm.
But O’Reilly seems to be confusing opinions with facts. O’Reilly claims that the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump candidly admits to sexual assault (“grab ‘em by the pussy!”) was the stupid statements that guys make in locker rooms. Now, being a guy and one that has been in several locker rooms, I can honestly say that I have never admitted to anyone that I committed a sexual assault. Nor have I heard anyone else ever admit to sexual assault in a locker room. If I had, I would have been pretty disgusted and horrified, and I would have been making an anonymous phone call to the police. “Normal” guys would never admit to sexual assault because most “normal” guys wouldn’t commit sexual assault. Yes, locker room talk can be explicit and gross, with a lot of statements along the lines of “Damn, did you get a load of the tits on that chick on the elliptical?” or “Man, I’d give anything to lick the sweat off that redhead chick’s ass in spin class” but Trump’s statements were something beyond that. He wasn’t imagining what he would do, he was stating what he had done. There’s a serious distinction.
Plus, O’Reilly (understandably) omits any reference to the fifty years of sexual misconduct allegations levied against Trump. (https://www.businessinsider.com/women...). Why would he bring it up? Because he would then have to examine his own conduct. Nevertheless, it is a FACT that 25 women have accused Trump of rape, assault, or abuse over the years.
O’Reilly’s credibility, or lack thereof, makes what could have been a worthwhile attempt to set the record straight about Trump into an uncomfortable miasma of Trump apologetics disguised as hard-hitting journalism. There is nothing hard-hitting about “The United States of Trump”, other than the sound of what is left of O’Reilly’s integrity hitting the floor.
I’ve read “Killing Lincoln”, which I actually enjoyed, and I have read some of his other non-”Killing” books, like “The No-Spin Zone”, in which he likes to talk about how he is an amazing journalist.
Here’s my take on O’Reilly: I had always thought of him as an arrogant but likable and charismatic guy. In truth, my view of him hasn’t changed that much, except for the fact that I now know that he is guilty (probably) of chronic sexual misconduct, which considerably taints my view of him. (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/21/bu...) Settling out of court one time, I might think that maybe it was a disgruntled woman just out to get him, but settling out of court six times? Nah. That’s a habit, one that he was willing to dish out a shitload of money to hide. Plus, in this #MeTooMovement era, I am no longer willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt.
O’Reilly insists---several times---that he is being fair and objective in his approach to Donald Trump’s life and worldview in his book “The United States of Trump”, and I’ll concede that, in his mind, he probably believes that he is being fair and objective. But his credibility has long been shot, which is why he is no longer the media mogul that he once was. I mean, it says a lot that he was fired from FOXNews. They normally treat their star commentators’ peccadillos like the Catholic Church treats pedophile priests: sweep it under the rug and shut up about it forever. I’m personally amazed they didn’t just give him a 3 a.m. time slot.
O’Reilly says that he had to separate the fact from the fiction when it came to Trump, most of the fiction, he claims, from a liberal media that hates Trump. He calls it the “Hate Trump Club” and that almost every single major news source in America is in it, doing nothing but inventing stories to make Trump look really bad. You know: “fake news”.
I cry bullshit, O’Reilly. I’m tired of the “fake news” accusations. I hear it (still) from so many Trump supporters: how The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, et al are viciously trying to denigrate Trump, for no good reason, and that you’ll never see a pro-Trump story in any of those venues.
I’ve heard that FOX News is the only news source willing to tell the truth about Trump. I also recall, a few months ago, hearing rumblings (only from FOX News) about the horrible scandal known as Obamagate. I haven’t heard anything about it recently.
My Trump supporter friends (and, yes, I still have some) told me that I wouldn’t hear about it in any of the liberal news media, only on FOX News. I never had the heart to tell them that if the other news outlets weren’t reporting it, it was probably bullshit. Because a story that big and outlandish wouldn’t be ignored by any media outlet. Unfortunately, unlike FOX News apparently, those other news outlets require that the story have evidentiary support, of which Obamagate had none. It was purely an attempt to distract the public from the fact that Trump has done a horrible job with the coronavirus pandemic. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethcohe...)
O’Reilly would have us believe that Trump is simply a decent guy---sure, with a few foibles and idiosyncrasies---who has enraged the Democrats, the liberal media, and those members of “the swamp” of Washington politics so much that they will say anything negative about him---true or false---just to see him squirm.
But O’Reilly seems to be confusing opinions with facts. O’Reilly claims that the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump candidly admits to sexual assault (“grab ‘em by the pussy!”) was the stupid statements that guys make in locker rooms. Now, being a guy and one that has been in several locker rooms, I can honestly say that I have never admitted to anyone that I committed a sexual assault. Nor have I heard anyone else ever admit to sexual assault in a locker room. If I had, I would have been pretty disgusted and horrified, and I would have been making an anonymous phone call to the police. “Normal” guys would never admit to sexual assault because most “normal” guys wouldn’t commit sexual assault. Yes, locker room talk can be explicit and gross, with a lot of statements along the lines of “Damn, did you get a load of the tits on that chick on the elliptical?” or “Man, I’d give anything to lick the sweat off that redhead chick’s ass in spin class” but Trump’s statements were something beyond that. He wasn’t imagining what he would do, he was stating what he had done. There’s a serious distinction.
Plus, O’Reilly (understandably) omits any reference to the fifty years of sexual misconduct allegations levied against Trump. (https://www.businessinsider.com/women...). Why would he bring it up? Because he would then have to examine his own conduct. Nevertheless, it is a FACT that 25 women have accused Trump of rape, assault, or abuse over the years.
O’Reilly’s credibility, or lack thereof, makes what could have been a worthwhile attempt to set the record straight about Trump into an uncomfortable miasma of Trump apologetics disguised as hard-hitting journalism. There is nothing hard-hitting about “The United States of Trump”, other than the sound of what is left of O’Reilly’s integrity hitting the floor.
November 21, 2019
I am not a fan of Trump; I am one of the lifelong Republicans who has now ended my party affiliation, largely because of Trump. However, I hoped this book would be fairly even-handed, and I was curious what O’Reilly’s take would be on Trump’s rise to the Presidency.
The book is not even-handed, or, much less than I hoped. O’Reilly makes numerous excuses for Trump, even while he reveals instances where he disagreed with how Trump handled something, for example, the questions from Megyn Kelly during the debates, or Trump’s response to Neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville. In several places, O’Reilly sounds like the benevolent schoolteacher trying to see his student with severe special needs and behavioral problems, in a positive light. He says, “Donald Trump sees things in black and white terms,” or, “This is what Trump needs in order to be happy.” It comes across as a bunch of excuse-making.
This book was well-researched and O’Reilly has known Trump for a long time, so that made for a fairly reliable book, compared with many on the market. But I think O’Reilly has many blindspots, probably due to ways he himself is similar to Trump, for example, O’Reilly genuinely does not think Trump is racist and he draws this conclusion partially because part of their up-bringing in an all-white suburb was similar. O’Reilly is not a racist; he merely had so little exposure to non-white people, he just didn’t think about it. He applies this to Trump, too. I do not think this is accurate, though, because if Trump is not racist, a good researcher like O’Reilly should ask himself why his messaging excites and resonates with people who *definitely, overtly are* racist. Why do neo-Nazis flock to Trump? Because they believe(d) he is pointing policies in the direction they want, policies which ban/remove/deport non-white people.
Anyway...I think O’Reilly believed he was being fair and “no spin” to Trump and, it is true he does not just regurgitate MSNBC, so that’s nice. Rabidly anti-Trump news sources and authors are as annoying as rabidly pro-Trump sources (Rush), so it’s nice O’Reilly is neither. But O’Reilly is not as balanced as he believes himself to be, although kudos for trying, man; that’s like trying to find something nice to say about the Kardashians.
The book is not even-handed, or, much less than I hoped. O’Reilly makes numerous excuses for Trump, even while he reveals instances where he disagreed with how Trump handled something, for example, the questions from Megyn Kelly during the debates, or Trump’s response to Neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville. In several places, O’Reilly sounds like the benevolent schoolteacher trying to see his student with severe special needs and behavioral problems, in a positive light. He says, “Donald Trump sees things in black and white terms,” or, “This is what Trump needs in order to be happy.” It comes across as a bunch of excuse-making.
This book was well-researched and O’Reilly has known Trump for a long time, so that made for a fairly reliable book, compared with many on the market. But I think O’Reilly has many blindspots, probably due to ways he himself is similar to Trump, for example, O’Reilly genuinely does not think Trump is racist and he draws this conclusion partially because part of their up-bringing in an all-white suburb was similar. O’Reilly is not a racist; he merely had so little exposure to non-white people, he just didn’t think about it. He applies this to Trump, too. I do not think this is accurate, though, because if Trump is not racist, a good researcher like O’Reilly should ask himself why his messaging excites and resonates with people who *definitely, overtly are* racist. Why do neo-Nazis flock to Trump? Because they believe(d) he is pointing policies in the direction they want, policies which ban/remove/deport non-white people.
Anyway...I think O’Reilly believed he was being fair and “no spin” to Trump and, it is true he does not just regurgitate MSNBC, so that’s nice. Rabidly anti-Trump news sources and authors are as annoying as rabidly pro-Trump sources (Rush), so it’s nice O’Reilly is neither. But O’Reilly is not as balanced as he believes himself to be, although kudos for trying, man; that’s like trying to find something nice to say about the Kardashians.
October 9, 2019
Perceptive
Donald Trump is like the Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Holding back the flood of the full of hate progressives that sincerely want to destroy this great country.
Donald Trump is like the Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Holding back the flood of the full of hate progressives that sincerely want to destroy this great country.
July 10, 2024
Wow, where do you start. First of all, the author, Bill O’Reilly, is considered a friend of Donald Trump & his opinions are virtually all pro-Trump. I would say at least 95% of the author’s viewpoint on Trump’s personality & behaviors are presented in a positive light. The author also takes every opportunity in the book to trash democratic politicians such as Hilary Clinton & Barack Obama. To say this book is very opinionated & one-sided would be an understatement… But still, I have to admit, this was a pretty entertaining read.
October 1, 2019
I was already a big fan of O'Reilly's books and this one was no exception. I love his way of telling a story using facts but it doesn't read as a boring news report. It's so interesting and engaging that I have trouble putting it down! It seems like we know Trump because his life has been an open book but I really learned alot and continue to be disappointed in the media for their bias against him and others. I listened to the audio version and while Bill O'Reilly read the forward, he has another reader for the rest of the book. He is really good and does a very impressive Trump voice! Highly recommend this book.
October 1, 2019
And like Jesus, O'Reilly sees into the heart and mind of another individual and translates what the voices tell him.
October 1, 2019
This was my first O'Reilly book, and, considering how many bestsellers he's had, I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was that it is a well-written, coherent, and thoughtful book. He's not as impartial as he proclaims himself to be, but he is much more moderate in his approach than one might expect, judging by his TV personality.
The subtitle, "How the President Really Sees America," is a little misleading. Yes, O'Reilly uses a number of interviews (both television and private) to bring color to the President's character. These parts of the book are where it shines. Conservatives will enjoy learning more about their leader, liberals will gain much-needed insight into Trump's humanizing side - Even factoring in O'Reilly's bias, I imagine it will be tough to still think of Trump as the Devil incarnate after reading the book. - and neutrals will gain a perspective not currently available among the various media outlets (of any side). O'Reilly manages to address media bias in a more rational, and somewhat less partisan way than found in the day-to-day ruckus we see and hear.
However, those parts of the book make up about 30% of the space, with most of the remainder devoted to Trump's campaign and election to office. This is not unimportant, but it does make the subtitle a little disingenuous. IF YOU BUY THIS BOOK, MAKE SURE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE ACTUAL CAMPAIGN PROCESS. There are some paragraphs about why O'Reilly feels things broke Trump's way, but a lot of this material is a rundown of the campaign itself.
While O'Reilly's bias is noticeable in the way he addresses certain issues that have clear left-right positions (i.e. Clinton's emails, Biden & son in Ukraine, Mueller, Comey, the New York Times, etc.), he approaches them in a rational manner that should be palatable to his more liberal readers. That said, the omissions are clearly partisan decisions (i.e. just one throw-away sentence about Russian interference to help Trump win, an oblique reference to Michael Flynn being a poor choice but no other mention of the extremely high rate of turnover in Trump's administration, acknowledging that Trump says bad things to help stir up his base but not addressing what this says about the people who support him because of these bad statements, completely ignoring the documented poor treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, etc.). These flaws do not at all ruin the book, but one can only assume they were done on purpose, either to placate Trump and his die-hard supporters, for political reasons, or just because O'Reilly knows who his audience is likely to be.
Overall, the book is solid, and I can recommend it to right-leaning readers as an enjoyable profile and reliving of a historic election, as well as to other readers as a necessary, relatively reasonable contrarian view to most of the information one hears, sees, and reads about the President.
The subtitle, "How the President Really Sees America," is a little misleading. Yes, O'Reilly uses a number of interviews (both television and private) to bring color to the President's character. These parts of the book are where it shines. Conservatives will enjoy learning more about their leader, liberals will gain much-needed insight into Trump's humanizing side - Even factoring in O'Reilly's bias, I imagine it will be tough to still think of Trump as the Devil incarnate after reading the book. - and neutrals will gain a perspective not currently available among the various media outlets (of any side). O'Reilly manages to address media bias in a more rational, and somewhat less partisan way than found in the day-to-day ruckus we see and hear.
However, those parts of the book make up about 30% of the space, with most of the remainder devoted to Trump's campaign and election to office. This is not unimportant, but it does make the subtitle a little disingenuous. IF YOU BUY THIS BOOK, MAKE SURE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE ACTUAL CAMPAIGN PROCESS. There are some paragraphs about why O'Reilly feels things broke Trump's way, but a lot of this material is a rundown of the campaign itself.
While O'Reilly's bias is noticeable in the way he addresses certain issues that have clear left-right positions (i.e. Clinton's emails, Biden & son in Ukraine, Mueller, Comey, the New York Times, etc.), he approaches them in a rational manner that should be palatable to his more liberal readers. That said, the omissions are clearly partisan decisions (i.e. just one throw-away sentence about Russian interference to help Trump win, an oblique reference to Michael Flynn being a poor choice but no other mention of the extremely high rate of turnover in Trump's administration, acknowledging that Trump says bad things to help stir up his base but not addressing what this says about the people who support him because of these bad statements, completely ignoring the documented poor treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, etc.). These flaws do not at all ruin the book, but one can only assume they were done on purpose, either to placate Trump and his die-hard supporters, for political reasons, or just because O'Reilly knows who his audience is likely to be.
Overall, the book is solid, and I can recommend it to right-leaning readers as an enjoyable profile and reliving of a historic election, as well as to other readers as a necessary, relatively reasonable contrarian view to most of the information one hears, sees, and reads about the President.
October 8, 2019
Now it was good. And it was fair. And O'Reilly did a good effort to remain neutral, presenting only the facts. Just sometimes I felt it lacking in detail. A lot of things felt left unexplained or unanswered. Now I do understand that that's probably mostly because there's not enough material available for O'Reilly to conduct his research, but overall it kept me expecting me. It also seemed more like a just history of Trump during the campaign, but was almost entirely void of details on his presidency once sworn in. And provided very little explanation of Trump's views and ideology and how he see's America, which O'Reilly had promised the book would do during his marketing for it.
However.... Overalll. It was a really great read that I did enjoy reading every page of it.
However.... Overalll. It was a really great read that I did enjoy reading every page of it.
October 3, 2019
Bill O 'Reilly is a gifted writer. I have read most of his books. "The United States Of Trump", was a great read. Author O'Reilly, gives an excellent view into President Trump's character. He really was able to write about what makes President Trump tick. As a reader, I agree that most of the Mainstream Media have been extremely unfair to our American President. I agree with O'Reilly that good and fair Journalism has gone down the drain! I strongly feel that history will be much kinder to President Trump. In conclusion, "The United States of Trump", is very well worth reading!
October 21, 2019
The book starts off with a statement I really wanted to believe: Not a partisan pro-Trump or anti-Trump book. I would like to say O'Reilly starts out that way, but even then he is comparing his life to Trump's life. All pretense was gone once he started going into his blind double date with Donald and Marla Maples Trump. Really, how believable are you about being not being pro-Trump when you had him as your guest at the White House Correspondents Dinner two months before he announced his candidacy. If you knew absolutely nothing about Bill O'Reilly and read this book you know where he stands with Trump.
O'Reilly also stated, "If you ask him a straight question he will give you a straight answer." This makes it clear on why he rarely takes questions and even has the most limited press conferences as a POTUS since press conferences began. Twitter is not a good forum for feeding the beast so to speak.
There were a few things I appreciated reading and gaining a bit more insight. Pro-Trump individuals will love it. Non-Trump-supporters should take the time to read this. There are some insights and well-written enough you can get through it.
Two stars on Goodreads=it's okay. This book was okay.
O'Reilly also stated, "If you ask him a straight question he will give you a straight answer." This makes it clear on why he rarely takes questions and even has the most limited press conferences as a POTUS since press conferences began. Twitter is not a good forum for feeding the beast so to speak.
There were a few things I appreciated reading and gaining a bit more insight. Pro-Trump individuals will love it. Non-Trump-supporters should take the time to read this. There are some insights and well-written enough you can get through it.
Two stars on Goodreads=it's okay. This book was okay.
July 11, 2024
Am not a fan of either Trump or BO, but was frankly curious to read this in an effort to be open minded. BO did not disappoint. He lived up to my low expectations. He supports Trump’s never ending whining and lying and sugar coats his abhorrent behavior. That old idea that any publicity is good publicity is Trump’s mantra. It matters not that much of what Trump says he knows is false. It’s all about getting a reaction, any reaction, to stay in the spotlight. Fame and having his ego fed are all he cares about.
October 7, 2019
Highly Disappointing
This book was more of a buildup of Bill O’Reilly than it was about President Trump. This book is not objective, contrary to Mr O’Reilly’s claim.
Personally, I am very disappointed.
It was supposed to be about “The United States of Trump”, which it was not.
This book was more of a buildup of Bill O’Reilly than it was about President Trump. This book is not objective, contrary to Mr O’Reilly’s claim.
Personally, I am very disappointed.
It was supposed to be about “The United States of Trump”, which it was not.
October 14, 2019
I did not choose this book as a fan of Donald Trump. My view of him is very mixed, and on the character side, I do not respect him. I realize that much of my view of President Trump, actually, everyone’s view of a Trump, is received through the media lens which I believe to be tainted against him. And thus, I saw this book by Bill O’Reilly and have read it to gain a vantage point from an honest and untainted lens. I just need to keep an open mind.
This is vintage O’Reilly. I’ve read most of his “Killing...” series, and I appreciate his factual information and logical conclusions. He finds a perspective I can understand and appreciate. And I frequently watched The Factor as the only opinion show I could tolerate. O’Reilly’s “me-too” failure and dismissal from Fox News is inexcusable, and I hesitated to purchase this book as a result of that. However, I really want to understand Trump and how he thinks, and what he believes, as he is our President today, and possibly four more years. I need to understand him so I can better tolerate and perhaps make some sense of our current state of political ineffectiveness and chaos.
O’Reilly delivers as I hoped he would. He is uniquely connected and has always been able to take the spin out of politics. My negative feedback is that Bill has a nice size ego and he doesn’t spare accolades for his own career. Between Trump and O’Reilly, humility does not have a chance. But that aside, O’Reilly does a nice job providing insight into Trumps childhood, his boarding school, his father and the real estate business, and how he made his mark in Manhattan properties. I respected Trump for vision in this area, and ability to achieve despite many obstacles. I also found the extended insight of the 2016 election was fascinating. He covers both Trump and Hillary, and weaves in Wikileaks, and Comey, and the debates. The final section of the book is a review of his first two years in office. Again, it’s insightful, and the perspectives are very helpful to understand some of what I have read in the media.
So, has this book helped me to support Trump, or to become more vigorous fighting to see him removed from office? Honestly, I still can’t support him as a leader of our nation, but I also do not have a candidate in mind to support. All candidates have their flaws. I will say I have a much better understanding and tolerance of Donald Trump, with an open mind, and that is what I was looking to gain from this book.
This is vintage O’Reilly. I’ve read most of his “Killing...” series, and I appreciate his factual information and logical conclusions. He finds a perspective I can understand and appreciate. And I frequently watched The Factor as the only opinion show I could tolerate. O’Reilly’s “me-too” failure and dismissal from Fox News is inexcusable, and I hesitated to purchase this book as a result of that. However, I really want to understand Trump and how he thinks, and what he believes, as he is our President today, and possibly four more years. I need to understand him so I can better tolerate and perhaps make some sense of our current state of political ineffectiveness and chaos.
O’Reilly delivers as I hoped he would. He is uniquely connected and has always been able to take the spin out of politics. My negative feedback is that Bill has a nice size ego and he doesn’t spare accolades for his own career. Between Trump and O’Reilly, humility does not have a chance. But that aside, O’Reilly does a nice job providing insight into Trumps childhood, his boarding school, his father and the real estate business, and how he made his mark in Manhattan properties. I respected Trump for vision in this area, and ability to achieve despite many obstacles. I also found the extended insight of the 2016 election was fascinating. He covers both Trump and Hillary, and weaves in Wikileaks, and Comey, and the debates. The final section of the book is a review of his first two years in office. Again, it’s insightful, and the perspectives are very helpful to understand some of what I have read in the media.
So, has this book helped me to support Trump, or to become more vigorous fighting to see him removed from office? Honestly, I still can’t support him as a leader of our nation, but I also do not have a candidate in mind to support. All candidates have their flaws. I will say I have a much better understanding and tolerance of Donald Trump, with an open mind, and that is what I was looking to gain from this book.
October 12, 2019
O'Reilly starts out the book by saying it is not a pro or con on Trump but just the facts. Well, that's not quite true. It's a lot of facts that say Trump is a victim, that he's doing a great job, that everyone who doesn't think he's wonderful is wrong -- kind of like Trump's own vision of himself. TSome good photographs too -- interestingly the ones of Nancy Pelosi and Hilary Clinton are pretty ghastly where the ones of Trump and his brood are so nice. It IS a better read than Lewandowski's praise of Trump tome. That one came across as hastily written without benefit of an editor.
I gave it two stars because the writing, in terms of grammar and punctuation is good.
I gave it two stars because the writing, in terms of grammar and punctuation is good.
October 3, 2019
The first half of this book is the best. It dives into Trump’s early life - high school, college and what some of the motivating factors in his family. I was especially interested to learn about his older brother and his sister and how different they turned out.
The second half goes blow by blow through his campaign and eventual victory to the presidency. It was interesting, but less insightful.
The writing is excellent and personal anecdotes make it a worthwhile read.
The second half goes blow by blow through his campaign and eventual victory to the presidency. It was interesting, but less insightful.
The writing is excellent and personal anecdotes make it a worthwhile read.
February 13, 2025
This book presents an interesting point of view of the hoopla that surrounds Trump. From the start of the intense campaign for the White House against Hillary Clinton on through to the media battles,Russia stories and multiple heads rolling in the cabinet , much is covered. The most interesting was the discussion of Trump's early years as a builder and growing up years at home.overall, this book throws a bit of light on the man in the center of a whirlwind.
October 12, 2019
A well written biography of President Donald Trump.
November 6, 2024
Fair and Balanced
Written before the 2020 election, The United States of Trump is a fair and balanced look at the 2016 Presidential election, the first years of the Trump administration, and the life and career of Donald Trump. Bill O’Reilly, who has known Trump for over 30 years and even once double dated with him, details tremendous insights into the man. This book is not for or against Trump, but is instead a presentation of facts. Written by a master historian, The United States of Trump, will help you understand how Trump views America. It’s not fake news.
Written before the 2020 election, The United States of Trump is a fair and balanced look at the 2016 Presidential election, the first years of the Trump administration, and the life and career of Donald Trump. Bill O’Reilly, who has known Trump for over 30 years and even once double dated with him, details tremendous insights into the man. This book is not for or against Trump, but is instead a presentation of facts. Written by a master historian, The United States of Trump, will help you understand how Trump views America. It’s not fake news.
November 20, 2019
I picked this book off the library's best seller display. Honestly, I'm registered as an independent voter, but I have never been able to stomach Trump, and I mean from long before he became president. I have always gotten the sense that we were just so completely different that I could not relate to him or his worldview at all. When he was elected I tried to reach out to ask those who supported him why; I was honestly interested. Some people on both sides of his fan club responded in the spirit in which I asked the questions, but many became so angry at me for asking that I eventually stopped. I picked up this book looking for some insight. I know Bill O'Reilly is a conservative guy, and all the better. Explain to me what I'm not seeing! It all started really well. I learned about Trump history and thought it was a pretty balanced account. As the book went along it became clear that O'Reilly wasn't as direct and unbiased as he claimed to be, which was really annoying by the end. It would be one thing if he hadn't stated repeatedly that he was an unbiased reporter, but since he did...he isn't. Or he doesn't read like one. The title is also misleading. I expected more about how Trump actually views the presidency and his country. This mostly reads like a timeline of his campaign and first moments in office, with the campaigning part taking the Lion's share of the book. That in itself was somewhat interesting; all kinds of issues I had mostly forgotten about or pointedly ignored the first time around were re-explained. I gained a bit of insight, I would say, into both Trump and those who support him. But end of the day, this book just affirms that he and I are two totally different people with next to nothing in common, which doesn't necessarily say anything for his ability to govern or for this book's ability to make him a personable character. As a moderately biased semi historical text on the campaigning aspect of this presidential round, with the winner as the subject, this book does a fine job.
February 9, 2020
While presented as an unbiased and "just the fact's ma'am" history of Donald Trump and his rise to president in the 2016 election, this is book is pure fluff that leans very heavily on Bill O'Reilly's personal relationship with and opinion of the President. Really though this book is about how Bill O'Reilly is the only fair person in media. Anyone who isn't on his team is crooked, dumb, or calculatingly out for themselves.
On the 3rd page O'Reilly states that this is not a pro or anti Trump book, then in the same paragraph mentions that anti-Trumpers will hate it. No mention of pro-Trumpers. That pretty much sums up what to expect from this read. While certainly not making up events, O'Reilly consistently paints Trump as the victim of an unfair, viscous, liberally-biased media and only Bill O'Reilly provides a balanced view. He glosses over most events that paint the president in a bad light and highlights how he was an underdog that people identified with. If Trump did something wrong that can't be defended O'Reilly moves on quickly, but spends most of his pages on how unfairly everyone treats Trump and how important O'Reilly himself is.
O'Reilly consistently keeps things surface level... no investigative journalism or deep diving into any controversial subjects (while at the same time repeatedly telling you how knowledgeable and hard hitting he is). Most of the time it feels like he's covering for Trump by saying that's just the way he is (If Trump is lying, it's actually just his exaggerated way of speaking. You the reader should judge if it's lying or not even if what he said isn't true).
This book was a struggle to read because it was presented to me as a real modern history book that takes a deep look into Donald Trump. Instead it's just a rosy rehashing of the 2016 election with hindsight bias. An actual enlightening investigation into Donald Trump's history is the New York Times investigation "Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses" and the "Trump Stories" series from the podcast Embedded.
On the 3rd page O'Reilly states that this is not a pro or anti Trump book, then in the same paragraph mentions that anti-Trumpers will hate it. No mention of pro-Trumpers. That pretty much sums up what to expect from this read. While certainly not making up events, O'Reilly consistently paints Trump as the victim of an unfair, viscous, liberally-biased media and only Bill O'Reilly provides a balanced view. He glosses over most events that paint the president in a bad light and highlights how he was an underdog that people identified with. If Trump did something wrong that can't be defended O'Reilly moves on quickly, but spends most of his pages on how unfairly everyone treats Trump and how important O'Reilly himself is.
O'Reilly consistently keeps things surface level... no investigative journalism or deep diving into any controversial subjects (while at the same time repeatedly telling you how knowledgeable and hard hitting he is). Most of the time it feels like he's covering for Trump by saying that's just the way he is (If Trump is lying, it's actually just his exaggerated way of speaking. You the reader should judge if it's lying or not even if what he said isn't true).
This book was a struggle to read because it was presented to me as a real modern history book that takes a deep look into Donald Trump. Instead it's just a rosy rehashing of the 2016 election with hindsight bias. An actual enlightening investigation into Donald Trump's history is the New York Times investigation "Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses" and the "Trump Stories" series from the podcast Embedded.
July 24, 2020
3.5 stars. This book was the most helpful window into the President’s life and personality I’ve read. Early on, O’Reilly that this book “is not pro- or anti-Trump. It is history.” The best thing about this book was that he generally stuck to that commitment quite well. I’ve read 3 (or maybe 4?) books that are basically a giant attack on Trump (which is reasonable), so this book was a welcome changeup!
O’Reilly leveraged his personal relationship with Trump, along with unique access to interviewing him, to offer some keen and unpolitical observations on how the man works. For example:
“What many Americans still do not understand is that Donald Trump does not care if you dislike what he says or what he stands for. He does not spend time analyzing pros or cons. He wants action, reaction, and victory. He believes notoriety leads to winning. There are millions of Americans who respect decisiveness and simplicity. Trump has designed the MAGA hats for them.”
Whether you love him or hate him, that kind of statement has a flavor of truth and insight to it. That’s basically what you’ll find in this book.
Overall, I’d suggest this book to anyone interested in Trump the person - especially anyone who hasn’t already made up their mind so much that information is immediately loved or hated based on whether it fits into an existing opinion. You’ll definitely finish this book thinking “how is this man The President”, but probably for slightly different reasons than you think that right now.
O’Reilly leveraged his personal relationship with Trump, along with unique access to interviewing him, to offer some keen and unpolitical observations on how the man works. For example:
“What many Americans still do not understand is that Donald Trump does not care if you dislike what he says or what he stands for. He does not spend time analyzing pros or cons. He wants action, reaction, and victory. He believes notoriety leads to winning. There are millions of Americans who respect decisiveness and simplicity. Trump has designed the MAGA hats for them.”
Whether you love him or hate him, that kind of statement has a flavor of truth and insight to it. That’s basically what you’ll find in this book.
Overall, I’d suggest this book to anyone interested in Trump the person - especially anyone who hasn’t already made up their mind so much that information is immediately loved or hated based on whether it fits into an existing opinion. You’ll definitely finish this book thinking “how is this man The President”, but probably for slightly different reasons than you think that right now.
October 4, 2020
The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America by Bill O'Reilly (Henry Holt and Co. 2019) (973.933092) (3469).
Bill O'Reilly is a conservative political pundit and commentator. O'Reilly is one of the countless public figures upon whom Donald John Trump has lavished praise and plaudits when said figure's opinions were originally in accord with some position endorsed by Trump. Bill O'Reilly is also one of the passing few pundits who Trump has not yet villified and abandoned for daring to hold any opinion not in lockstep with the mindset of America's despot-in-chief.
O'Reilly assures the reader over and over that he (O'Reilly) and his opinion can be trusted, for O'Reilly promises to only tell the truth and would never cite anonymous sources.
This is, of course, hogwash, but it is O'Reilly's own account after all.
The only thing that this reader of average intellect who follows the daily news learned from this volume is the reason why Donald John Trump does not drink alcohol. According to O'Reilly's commentary, Donald John is a teetotaler because he observed his oldest brother Fred Trump Jr., who had become an airline pilot, lose his job with the airlines for drinking. Fred Trump Jr., who was the namesake of the Trump family patriarch, lost his battle with the bottle and died of alcohol-related isues at the age of forty-two.
So Trump is smart enough to recognize at least one thing that is bad for him.
Had there been other examples of Donald John exercising such objectively good judgement, author Bill O'Reilly would surely have included them.
Sadly, there are none.
My rating: 7/10, finished 10/4/20 (3469).
November 14, 2023
My husband laughed when I told him I was reading this book, and I will admit I started it with doubtful expectations. I find it so interesting that people either love or hate Donald Trump. This book does a good job of showing how that divide occurred. I particularly enjoyed learning the details about his campaign. I remember being shocked that he would be the republican candidate. I also found this book highly entertaining (which shouldn’t have surprised me, there is no one on earth like Trump. There were a few quotes that had me rolling. There were a few that had cringing.)
However, the author goes on and on about how this is a non bias accounting of President Trump. I disagree. I felt he defended Trump on multiple occasions, disparaged opposers, and tried to get readers to see things the way he did. Also, at the beginning he asks some questions and claims we would uncover the answers throughout the book. I felt they were never answered satisfactorily.
In the end, my opinion of Donald Trump remains the same. He is neither a hero or a villain. He’s done good and bad. And the emotional response surrounding him still crazy to me.
However, the author goes on and on about how this is a non bias accounting of President Trump. I disagree. I felt he defended Trump on multiple occasions, disparaged opposers, and tried to get readers to see things the way he did. Also, at the beginning he asks some questions and claims we would uncover the answers throughout the book. I felt they were never answered satisfactorily.
In the end, my opinion of Donald Trump remains the same. He is neither a hero or a villain. He’s done good and bad. And the emotional response surrounding him still crazy to me.
March 20, 2024
Honestly, this was a very good and relatively impersonal look at how Trump got into office, and it was fascinating to me personally as someone who was just a kid when this stuff was happening and didn’t know what was going on. Not sure I back O’Reilly as a person but I would definitely be interested in reading more of his work.
March 20, 2020
I am quite left leaning myself, so I am not a Trump stan or anything - but I am never adverse to reading and considering alternate viewpoints. I try and seek to understand and learn, rather than judge differing political viewpoints.
What I do believe is that Trump is not a cruel or a malevolent dictator, like most people portray him to be. Sure, he may not be everyone’s ideal candidate and his supporters can be very intense. In saying that, I still wanted to learn more about the POTUS. After all, I watched the election whilst living in Canada, and was in the USA during his inauguration.
Admittedly, I am often inundated with anti-Trump sentiment. This book provided refreshing insights and provided further context on some controversial moments of Trump.
The author truly seeks to understand, and dig into Trump’s psyche. I found it really interesting and straight to the point. O’Reilly has a fantastic writing style that keeps the reader engaged, and I learnt a lot throughout the book. The author tries to be neutral and objective, which I appreciated.
What I do believe is that Trump is not a cruel or a malevolent dictator, like most people portray him to be. Sure, he may not be everyone’s ideal candidate and his supporters can be very intense. In saying that, I still wanted to learn more about the POTUS. After all, I watched the election whilst living in Canada, and was in the USA during his inauguration.
Admittedly, I am often inundated with anti-Trump sentiment. This book provided refreshing insights and provided further context on some controversial moments of Trump.
The author truly seeks to understand, and dig into Trump’s psyche. I found it really interesting and straight to the point. O’Reilly has a fantastic writing style that keeps the reader engaged, and I learnt a lot throughout the book. The author tries to be neutral and objective, which I appreciated.
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