How to Beat Trump: America's Top Political Strategists on What It Will Take

by Mark Halperin

"Sacrifices must be made, not just for the party, but for history" 

MORE THAN 100 MILLION ANXIOUS AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW: HOW CAN DONALD TRUMP BE BEATEN IN 2020 AND EVICTED FROM THE WHITE HOUSE?

Mark Halperin interviewed the nation’s most experienced political strategists to discover what they think the Democratic nominee needs to do to win the 270 electoral votes required for victory. Drawing on first-hand experience, tactical savvy, and war stories from presidential campaigns past, America’s top operatives explain how to meet the daunting challenge of defeating President Trump. They provide expert advice on bracing for psychological battle, understanding Trump’s voters, picking a running mate, mastering the debates, and dodging black swans—time-tested and creative ideas that reveal the secrets every presidential hopeful wants to know, with specific insights on tackling the volatile, unpredictable force of nature that is Donald Trump.  

While endlessly controversial, the 45th president remains one of the most formidable political campaigners in modern history, with a staggering financial advantage and powerful allies. Only four elected incumbent American presidents have lost reelection bids since 1900.  Few of the strategists think beating Trump will be easy. But none believe it is impossible. Their best ideas, gleaned from years of experience at the highest levels of American politics, are all presented in this compelling and fast-paced book. 

HOW TO BEAT TRUMP will give voters tools to evaluate which candidates are best positioned to defeat the incumbent.

More than seventy-five strategists were interviewed for HOW TO BEAT TRUMP, including Jill Alper, David Axelrod, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Tad Devine, Karen Dunn, Adrienne Elrod, Jennifer Granholm, Ben LaBolt, Jeff Link, Jim Margolis, Mike McCurry, Mark Mellman, Amanda Renteria, John Sasso, Kathleen Sebelius, Bob Shrum, Ginny Terzano, and David Wilhelm.

253 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2019

About the author

Mark Halperin is editor-at-large senior political analyst for Time, founding editor of 'The Page' on time.com, and former political director of ABC News. He is also a senior political analyst for MSNBC.

Reviews

[Tim Lightfoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title might lead one to believe this is a one-sided Trump bash. Halperin does mention some of 45's negative points, but only in relating what his research subjects (primarily Democrat strategists) feel is the reason winning the 2020 election is imperative for them. Much more time is spent giving the president props for his use of social media in controlling the news cycle, and his ability to stay on message and ignite his base.

Halperin's contention is that beating an incumbent president is a tough task in the first place, and Donald Trump is unlike any politician before him. Democrats are going to have to approach the 2020 election differently, using some elements of past elections (like Clinton's '92 win against an incumbent) but not assuming business as usual.

Overall it was an informative and enjoyable read, written by a guy that knows this stuff like the back of his hand.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at how Democrats can beat Trump in 2020. What makes it even more so is looking at the advice given by various experts from both parties before the Covid-19 health crisis and the recent racial protests after the murder of George Floyd, as well as before the nomination of Joe Biden. A great deal of the advice in this book still remains current so it would be fun so see Biden take some of this advice and implement it. It was an insightful read by a longstanding political expert.

[Geoffrey Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably a difficult book to write in mid-2019, as there were so many unknowns to deal with. The biggest unknown is the identity of the Democratic Party candidate. Add to this the impossibility to know how the primary campaign will unfold. A fight to the finish all the way to Milwaukee in July? A candidate who breaks out of the pack early and claims the nomination early? A candidate from the more progressive wing of the party, or a more moderate voice? With all these questions unanswered, the book ends up offering fairly generic advice. Party unity is important. Social media plays an increasingly vital role in the campaign. There will be moments of crisis over fake news or dark stars. Never underestimate your opponent. Donald Trump is many things, but he is a master communicator.
These and many other observations are offered by the various campaign veterans Mark Halperin has interviewed. They are interesting, but do not get us much closer to answering the basic question raised in the title: how do you beat Trump?

[Caroline Harbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic, insightful, and unexpectedly funny book. It’s one of the better nonfiction books I’ve read, and Halperin does a great job of highlighting what Trump did and does right and what we can learn from him without excusing his despicable behavior or ineffective governance. I hope this book is open on the desk of every 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful.

I think the core message of this book is spot on: We underestimated Trump in 2016, and we need to be strategic and smart, but not cautious, about how to proceed into the new election year.

Trump is highly motivated to win a second term, both because he’s afraid he’ll go to jail if he doesn’t and because he knows he’ll be remembered as a mistake of history if he leaves office as a one-term president. He has the incumbent’s advantage and virtually unlimited resources as his disposal, and there is absolutely no moral or legal low he will not stoop to in an effort to win the race.

But more importantly, Trump’s opposition are also highly motivated to beat him, and his 2016 supporters are not stupid, gullible, or morally bankrupt. They are American citizens and families who, left behind by current popular culture and overlooked by modern politics, flocked to support a candidate they believed would support their interests, and now have been strung along for four years by a President who has utterly failed to do so. They’re ready to fire him, they just need a strong alternative. American voters and the Democratic Party are going to need to pull together to get Trump out of office.

This book is full of both practical advice and solid political theory, packaged efficiently so it’s entertaining to consume. If you’re at all interested in the upcoming race this is well worth your time.

[RL Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for a pretty narrow audience. When Halperin consults outside sources their insight is interesting. Overall however it seems pretty common sense and probably is more suited to be a guide book for the media. A very quick read with a lot of time wasted on what happened in the past. The first fifth is about Bill Clinton. What happened in 2016 didn't really compare to what happened in 1992 - so what was the point? Otherwise, it's the basics: appeal to Trump voters, unite as a party, and don't make the mistakes Hillary made. I did like the honesty the contributors gave, feeling it more honest than what they'd say if they had a camera on them, so I give it a 3.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of words to basically say "f the vote, MY choice is democracy".

[Chris Baccus · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a good chapter about how liberals get a lot wrong about Trump. Beyond that the rest of the book is predictable and not very insightful.