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UnPresidented
'26 February, White House Briefing Room
The coronavirus feels like it is changing everything. Suddenly it's not just a public health emergency; it has the potential to upend this whole election...'
In UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others, BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel presents a diary of an election like we've never quite seen before.
Experience life as a reporter on the campaign trail, as the election heats up and a global pandemic slowly sweeps in. As American lives are lost at a devastating rate, the presidential race becomes a battle for the very soul of the nation - challenging not just the Trump presidency, but the very institutions of American democracy itself.
In this highly personal account of reporting on America in 2020, Jon Sopel takes you behind the scenes of a White House in crisis and an election in turmoil, expertly laying bare the real story of the presidential campaign in a panoramic account of an election and a year like no other.
The coronavirus feels like it is changing everything. Suddenly it's not just a public health emergency; it has the potential to upend this whole election...'
In UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others, BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel presents a diary of an election like we've never quite seen before.
Experience life as a reporter on the campaign trail, as the election heats up and a global pandemic slowly sweeps in. As American lives are lost at a devastating rate, the presidential race becomes a battle for the very soul of the nation - challenging not just the Trump presidency, but the very institutions of American democracy itself.
In this highly personal account of reporting on America in 2020, Jon Sopel takes you behind the scenes of a White House in crisis and an election in turmoil, expertly laying bare the real story of the presidential campaign in a panoramic account of an election and a year like no other.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 14, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
August 20, 2021
I admit that even though it was all happening on a different continent, thousands of miles away, I was pretty much hooked on events leading up to and during the 2020 United States presidential election. It made all UK elections look bland and boring by comparison and I have to say that there is always something entertaining about Trump, no matter how little sense he sometimes makes. Jon Sopel is a respected British journalist and currently BBC’s North America editor, and as such he makes regular appearances on BBC news programmes. His updates always feel like they are on point and often they’re also wryly amusing. In addition, I’d enjoyed Sopel’s 2017 book If Only They Didn’t Speak English: Notes from Trump’s America, so sourcing a copy of this one was really a complete no-brainer.
The book takes the form of a series of diary entries, or postings, in which Sopel updates his thoughts as events unfold. After a brief introduction he kicks off with the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses, in February, and then runs right through to the voting itself in early November. Throughout, it’s pretty clear what he thinks of Trump - i.e. not a lot! - and this conveyed something similar the effect you get from listening to one of the CNN’s daily newscasts. I suppose this is fairly predictable given the journalist’s history with Trump, who had famously referred to Sopel as ‘another beauty’ (this not meant in a good way) when he stood to ask a question during a White House news conference a couple of years back. And so perhaps this whole enterprise is tinged with a certain amount of inbuilt bias, except that each update is supported by enough background information to allow readers to make up their own minds as to whether this is the case. For the record, I found him to be thorough in his analysis and highly logical in his conclusions.
But Biden doesn’t totally escape the author’s scorn either, he’s presented as boring, gaff ridden and virtually invisible for the majority of the campaign. In one telling episode, he watches as Biden looks to stir up support at an event assisted by ex-president Barack Obama and reflecting on their former working relationship states that it’s no surprise that Biden was number two. And even the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, comes in for his share of criticism here – this for his ‘lackadaisical’ handling of the coronavirus crisis. Yes, I think it’s fair to say that Sopel hands out a few more kicks to the groin than he does pats on the back.
My overall impression of this compressed version of the campaign is that of refreshed amazement at just how much happened in the course of ten months, and also just how bizarre the whole thing was. In a way there’s little here that I wasn’t previously aware of but it’s a story that is very well told and consequently thoroughly engrossing. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has an interest politics or in recent history – but please beware if you’re a Trump supporter, it might just increase your blood pressure to medically unsafe levels.
My thanks to Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book takes the form of a series of diary entries, or postings, in which Sopel updates his thoughts as events unfold. After a brief introduction he kicks off with the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses, in February, and then runs right through to the voting itself in early November. Throughout, it’s pretty clear what he thinks of Trump - i.e. not a lot! - and this conveyed something similar the effect you get from listening to one of the CNN’s daily newscasts. I suppose this is fairly predictable given the journalist’s history with Trump, who had famously referred to Sopel as ‘another beauty’ (this not meant in a good way) when he stood to ask a question during a White House news conference a couple of years back. And so perhaps this whole enterprise is tinged with a certain amount of inbuilt bias, except that each update is supported by enough background information to allow readers to make up their own minds as to whether this is the case. For the record, I found him to be thorough in his analysis and highly logical in his conclusions.
But Biden doesn’t totally escape the author’s scorn either, he’s presented as boring, gaff ridden and virtually invisible for the majority of the campaign. In one telling episode, he watches as Biden looks to stir up support at an event assisted by ex-president Barack Obama and reflecting on their former working relationship states that it’s no surprise that Biden was number two. And even the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, comes in for his share of criticism here – this for his ‘lackadaisical’ handling of the coronavirus crisis. Yes, I think it’s fair to say that Sopel hands out a few more kicks to the groin than he does pats on the back.
My overall impression of this compressed version of the campaign is that of refreshed amazement at just how much happened in the course of ten months, and also just how bizarre the whole thing was. In a way there’s little here that I wasn’t previously aware of but it’s a story that is very well told and consequently thoroughly engrossing. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has an interest politics or in recent history – but please beware if you’re a Trump supporter, it might just increase your blood pressure to medically unsafe levels.
My thanks to Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 22, 2021
Having enjoyed, “If only they didn’t speak English,” by Jon Sopel, I was keen to read his latest book (I need to go back and read, “A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump’s White House” and intend to do so). However, now Biden is installed in the White House and calm reigns once more, Sopel’s book will take you back to all that madness. It may have felt like a bad dream, but there was an election campaign – one which started in 2019 and seemed to go on forever; particularly when the man, supposedly in charge, refused point blank to play by the rules.
Sopel takes us back to June, 2019, with 500 days to polling. The bid begins for a second term, with the faithful blindly devoted and politics as entertainment. Throughout this book Sopel meets Steve Bannon (evasive and gossipy apparently), covers the Democrat Presidential hopefuls, follows the (first) Impeachment trial (Trump saved by fear, not love, is Sopel’s assessment) and witnesses the coming of Covid-19, which changes everything.
Along this journey, Jon Sopel is excellent company. We have the oddities of travelling during a pandemic, his musings on family and friends, his upset as Boris conducts Coronavirus and, always, Trump as central and unavoidable drama in unfolding events. Blustering, tweeting, prickly, sensitive, defensive, vilified, adored - shouting over Biden during debates, carrying out a bizarre photo call, giving out dangerous and disquieting hints that the election should be delayed, that he would have to, ‘wait and see,’ whether he would accept the result of the election… Well, we all know what unfolded, but this is an interesting view of events from a front row seat and an interesting insight into a President that it was impossible to ignore.
This is a period of history which almost lacks the power to shock, after witnessing it for over four years. “You couldn’t make this stuff up,” Sopel states, more than once. It is hard not to agree, but this is a fascinating glimpse of the ups and downs of an election race like no other. Sopel is always honest and allows his own thoughts into this book. He is obviously not impressed by Biden and openly shocked, sometimes angered, by Trump. The election may be over, but it is obvious there is much more to unfold and I heartily suggest that Jon Sopel puts his thoughts on paper. I look forward to reading them.
Sopel takes us back to June, 2019, with 500 days to polling. The bid begins for a second term, with the faithful blindly devoted and politics as entertainment. Throughout this book Sopel meets Steve Bannon (evasive and gossipy apparently), covers the Democrat Presidential hopefuls, follows the (first) Impeachment trial (Trump saved by fear, not love, is Sopel’s assessment) and witnesses the coming of Covid-19, which changes everything.
Along this journey, Jon Sopel is excellent company. We have the oddities of travelling during a pandemic, his musings on family and friends, his upset as Boris conducts Coronavirus and, always, Trump as central and unavoidable drama in unfolding events. Blustering, tweeting, prickly, sensitive, defensive, vilified, adored - shouting over Biden during debates, carrying out a bizarre photo call, giving out dangerous and disquieting hints that the election should be delayed, that he would have to, ‘wait and see,’ whether he would accept the result of the election… Well, we all know what unfolded, but this is an interesting view of events from a front row seat and an interesting insight into a President that it was impossible to ignore.
This is a period of history which almost lacks the power to shock, after witnessing it for over four years. “You couldn’t make this stuff up,” Sopel states, more than once. It is hard not to agree, but this is a fascinating glimpse of the ups and downs of an election race like no other. Sopel is always honest and allows his own thoughts into this book. He is obviously not impressed by Biden and openly shocked, sometimes angered, by Trump. The election may be over, but it is obvious there is much more to unfold and I heartily suggest that Jon Sopel puts his thoughts on paper. I look forward to reading them.
January 20, 2021
An intelligent and probing reflection on the USA 2021 elections; the impact of coronavirus on political campaigning and the struggle to vote in person.
Jon Sopel, Mr Reliable, the BBC’s Johnny-on-the-spot is a safe political journalist to guide us through the final days of the Trump administration.
In simple bite-size pieces the author’s management of words and expansive vocabulary fills this diary with gems of observation, balanced insights and many a humorous aside. The writing is clear and factual. Never over-wordy or rambling out of control.
While it has the structure of the election process it is far more than the daily chore of being somewhere, doing a piece to camera and journalistic backslapping. While Sopel is his own man, by default of his own fears and being caught up in the pandemic ,makes for a more human story to be reported that sits well beside his professional duties.
You find yourself warming to a man, concerned about his family, isolation, thanking supportive friends who helped him through and never self absorbed in his image as an important, or crusading journalist. He reports what he sees, he is fair and balanced and never demanding of others to acknowledge his status. I liked his general assessment of Donald Trump, no-one really could predict how it would unfold but Sopel is spot-on regarding how Trump might react in defeat.
A bonus of this political masterpiece is the record of America’s own response to COVID and an impartial summary of how the White House often struggled to respond to this global assault. Our man in Washington is indeed a safe pair of hands and a voice worth listening to on these unbelievable times.
Although a book like this could be over edited benefitting with hindsight, the beauty of this book is that it was written very much in real time. That for me makes for a special energy and immediacy to the comments. It means that the woeful period of transition of power isn’t covered - but that was not the book’s remit. The storming of the Capitol is not so remarkable reading these pages, sadly, the author cannot write a postscript “I told you so!”
What I especially like about this man, Jon Sopel is his humanity and his generous spirit. He has rivalries of course, but he seems never to find fault in others; friends, family and fellow members of the media are held in high regard and with great esteem.
This book is a wonderful peep behind the curtain of a unique time in American history. Thank you Jon for your insights and I wish you well with you day job.
Jon Sopel, Mr Reliable, the BBC’s Johnny-on-the-spot is a safe political journalist to guide us through the final days of the Trump administration.
In simple bite-size pieces the author’s management of words and expansive vocabulary fills this diary with gems of observation, balanced insights and many a humorous aside. The writing is clear and factual. Never over-wordy or rambling out of control.
While it has the structure of the election process it is far more than the daily chore of being somewhere, doing a piece to camera and journalistic backslapping. While Sopel is his own man, by default of his own fears and being caught up in the pandemic ,makes for a more human story to be reported that sits well beside his professional duties.
You find yourself warming to a man, concerned about his family, isolation, thanking supportive friends who helped him through and never self absorbed in his image as an important, or crusading journalist. He reports what he sees, he is fair and balanced and never demanding of others to acknowledge his status. I liked his general assessment of Donald Trump, no-one really could predict how it would unfold but Sopel is spot-on regarding how Trump might react in defeat.
A bonus of this political masterpiece is the record of America’s own response to COVID and an impartial summary of how the White House often struggled to respond to this global assault. Our man in Washington is indeed a safe pair of hands and a voice worth listening to on these unbelievable times.
Although a book like this could be over edited benefitting with hindsight, the beauty of this book is that it was written very much in real time. That for me makes for a special energy and immediacy to the comments. It means that the woeful period of transition of power isn’t covered - but that was not the book’s remit. The storming of the Capitol is not so remarkable reading these pages, sadly, the author cannot write a postscript “I told you so!”
What I especially like about this man, Jon Sopel is his humanity and his generous spirit. He has rivalries of course, but he seems never to find fault in others; friends, family and fellow members of the media are held in high regard and with great esteem.
This book is a wonderful peep behind the curtain of a unique time in American history. Thank you Jon for your insights and I wish you well with you day job.
January 17, 2021
I thought Unpresidented was excellent – and far more interesting and involving than I expected. It is in the form of extracts from Jon Sopel’s journal of the 2020 Presidential Election, starting about 18 months out and ending as Biden and Harris make their victory speeches. It is vivid, insightful and – for me – increasingly gripping as the extraordinary events of 2020 unfold.
Sopel writes very well. I have always found his reporting for the BBC interesting and penetrating and the book has the same qualities, but magnified rather because he is less restrained by the requirements of impartiality. He manages to be objective (although rabid Trump-worshippers probably wouldn’t agree), but is able to point out more forcibly (and often wryly and wittily) some of the absurdities and outrageous behaviour of the Trump administration. He is also able to give a lot more inside information from off-the-record conversations which make the picture all the richer (and often, all the more horrifying). Most people, like me, will remember much of what is described in the book, but having it brought so vividly to life and so shrewdly dissected made this very fresh for me and I ended up wanting to read more to see what happened next.
I found the impact of all this very powerful. A very potent picture emerges of Trump’s behaviour as a man who is interested only in himself, in being adulated by supporters and in being seen as a “winner.” Sopel points out, for example, that a news conferences when over a thousand Americans are dying every day from Covid-19, Trump never addresses this but is interested only in speaking about how mean the media are to him. The context of the pandemic makes the lies and utter lack of principle deeply shocking and the picture of the USA so bitterly divided – especially over race – is stark. Sopel also makes clear that Trump is a formidable figure who is extremely powerful, vindictive, intolerant of any dissent or of anyone who takes his limelight, and possessed of phenomenal energy. The last four years seem much more clearly focussed in my mind after reading this book.
I read and am writing this in the period between the storming of the Capitol building by Trump supporters and the inauguration of Joe Biden. It is a time of extreme tension and we will see what happens next. In the meantime, I found this picture of how the USA arrived at this point to be excellently painted and wholly gripping. I very rarely read political books, but I can recommend this on very warmly indeed.
(My thanks to Ebury for an ARC via NetGalley.)
Sopel writes very well. I have always found his reporting for the BBC interesting and penetrating and the book has the same qualities, but magnified rather because he is less restrained by the requirements of impartiality. He manages to be objective (although rabid Trump-worshippers probably wouldn’t agree), but is able to point out more forcibly (and often wryly and wittily) some of the absurdities and outrageous behaviour of the Trump administration. He is also able to give a lot more inside information from off-the-record conversations which make the picture all the richer (and often, all the more horrifying). Most people, like me, will remember much of what is described in the book, but having it brought so vividly to life and so shrewdly dissected made this very fresh for me and I ended up wanting to read more to see what happened next.
I found the impact of all this very powerful. A very potent picture emerges of Trump’s behaviour as a man who is interested only in himself, in being adulated by supporters and in being seen as a “winner.” Sopel points out, for example, that a news conferences when over a thousand Americans are dying every day from Covid-19, Trump never addresses this but is interested only in speaking about how mean the media are to him. The context of the pandemic makes the lies and utter lack of principle deeply shocking and the picture of the USA so bitterly divided – especially over race – is stark. Sopel also makes clear that Trump is a formidable figure who is extremely powerful, vindictive, intolerant of any dissent or of anyone who takes his limelight, and possessed of phenomenal energy. The last four years seem much more clearly focussed in my mind after reading this book.
I read and am writing this in the period between the storming of the Capitol building by Trump supporters and the inauguration of Joe Biden. It is a time of extreme tension and we will see what happens next. In the meantime, I found this picture of how the USA arrived at this point to be excellently painted and wholly gripping. I very rarely read political books, but I can recommend this on very warmly indeed.
(My thanks to Ebury for an ARC via NetGalley.)
February 13, 2021
Just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps, as Mark Kermode often says about movies, I could like it more if I saw it for what it is, rather than what I wanted it to be.
I thought it was going to be a retrospective, unpacking and analysing each bizarre twist of the 2020 campaign. Instead, the book is written as a day-by-day account of events as they happened, in chronological order. I wish there could have been more of an exploration of how the individual news stories link together and more “behind the camera” detail. My favourite sections were those about press briefings, lunch with congressional insiders, and staying up til 2am to record British TV/radio.
The book is adapted from a diary or a journal, and certain comments hit differently now (in light of the election aftermath and Capitol insurrection) than they would have 6 months ago. Trump’s disregard for political norms, campaign gaffes, and “woman, man, camera, TV” just don’t seem as funny anymore. The repeated references to Joe Biden “in his basement” also irked me!
To be honest, while it was enjoyable, I’m struggling to identify the audience for this book. Anyone interested enough in US politics to pick this up will have been consumed by the last year of the Trump presidency. We have lived it 24 hours a day on Twitter. We watched the votes come in on November 3rd. It feels like the diary format of UnPresidented makes it difficult to break away from what has already been said.
But hey, what do I know. There are plenty of 5 star reviews to say otherwise! If I read it again in a few years I’d probably appreciate it more. It’s a solid summary of this insane period of political history. A good book, just not the one I was hoping it would be.
I thought it was going to be a retrospective, unpacking and analysing each bizarre twist of the 2020 campaign. Instead, the book is written as a day-by-day account of events as they happened, in chronological order. I wish there could have been more of an exploration of how the individual news stories link together and more “behind the camera” detail. My favourite sections were those about press briefings, lunch with congressional insiders, and staying up til 2am to record British TV/radio.
The book is adapted from a diary or a journal, and certain comments hit differently now (in light of the election aftermath and Capitol insurrection) than they would have 6 months ago. Trump’s disregard for political norms, campaign gaffes, and “woman, man, camera, TV” just don’t seem as funny anymore. The repeated references to Joe Biden “in his basement” also irked me!
To be honest, while it was enjoyable, I’m struggling to identify the audience for this book. Anyone interested enough in US politics to pick this up will have been consumed by the last year of the Trump presidency. We have lived it 24 hours a day on Twitter. We watched the votes come in on November 3rd. It feels like the diary format of UnPresidented makes it difficult to break away from what has already been said.
But hey, what do I know. There are plenty of 5 star reviews to say otherwise! If I read it again in a few years I’d probably appreciate it more. It’s a solid summary of this insane period of political history. A good book, just not the one I was hoping it would be.
April 12, 2021
Sopel has been the BBC’s North America Editor since 2014. Whatever the Trump administration’s lasting effects for the nation and for the world, it was at least good for Sopel’s career – he got three books out of covering 45’s nonsense. This third one started off as a diary of the 2020 election campaign, beginning in July 2019, but of course soon morphed into something slightly different: a chronicle of life in D.C. and London during Covid-19 and a record of the Trump mishandling of the pandemic. But as well as a farcical election process and a public health crisis, 2020’s perfect storm also included economic collapse and social upheaval – thanks to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests worldwide plus isolated rioting.
I’ve read six books about 2020 (whether that’s Covid, nature, or just general events) so far. It’s been an unusual experience reliving such recent history. If you’re a big news junkie, you might find the Sopel boring, but I only see peripheral headlines on social media. That meant that this served as a good reminder for me of the timeline of events and the full catalogue of outrages committed by Trump and his cronies. You just have to shake your head over the litany of ridiculous things he said and did, and got away with – any one of which might have sunk another president or candidate. Sopel shares that astonishment:
The style is breezy and off-the-cuff most of the time, so the book reads quickly. There’s a good balance between world events and personal ones, with his family split across the UK and Australia. Overall, though, this has been underedited. A potential issue with any diary is repetition across the entries, and this is no exception. Whether Sopel was submitting chunks or handed in the whole manuscript at once, an editor should have picked up on this – it can be as simple as introducing a key player, e.g. a state governor, on one page and then again a few pages later, as if they’d not been mentioned before. A few tweaks of this type could have made the whole thing more cohesive and added to the sense of growing hindsight, which is one of the best qualities of the narrative. There are also plenty of typos of the kind that a fact-checker should have caught, such as a “Rueben sandwich” and “Rehobeth Beach.”
I appreciated the insight into differences from the British system (for example, there are no campaign spending limits in the USA, so it’s all about fundraising) and Trump’s good points, such as they are – Sopel found him very accessible, even getting to ask him five questions over the course of one news conference. I thought it would be depressing reading back through the events of 2020, but for the most part the knowledge that everything turned out “right” allowed me to see the humor of it. Still, I found it excruciating reading about the four days following the election – I didn’t want to go through all that uncertainty again.
Sopel was not a familiar personality to me because I don’t have a television; I read this because his sister is in my book club, so we’re doing this for our May meeting on Zoom and hope to have the man himself join us. One of the main questions I’m keen to ask is whether his impression of Biden – whom he consistently portrays as old, sleepy, dull, and uninspiring – has improved in the months that he’s been in office. (Granted, anyone was better than Trump, but I think Biden has been impressively bold and has turned the pandemic response around.) I’d also like to know how this book would have been different had Trump won. The final multi-part entry is from 7 November, with only the Introduction reflecting one month later. Certainly, those few pages would have set a completely different tone.
I’ve read six books about 2020 (whether that’s Covid, nature, or just general events) so far. It’s been an unusual experience reliving such recent history. If you’re a big news junkie, you might find the Sopel boring, but I only see peripheral headlines on social media. That meant that this served as a good reminder for me of the timeline of events and the full catalogue of outrages committed by Trump and his cronies. You just have to shake your head over the litany of ridiculous things he said and did, and got away with – any one of which might have sunk another president or candidate. Sopel shares that astonishment:
“That moment when you think something is a game changer for Donald Trump, only to re-remember that Donald Trump has changed the game.”
“It was only a few days ago that I declared the Trump briefing I had been to at the White House the most batshit crazy thing ever. Well, this evening I have been to another one.”
The style is breezy and off-the-cuff most of the time, so the book reads quickly. There’s a good balance between world events and personal ones, with his family split across the UK and Australia. Overall, though, this has been underedited. A potential issue with any diary is repetition across the entries, and this is no exception. Whether Sopel was submitting chunks or handed in the whole manuscript at once, an editor should have picked up on this – it can be as simple as introducing a key player, e.g. a state governor, on one page and then again a few pages later, as if they’d not been mentioned before. A few tweaks of this type could have made the whole thing more cohesive and added to the sense of growing hindsight, which is one of the best qualities of the narrative. There are also plenty of typos of the kind that a fact-checker should have caught, such as a “Rueben sandwich” and “Rehobeth Beach.”
I appreciated the insight into differences from the British system (for example, there are no campaign spending limits in the USA, so it’s all about fundraising) and Trump’s good points, such as they are – Sopel found him very accessible, even getting to ask him five questions over the course of one news conference. I thought it would be depressing reading back through the events of 2020, but for the most part the knowledge that everything turned out “right” allowed me to see the humor of it. Still, I found it excruciating reading about the four days following the election – I didn’t want to go through all that uncertainty again.
Sopel was not a familiar personality to me because I don’t have a television; I read this because his sister is in my book club, so we’re doing this for our May meeting on Zoom and hope to have the man himself join us. One of the main questions I’m keen to ask is whether his impression of Biden – whom he consistently portrays as old, sleepy, dull, and uninspiring – has improved in the months that he’s been in office. (Granted, anyone was better than Trump, but I think Biden has been impressively bold and has turned the pandemic response around.) I’d also like to know how this book would have been different had Trump won. The final multi-part entry is from 7 November, with only the Introduction reflecting one month later. Certainly, those few pages would have set a completely different tone.
February 6, 2021
When people say ’you couldn’t make this sh*t up’ you think, ‘yup, I get what you’re saying but actually, really, you probably could…’ But when it comes to the story of the 2020 US Presential campaign, from the initial candidate nominations right through to the storming of the US Capital in Washington by an armed mob of Trump supporters in January 2021, set against the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic, you have to accept that even if you did make it up, absolutely no-one would believe you.
In his account of this torrid time in US and world events, Jon Sopel publishes his private thoughts from his diary, chronicling events as they unfolded. He’s no fan of the ex-President and throughout the book sets out his bafflement, disapproval and astonishment at the speeches, rallies, policies, decisions and, of course, the presidential late-night tweets.
It’s a fascinating, witty read and in graphic detail it describes how Trump and his team governed the US through the Covid crisis and their presidential re-election campaign. Biden, too, gets some stage time, but in this drama he come over as really just a minor player until we get to the closing scenes.
Great book, really interesting, gripping reading.
In his account of this torrid time in US and world events, Jon Sopel publishes his private thoughts from his diary, chronicling events as they unfolded. He’s no fan of the ex-President and throughout the book sets out his bafflement, disapproval and astonishment at the speeches, rallies, policies, decisions and, of course, the presidential late-night tweets.
It’s a fascinating, witty read and in graphic detail it describes how Trump and his team governed the US through the Covid crisis and their presidential re-election campaign. Biden, too, gets some stage time, but in this drama he come over as really just a minor player until we get to the closing scenes.
Great book, really interesting, gripping reading.
October 9, 2021
Jon Sopel has been the BBC’s North America Editor since 2014. In this partly memoir-partly reportage book, he recounts the day to day journey of reporting the 2020 United States presidential election. The story begins in mid-2019 when it was still uncertain who will be chosen as the nominee for Democratic Party up until the moment Joe Biden was announced as the president-elect on the 7th of November. You will need to appreciate the details and some witty comments that Jon Sopel injected in this book with regards to Biden’s and Trump’s personalities. But in the end, Mr Sopel says ‘election defeat to Trump was what kryptonite was to Superman.’
There is a reason why the 2020 election gives a different flavour and tension compared to the previous ones. We have the Covid-19 pandemic, which was declared a national emergency in the US in March 2020. Mr Sopel is not shy to provide us with personal remarks about how the pandemic is affecting his globalised family, leaving him estranged from his wife and daughter who live in the UK and his son and daughter-in-law in Australia, whereas he was expected to return to the US to cover the election for the BBC. But it is through this mixture of personal experience that he could build sympathy with ordinary people affected by the pandemic, in contrast with the handling of the pandemic by the Trump administration that brought many casualties with death tolls comparable to the whole US military casualties in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined.
Mr Sopel’s analysis is top-notch. And no, this is not a heavy-to-digest political textbook. The language used by Mr Sopel corresponds to what a diary should look like, but still providing in-depth analysis about Trump’s blunders that led to his eventual demise, why Biden won despite the fact that he was labelled ‘sleepy Joe’ not by few, and the turn of tides of the election that bring more favourable outcomes to the Dems in November.
I noticed that there are two important factors that led to Trump’s defeat as Mr Sopel points out in this book. The first is the coronavirus which the White House mishandled, with Trump’s recommendation often in conflict with what his chief health advisor recommended, such as the recommendation to wear a face mask which he vetoed and his decision to hold election rallies with little respect to social distancing protocols. Second, as an incumbent, Trump could no longer blame other politicians or authorities for the fiascos that have happened during the three-and-a-half years of his administration. The logic of Trump’s campaign could no longer hold up his position with a narrative as louse as ‘choose Trump to save America from Trump’s America’.
Overall, UnPresidented is a thought-provoking book, although I don’t know how the tension during the 2020 election will be remembered in the next few decades in history, about two old guys over their seventies fought for the presidency of the US during the time when coronavirus has been claiming a large number of lives with the elderly as its main target. But I’d have to agree that ‘2020 hasn’t been a normal election. 2020 hasn’t been a normal year’.
There is a reason why the 2020 election gives a different flavour and tension compared to the previous ones. We have the Covid-19 pandemic, which was declared a national emergency in the US in March 2020. Mr Sopel is not shy to provide us with personal remarks about how the pandemic is affecting his globalised family, leaving him estranged from his wife and daughter who live in the UK and his son and daughter-in-law in Australia, whereas he was expected to return to the US to cover the election for the BBC. But it is through this mixture of personal experience that he could build sympathy with ordinary people affected by the pandemic, in contrast with the handling of the pandemic by the Trump administration that brought many casualties with death tolls comparable to the whole US military casualties in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined.
Mr Sopel’s analysis is top-notch. And no, this is not a heavy-to-digest political textbook. The language used by Mr Sopel corresponds to what a diary should look like, but still providing in-depth analysis about Trump’s blunders that led to his eventual demise, why Biden won despite the fact that he was labelled ‘sleepy Joe’ not by few, and the turn of tides of the election that bring more favourable outcomes to the Dems in November.
I noticed that there are two important factors that led to Trump’s defeat as Mr Sopel points out in this book. The first is the coronavirus which the White House mishandled, with Trump’s recommendation often in conflict with what his chief health advisor recommended, such as the recommendation to wear a face mask which he vetoed and his decision to hold election rallies with little respect to social distancing protocols. Second, as an incumbent, Trump could no longer blame other politicians or authorities for the fiascos that have happened during the three-and-a-half years of his administration. The logic of Trump’s campaign could no longer hold up his position with a narrative as louse as ‘choose Trump to save America from Trump’s America’.
Overall, UnPresidented is a thought-provoking book, although I don’t know how the tension during the 2020 election will be remembered in the next few decades in history, about two old guys over their seventies fought for the presidency of the US during the time when coronavirus has been claiming a large number of lives with the elderly as its main target. But I’d have to agree that ‘2020 hasn’t been a normal election. 2020 hasn’t been a normal year’.
March 12, 2023
I looooove jon sopes but reading a book about a pandemic we just lived through when I’m also not particularly thriving mentally probably wasn’t the best pick for me at the mo
Also maybe I’ll be a political journalist when I’m older who knows
Also maybe I’ll be a political journalist when I’m older who knows
April 7, 2021
This is a very well written account of the 2020 US Presidential race. Using a diary format makes it concise and pithy, with a welcome dollop of humour and some understandable incredulity on occasion.
The book bears the hallmarks of famed BBC neutrality, so the bonkers statements, tweets and questionable policy decision from the Trump camp are offset with references to Biden’s lack of presence, his age, his capacity to forget things. This was one of the shortcomings of the book for me.
Very few people are going to come to a book about Trump with a neutral opinion. He’s arguably been one if not the most divisive presidents of all time.
On the inside jacket cover there is a reference to “Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail” - a nod to the great Gonzo political journalist Hunter S Thompson. I was left wanting someone to take on Trump in the same way Thompson had taken on Nixon.
Much of this book felt familiar because of Jon Sopel’s very informative and extensive coverage for the BBC during the campaign. It struck me therefore that the book might be of more interest for an American reader wanting to get an outsider’s perspective.
It made me realise I’d really like an American perspective - not someone in either political camp but a Thompson or a PJ O’Rourke, who’s not afraid to take the gloves off.
My other frustration with this book is that it stops on the 7th November. Why not go through to the inauguration? Given the historic events in January linked directly to the election, why wouldn’t you cover the march on Capitol Hill and its aftermath.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is definitely worth reading; I just felt it lacked a cutting edge.
The book bears the hallmarks of famed BBC neutrality, so the bonkers statements, tweets and questionable policy decision from the Trump camp are offset with references to Biden’s lack of presence, his age, his capacity to forget things. This was one of the shortcomings of the book for me.
Very few people are going to come to a book about Trump with a neutral opinion. He’s arguably been one if not the most divisive presidents of all time.
On the inside jacket cover there is a reference to “Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail” - a nod to the great Gonzo political journalist Hunter S Thompson. I was left wanting someone to take on Trump in the same way Thompson had taken on Nixon.
Much of this book felt familiar because of Jon Sopel’s very informative and extensive coverage for the BBC during the campaign. It struck me therefore that the book might be of more interest for an American reader wanting to get an outsider’s perspective.
It made me realise I’d really like an American perspective - not someone in either political camp but a Thompson or a PJ O’Rourke, who’s not afraid to take the gloves off.
My other frustration with this book is that it stops on the 7th November. Why not go through to the inauguration? Given the historic events in January linked directly to the election, why wouldn’t you cover the march on Capitol Hill and its aftermath.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is definitely worth reading; I just felt it lacked a cutting edge.
April 1, 2021
A brilliant and fascinating (and shocking!) look at the events of the past year of American politics and the election. Despite this book describing events over in America I was hooked into all that unfolded and thought Jon sopel helped put more complicated elements of these events into terms that were easy to understand. Highly recommend.
January 27, 2021
Brilliant record of the last tumultuous year of Trumps presidency. Told in Jon Sopels easy style with some personal asides this was a fascinating insight into the crazy complicated world of Americas political system in a time like no other.
April 13, 2021
An excellent, interesting, informative, well-written in real time, diarised account of an incredible year in American politics, telling the story of the defenestration of Donald Trump. Highly recommended.
Read
September 28, 2023Ucas struggle era
March 14, 2021
Peppered with humor, the musings of a BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, are documented in the form of a journal/diary chronicles the interesting events over the last year leading up to the election of Joe Biden.
Although well written, I felt that I didn't gain much from what I already knew. The book lacked depth and there was no fresh perspective offered. Journalists report on the facts, and I felt that this book sums that up. Reporting on the facts.
In fact, I would recommend Bob Woodward's Rage in which he did an excellent job of getting to the heart of the stories in great detail. Stories which made for interesting headlines in the US and around the globe, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of the issues that were at stake and how it was addressed behind closed doors.
Although well written, I felt that I didn't gain much from what I already knew. The book lacked depth and there was no fresh perspective offered. Journalists report on the facts, and I felt that this book sums that up. Reporting on the facts.
In fact, I would recommend Bob Woodward's Rage in which he did an excellent job of getting to the heart of the stories in great detail. Stories which made for interesting headlines in the US and around the globe, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of the issues that were at stake and how it was addressed behind closed doors.
March 10, 2021
Jon Sopel is one of my favourite BBC reporters. Clever, incisive and witty. His USA election reports were generally spot on and this book follows his reporting style.
As BBC North American Editor he was on the election trail of the main candidates and there for the Covid pandemic and the presidency of Donald Trump.
His experience helps him delve below the surface and gives important insight into what he sees in the White House and the ongoing circus around it.
It’s fair to say he’s not a Trump devotee but he also didn’t hold back on Biden and others.
Enjoyable and informative read.
4.5 Stars ⭐️
As BBC North American Editor he was on the election trail of the main candidates and there for the Covid pandemic and the presidency of Donald Trump.
His experience helps him delve below the surface and gives important insight into what he sees in the White House and the ongoing circus around it.
It’s fair to say he’s not a Trump devotee but he also didn’t hold back on Biden and others.
Enjoyable and informative read.
4.5 Stars ⭐️
January 24, 2021
I can safely say I’ve learned more about the US electoral system and its political structure in general over the last few months than in the entire rest of my life. Before, during and particularly after the 2020 election, like - I suspect - many others in the UK, I’ve been glued to the US news in an exhausting combination of anxiety, elation, disbelief and horror. Sopel himself remarks that as lockdown 2 was kicking in, “millions in Britain are at home and seemingly taking a ludicrously unhealthy interest in the US elections”. Yes - I was one of them.
That being so, I was interested to read Jon Sopel’s first hand account of the election, which he describes in an introductory note as “the journalistic assignment of a lifetime”. Indeed it is. Sadly, the diary ends with Biden’s victory and doesn’t cover the even more dramatic events that unfolded between then and the inauguration, as an increasingly desperate president attempted to set fire to democracy to protect his ego and avoid being a loser. A whole book could certainly be written about those two and a half months, and no doubt several will.
Having followed the election pretty closely there weren’t many events which I didn’t already know at least a bit about (which didn’t stop me being horrified anew on countless occasions) but it was interesting and insightful to see it from the point of view of the man on the spot. (Well, some of the time he was on the spot. The pandemic is an ever-present backdrop.)
I’ve never been able to understand how Trump manages to inspire so much devoted support, but Sopel’s book does shed a tiny bit of light on this, referring to his energy and ability to engage with a crowd. It’s alarming to consider how much support he still has in spite of everything - and had it not been for his disastrous handling of the pandemic it’s certainly possible that he could indeed have won the election. Maybe even BY A LOT.
UnPresidented (great title) is a fascinating read, and Sopel has a great way with words and spot-on observations, at times making me laugh out loud (for instance, “a lot of what [Trump] says comes out as an anagram of a properly constructed sentence”).
The presidency of Donald Trump and particularly the last few months have been a wild ride, often horrifying, always interesting. Many words have been and will continue to be written about a bizarre period of history. But, writing this a few days after the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, I can’t be the only one who’s hoping the new administration will bring a healthy dose of calmness. Maybe even a little boredom. How refreshing would that be?
That being so, I was interested to read Jon Sopel’s first hand account of the election, which he describes in an introductory note as “the journalistic assignment of a lifetime”. Indeed it is. Sadly, the diary ends with Biden’s victory and doesn’t cover the even more dramatic events that unfolded between then and the inauguration, as an increasingly desperate president attempted to set fire to democracy to protect his ego and avoid being a loser. A whole book could certainly be written about those two and a half months, and no doubt several will.
Having followed the election pretty closely there weren’t many events which I didn’t already know at least a bit about (which didn’t stop me being horrified anew on countless occasions) but it was interesting and insightful to see it from the point of view of the man on the spot. (Well, some of the time he was on the spot. The pandemic is an ever-present backdrop.)
I’ve never been able to understand how Trump manages to inspire so much devoted support, but Sopel’s book does shed a tiny bit of light on this, referring to his energy and ability to engage with a crowd. It’s alarming to consider how much support he still has in spite of everything - and had it not been for his disastrous handling of the pandemic it’s certainly possible that he could indeed have won the election. Maybe even BY A LOT.
UnPresidented (great title) is a fascinating read, and Sopel has a great way with words and spot-on observations, at times making me laugh out loud (for instance, “a lot of what [Trump] says comes out as an anagram of a properly constructed sentence”).
The presidency of Donald Trump and particularly the last few months have been a wild ride, often horrifying, always interesting. Many words have been and will continue to be written about a bizarre period of history. But, writing this a few days after the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, I can’t be the only one who’s hoping the new administration will bring a healthy dose of calmness. Maybe even a little boredom. How refreshing would that be?
January 24, 2021
Jon Sopel’s journal of the 500 days leading up to the 2029 presidential election in USA is informative, perceptive and wide-ranging.
His previous books about the Trump presidency have clarified some of the arcane aspects of how politics works (and sometimes doesn’t work) in that enormous powerful country that speaks a language which appears much like ours in UK, but doesn’t think like us.
He is witty without being cruel.
The life of BBC news teams in the USA in election time is frantic. And since election time there means almost all the time it’s an unsettled existence. Travelling between so many states and covering so many events is to be expected but this time the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic complicates everything.
I have to admire Jon Sopel’s courage in face of Trump’s hostility and ability to fire up his followers to loathe and attack journalists, mostly but not always verbally, while separated from his wife by the virus. Sopel is Jewish and Trump only likes a very few Jews, and many of his supporters, none at all. Who can forget Charlottesville?
The book ends with Joe Biden’s surprisingly narrow win and as we all know (not a spoiler unless you’ve been asleep for the past two months), the story was far from over. I had hoped it would go on to comment on the aftermath, but we’ll have to wait for the next book.
His previous books about the Trump presidency have clarified some of the arcane aspects of how politics works (and sometimes doesn’t work) in that enormous powerful country that speaks a language which appears much like ours in UK, but doesn’t think like us.
He is witty without being cruel.
The life of BBC news teams in the USA in election time is frantic. And since election time there means almost all the time it’s an unsettled existence. Travelling between so many states and covering so many events is to be expected but this time the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic complicates everything.
I have to admire Jon Sopel’s courage in face of Trump’s hostility and ability to fire up his followers to loathe and attack journalists, mostly but not always verbally, while separated from his wife by the virus. Sopel is Jewish and Trump only likes a very few Jews, and many of his supporters, none at all. Who can forget Charlottesville?
The book ends with Joe Biden’s surprisingly narrow win and as we all know (not a spoiler unless you’ve been asleep for the past two months), the story was far from over. I had hoped it would go on to comment on the aftermath, but we’ll have to wait for the next book.
January 25, 2021
This is the third in Jon Sopel's enjoyable and informative series about the Trump Presidency.
Unlike the first two books, this is in a journal format, which has pros and cons. I like the immediacy of this style, as events are able to unfold without the benefit of hindsight, and we feel again the shock of each crazy twist and turn. However, the downside is that the book is less well written than its predecessors and, whilst it provides an interesting summary of events, there is no chance for reflection or any depth. Listening back to the entire run of the excellent Americast podcast series gives a better sense of the excitement of unfolding events, with the added benefit of sound clips and interviews. In fact, anyone who has listened to the podcast will find much here that is familiar.
And the biggest problem with the book is that, in the hurry to get it published, it misses the grand finale. Anyone who has been watching Trump over the last few months would have known that he wasn't going to go quietly. Unfortunately, rather than continuing up to the inauguration, this book finishes with the official declaration of the Biden victory by "the networks" during the infamous Four Seasons press conference. There is no storming of the Capitol or second impeachment so it feels unfinished. We will have to wait for the paperback!
Unlike the first two books, this is in a journal format, which has pros and cons. I like the immediacy of this style, as events are able to unfold without the benefit of hindsight, and we feel again the shock of each crazy twist and turn. However, the downside is that the book is less well written than its predecessors and, whilst it provides an interesting summary of events, there is no chance for reflection or any depth. Listening back to the entire run of the excellent Americast podcast series gives a better sense of the excitement of unfolding events, with the added benefit of sound clips and interviews. In fact, anyone who has listened to the podcast will find much here that is familiar.
And the biggest problem with the book is that, in the hurry to get it published, it misses the grand finale. Anyone who has been watching Trump over the last few months would have known that he wasn't going to go quietly. Unfortunately, rather than continuing up to the inauguration, this book finishes with the official declaration of the Biden victory by "the networks" during the infamous Four Seasons press conference. There is no storming of the Capitol or second impeachment so it feels unfinished. We will have to wait for the paperback!
January 18, 2021
The BBC’s remit is to "Inform, Educate & Entertain" and Jon Sopel as the North America Editor succeeds at achieving all three of these valuable endeavours in his latest book. His diary entries show the challenges of reporting the facts in a time of a chaotic administration, civil unrest and a brutal pandemic. The run up to the 2020 Presidential election and the aftermath is anything but predictable. Seeing through the American looking class is an interesting and sometimes chaotic experience but mostly due to the sheer incompetence of the administration of the 45th President it’s a bewildering experience.
Sopel’s writing style is easy going and genuine, like a friend telling you a story but one that that seems too strange to be real. But as he’s a trustworthy narrator you know it is. I was eagerly awaiting the publication of UnPresidented for several months, so I was elated to receive a review copy, and it was worth the wait.
I received a copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Sopel’s writing style is easy going and genuine, like a friend telling you a story but one that that seems too strange to be real. But as he’s a trustworthy narrator you know it is. I was eagerly awaiting the publication of UnPresidented for several months, so I was elated to receive a review copy, and it was worth the wait.
I received a copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
June 12, 2021
‘It is now nearly a month since the election was over, and the President is yet to concede. He may never. He won’t do so willingly or with a happy heart, even though the result is clear. But why would you expect this race to conclude with neatly creased wrapping paper, a pretty ribbon and a bow? The Trump presidency hasn’t been like that.’
‘…as a correspondent to be here, covering this period of time has been sometimes exhausting, sometimes exasperating, sometimes exhilarating – but overwhelmingly it’s been unforgettable: the wildest of rides, the journalistic assignment of a lifetime…’
Another book about Donald Trump, this time a journal charting the 2020 election campaign from the perspective of the BBC's Jon Sopel. Once again, pin-sharp commentary and observations delve into the psyche and drama of American politics, and the man who refused to accept the final result.
What is abundantly clear is that for all his bluster and ego, Donald Trump still holds powerful sway over the minds of millions of Americans.
‘Though Democrats might wish it were so, this is not a repudiation of Trump and Trumpism; 2016 was not an aberration. It wasn’t just a crazy, misguided holiday romance that they have now thought better of. Tens of millions of Americans watched what he did over the four years he was president, and were happy to renew the contract for another term.'
Jon Sopel is right. It was far more interesting following a Trump presidency than it would have been covering a Hillary Clinton one. It was certainly never dull and at times baffling. Two examples:
(4 October) ‘…rolling up towards us comes the unmistakable sight of the presidential motorcade, moving at about three miles an hour. Surely not? Surely not a Covid joy ride? But yes, it is. The world’s most impatient patient, with a mask on his face, diagnosed with coronavirus only three days earlier and still infectious, is waving to his supporters.’
(23 April) ‘We have had the President advocating the merits of hydroxychloroquine, sure…But injecting bleach into our veins so that we can wash out our lungs? Holy moly.’
‘In the past he has done and said things that have caused people to gasp. He’s been insensitive. He’s been a bit sexist, or perceived to be a bit racist. But tonight he’s said something off the scale dumb.’
Trump's rhetoric wasn't always easy to digest, he didn't enjoy negative stories and constantly changed the personnel around him. He disagreed with scientists and other advisors and called fraud on the postal ballot system, one which he and his wife both used.
Could the world have taken another four years of Donald Trump as POTUS? One thing for sure, it would have been entertaining. Presidency as reality show drew crowds and generated headlines, but in the end what undid Donald Trump was a foe he couldn't fire or verbally harangue.
‘For three and a half years the President has been able to define his own reality; to bend and fashion facts to suit his own narrative. The coronavirus has been unimpressed by his efforts. This has been a foe like none that Donald Trump has faced. And he has had to bend to its will. Not the other way round.’
The other factor was a political opponent Donald Trump wasn't able to stick anything substantial onto, unlike Hillary Clinton.
‘He [Joe Biden] may be old, he may make the odd verbal slip, he may not have been the most inspiring candidate, this might have been his third attempt to win the presidency, after the best part of half a century in public life, but as I watch the scene unfold I am left with one powerful thought: whatever his shortcomings, could anyone else have beaten Donald Trump? Almost certainly not.’
This is a wild ride and an engaging one. I suspect Jon Sopel will miss Donald Trump, and who is to say that American politics has seen the last of him and his family.
‘…as a correspondent to be here, covering this period of time has been sometimes exhausting, sometimes exasperating, sometimes exhilarating – but overwhelmingly it’s been unforgettable: the wildest of rides, the journalistic assignment of a lifetime…’
Another book about Donald Trump, this time a journal charting the 2020 election campaign from the perspective of the BBC's Jon Sopel. Once again, pin-sharp commentary and observations delve into the psyche and drama of American politics, and the man who refused to accept the final result.
What is abundantly clear is that for all his bluster and ego, Donald Trump still holds powerful sway over the minds of millions of Americans.
‘Though Democrats might wish it were so, this is not a repudiation of Trump and Trumpism; 2016 was not an aberration. It wasn’t just a crazy, misguided holiday romance that they have now thought better of. Tens of millions of Americans watched what he did over the four years he was president, and were happy to renew the contract for another term.'
Jon Sopel is right. It was far more interesting following a Trump presidency than it would have been covering a Hillary Clinton one. It was certainly never dull and at times baffling. Two examples:
(4 October) ‘…rolling up towards us comes the unmistakable sight of the presidential motorcade, moving at about three miles an hour. Surely not? Surely not a Covid joy ride? But yes, it is. The world’s most impatient patient, with a mask on his face, diagnosed with coronavirus only three days earlier and still infectious, is waving to his supporters.’
(23 April) ‘We have had the President advocating the merits of hydroxychloroquine, sure…But injecting bleach into our veins so that we can wash out our lungs? Holy moly.’
‘In the past he has done and said things that have caused people to gasp. He’s been insensitive. He’s been a bit sexist, or perceived to be a bit racist. But tonight he’s said something off the scale dumb.’
Trump's rhetoric wasn't always easy to digest, he didn't enjoy negative stories and constantly changed the personnel around him. He disagreed with scientists and other advisors and called fraud on the postal ballot system, one which he and his wife both used.
Could the world have taken another four years of Donald Trump as POTUS? One thing for sure, it would have been entertaining. Presidency as reality show drew crowds and generated headlines, but in the end what undid Donald Trump was a foe he couldn't fire or verbally harangue.
‘For three and a half years the President has been able to define his own reality; to bend and fashion facts to suit his own narrative. The coronavirus has been unimpressed by his efforts. This has been a foe like none that Donald Trump has faced. And he has had to bend to its will. Not the other way round.’
The other factor was a political opponent Donald Trump wasn't able to stick anything substantial onto, unlike Hillary Clinton.
‘He [Joe Biden] may be old, he may make the odd verbal slip, he may not have been the most inspiring candidate, this might have been his third attempt to win the presidency, after the best part of half a century in public life, but as I watch the scene unfold I am left with one powerful thought: whatever his shortcomings, could anyone else have beaten Donald Trump? Almost certainly not.’
This is a wild ride and an engaging one. I suspect Jon Sopel will miss Donald Trump, and who is to say that American politics has seen the last of him and his family.
May 3, 2023
When should you read a book like Unpresidented, the 2020 American presidential campaign diary by then BBC journo Jon Sopel? I started a long time ago, planning to interact with the book in the spirit in which it was meant: an election diary compiled at speed from daily entries. I was hoping to finish by Joe Biden’s inauguration. But then we all got distracted by the attack on the Capitol on 6 January. So I put the book away. Then the paperback came out, and I had another go. It was a good read but I wasn’t sure how to process it. It’s hard to know when to read the first draft of analysis when the circus is still rolling through town. Last week, the legal actions between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, about Fox’s coverage of the attacks, came to a close. This week, the British papers are covering Anthony Seldon’s snap analysis of Johnson at 10. It seems appropriate to reconsider Sopel’s tale from the trail as he tried to follow the man we might call ‘America Johnson’.
Both Johnson and Trump’s successors see themselves as the grown-ups clearing up the mess following the toddlers’ birthday parties. Sopel’s introduction to the hardback edition concedes the problem: ‘Let me make one prediction [of Biden’s administration] - journalistically it will be nothing like as story-rich or entertaining’. That in itself is a telling prediction: that an exhausted public would welcome government that presented itself as boring but competent. The distance of time means we know that that has only partially happened: in the US the temperature has barely dropped, and here the UK government is doing its best to stoke the culture war.
We always knew that this would not be the book the Sopel set out to write. The back of the updated paperback edition gives a hint. ‘Fear and loathing on the campaign trail…’ it purrs. And no one is better at fear and loathing than the participants of an American presidential election. But of course, this is a reference to the 1972 classic by Hunter S Thompson which applied the principles of ‘gonzo journalism’ to the genre. It’s fair to say that Sopel expected fireworks. An early tale describes bully-boy behaviour by snarling press aides towards the journalist pack. But all too quickly we are overtaken by the pandemic. We learn a lot about Sopel criss-crossing the globe or delivering interviews from a hotel wardrobe, but have fewer of the spittle-flecked encounters that we were perhaps expecting.
That’s not necessarily a problem. How many of those sorts of anecdotes do we really need? Perhaps we are all the better for reading Sopel’s attempts to make sense of it all in real time and remembering just how bewildering was the onslaught of the senses. It’s easy to forget just how bizarre the 2020 election campaign became: intertwined with the Trump administration’s chaotic response to the pandemic, layered with lockdown and the strange optics of socially distanced (or not) rallies. Sopel’s diaries will have some historical interest as our memories of that time fade. In 2023 we have both recent memory and perspective, and as Trump and Biden tease us about a 2024 rematch now is a good time to revisit the thrills, spills and pills of an election like no other.
Both Johnson and Trump’s successors see themselves as the grown-ups clearing up the mess following the toddlers’ birthday parties. Sopel’s introduction to the hardback edition concedes the problem: ‘Let me make one prediction [of Biden’s administration] - journalistically it will be nothing like as story-rich or entertaining’. That in itself is a telling prediction: that an exhausted public would welcome government that presented itself as boring but competent. The distance of time means we know that that has only partially happened: in the US the temperature has barely dropped, and here the UK government is doing its best to stoke the culture war.
We always knew that this would not be the book the Sopel set out to write. The back of the updated paperback edition gives a hint. ‘Fear and loathing on the campaign trail…’ it purrs. And no one is better at fear and loathing than the participants of an American presidential election. But of course, this is a reference to the 1972 classic by Hunter S Thompson which applied the principles of ‘gonzo journalism’ to the genre. It’s fair to say that Sopel expected fireworks. An early tale describes bully-boy behaviour by snarling press aides towards the journalist pack. But all too quickly we are overtaken by the pandemic. We learn a lot about Sopel criss-crossing the globe or delivering interviews from a hotel wardrobe, but have fewer of the spittle-flecked encounters that we were perhaps expecting.
That’s not necessarily a problem. How many of those sorts of anecdotes do we really need? Perhaps we are all the better for reading Sopel’s attempts to make sense of it all in real time and remembering just how bewildering was the onslaught of the senses. It’s easy to forget just how bizarre the 2020 election campaign became: intertwined with the Trump administration’s chaotic response to the pandemic, layered with lockdown and the strange optics of socially distanced (or not) rallies. Sopel’s diaries will have some historical interest as our memories of that time fade. In 2023 we have both recent memory and perspective, and as Trump and Biden tease us about a 2024 rematch now is a good time to revisit the thrills, spills and pills of an election like no other.
March 27, 2021
Jon Sopel perhaps sums up 2020 most effectively in this book when he says "in a movie this would be edited out for being too cliché."
Ostensibly the diary of a political correspondent on the 2020 US Presidential election campaign trail, it was inevitable that a year like 2020 would force the book to enlarge its scope. Though it all happened mere months ago, it's easy to forget that in a single year, we saw the US election, the global pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement - all seismic events in their own right.
Indeed, so much happened in 2020 that a lot of the events in this book triggered a kind of 'oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that!' response in me, despite being recent news.
Remember when Trump told us all to inject bleach? Remember when the million attendees signed up to the Tulsa rally turned out to be TikTok trolls? Remember when the Trump campaign booked the parking lot of a landscaping company rather than the Four Seasons Hotel for a press conference? Jon Sopel is right that you couldn't make it up.
It would be easy to assume an account of the 2020 presidential race would just be an account of all the times Donald Trump topped his own previous outlandish behaviour, but the book does cover both sides of the election. Nor is Joe Biden given an easy ride: the author makes clear that the Biden campaign lacked vigour, and its success largely relied firstly upon the fact that Biden isn't Donald Trump, and secondly on help from allies with more star power such as Kamala Harris and a certain Barack Obama. A septuagenarian race for power has also resulted in a situation where, in the author's words, "the old line about the VP being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office has never been more pertinent."
But let's be honest, you read these books for the gossip. If I wanted to remind myself what happened in the last year, I could visit Wikipedia. I picked up the book in the hope of getting backstage access - what happened that we didn't see? What's it like covering the biggest circus on Earth: a Trump presidency, in an election year, during a global pandemic? These were the times when the book became most interesting to me - for example the author relating how he was able to freely roam metres from the Oval Office without a mask, or how - in a country notorious for adding taxes and tips to everything - the author found himself facing a restaurant bill with $30 added on for "PPE."
I was left wanting more of these snippets of insight, but then again, I suppose this isn't Jon Sopel's autobiography - perhaps that's to come one day!
The book ends with the election being called for Biden (spoilers), so also misses Trump's subsequent Twitter unravelling and the shocking events at the Capitol on January 6th.
And I honestly don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
Ostensibly the diary of a political correspondent on the 2020 US Presidential election campaign trail, it was inevitable that a year like 2020 would force the book to enlarge its scope. Though it all happened mere months ago, it's easy to forget that in a single year, we saw the US election, the global pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement - all seismic events in their own right.
Indeed, so much happened in 2020 that a lot of the events in this book triggered a kind of 'oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that!' response in me, despite being recent news.
Remember when Trump told us all to inject bleach? Remember when the million attendees signed up to the Tulsa rally turned out to be TikTok trolls? Remember when the Trump campaign booked the parking lot of a landscaping company rather than the Four Seasons Hotel for a press conference? Jon Sopel is right that you couldn't make it up.
It would be easy to assume an account of the 2020 presidential race would just be an account of all the times Donald Trump topped his own previous outlandish behaviour, but the book does cover both sides of the election. Nor is Joe Biden given an easy ride: the author makes clear that the Biden campaign lacked vigour, and its success largely relied firstly upon the fact that Biden isn't Donald Trump, and secondly on help from allies with more star power such as Kamala Harris and a certain Barack Obama. A septuagenarian race for power has also resulted in a situation where, in the author's words, "the old line about the VP being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office has never been more pertinent."
But let's be honest, you read these books for the gossip. If I wanted to remind myself what happened in the last year, I could visit Wikipedia. I picked up the book in the hope of getting backstage access - what happened that we didn't see? What's it like covering the biggest circus on Earth: a Trump presidency, in an election year, during a global pandemic? These were the times when the book became most interesting to me - for example the author relating how he was able to freely roam metres from the Oval Office without a mask, or how - in a country notorious for adding taxes and tips to everything - the author found himself facing a restaurant bill with $30 added on for "PPE."
I was left wanting more of these snippets of insight, but then again, I suppose this isn't Jon Sopel's autobiography - perhaps that's to come one day!
The book ends with the election being called for Biden (spoilers), so also misses Trump's subsequent Twitter unravelling and the shocking events at the Capitol on January 6th.
And I honestly don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
November 2, 2021
With a lack of distraction due to covid and a level of interest thanks to Trump, 2020 was one of the few years that I followed US politics at all. Sopel's diary was a good summary and was free of the grating partisanship of American coverage, but it was also fairly concise and didn't add much for anyone that followed it in real time.
I wasn't expecting a Fall Out level of detail but this was nonetheless quite easy, noting down what happened in the course of his day as North American editor. The personal touches were generally poor jokes or the effects of covid restrictions, which may have made it more relatable compared with trips to a diplomat's residence or first class intercontinental plane travel, but wasn't particularly unique. You did get the odd nugget of interest from said diplomatic excursions and it's clear that Sopel puts his professional integrity ahead of the witty snide remark, but this was an accessible read rather than an amusing one.
There were other annoying elements to the diary format, as the entries were generally written in standard English prose but he'd regularly drop the 'I' at the start of sentences. Felt that would have been fine if written in a shorthand style but when he continued into lengthy clauses it didn't make sense to drop the pronoun. As a reader we have to assume he hasn't done a Cummings and edited his comments with the benefit of hindsight, but it was interesting that he wasn't all that sold on Biden, and he acknowledges the reality that Trump has a sizeable amount of fervent supporters.
Ultimately, I'm just not sure who this was written for, keen followers having heard it all before and the vaguely interested probably not aware enough of the American political process and its key figures. It wasn't bad, and was fairly concise, but nor was it particularly unique - I don't know what anyone would pick out to recommend about it.
I wasn't expecting a Fall Out level of detail but this was nonetheless quite easy, noting down what happened in the course of his day as North American editor. The personal touches were generally poor jokes or the effects of covid restrictions, which may have made it more relatable compared with trips to a diplomat's residence or first class intercontinental plane travel, but wasn't particularly unique. You did get the odd nugget of interest from said diplomatic excursions and it's clear that Sopel puts his professional integrity ahead of the witty snide remark, but this was an accessible read rather than an amusing one.
There were other annoying elements to the diary format, as the entries were generally written in standard English prose but he'd regularly drop the 'I' at the start of sentences. Felt that would have been fine if written in a shorthand style but when he continued into lengthy clauses it didn't make sense to drop the pronoun. As a reader we have to assume he hasn't done a Cummings and edited his comments with the benefit of hindsight, but it was interesting that he wasn't all that sold on Biden, and he acknowledges the reality that Trump has a sizeable amount of fervent supporters.
Ultimately, I'm just not sure who this was written for, keen followers having heard it all before and the vaguely interested probably not aware enough of the American political process and its key figures. It wasn't bad, and was fairly concise, but nor was it particularly unique - I don't know what anyone would pick out to recommend about it.
October 20, 2021
Another good read from Sopel. Wry humour and complete astonishment throughout his diary. It’s a pity the book ends when it does, though it gives him the opportunity to write another and cover January, or perhaps not as yesterday he announced on Twitter he is leaving DC.
A beef with the book was that I felt he over explained (for example no need to explain what a hot mic is - even if a reader was familiar with the term it would be obvious from the context).
“Un-bloody-believable. Because of what Donald Trump said from the presidential podium last night, a leading manufacturer of bleach is having to issue a statement saying whatever you do, don’t try main-lining bleach.”
“There is another tweet in which the President protests that he has been working so hard, and that he hasn’t left the White House for months. Well, one, you would expect the leader of the world’s pre-eminent superpower to be working hard during a global pandemic”
“It seems that everything – I mean everything – that this government has decided to do has been two weeks too late.” Referring to the UK government. I agree with him but later in 2020 the two weeks extended to four or five weeks.
“But the Swan/Wallace exchanges have shown America’s rather deferential and, dare I say, obsequious interviewers that there is a more rigorous way of doing things.”
A beef with the book was that I felt he over explained (for example no need to explain what a hot mic is - even if a reader was familiar with the term it would be obvious from the context).
“Un-bloody-believable. Because of what Donald Trump said from the presidential podium last night, a leading manufacturer of bleach is having to issue a statement saying whatever you do, don’t try main-lining bleach.”
“There is another tweet in which the President protests that he has been working so hard, and that he hasn’t left the White House for months. Well, one, you would expect the leader of the world’s pre-eminent superpower to be working hard during a global pandemic”
“It seems that everything – I mean everything – that this government has decided to do has been two weeks too late.” Referring to the UK government. I agree with him but later in 2020 the two weeks extended to four or five weeks.
“But the Swan/Wallace exchanges have shown America’s rather deferential and, dare I say, obsequious interviewers that there is a more rigorous way of doing things.”
October 10, 2021
The definitive account of the Trump presidency is still along way off being written - but numerous books have already been published which have set out the period 2016-2020 in all its jaw dropping & frightening craziness.
This is Jon Sopel’s third book about his time as as the BBC’s North American Editor, and this one is a campaign diary about the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Sopel had a ring side seat and he documents the increasingly bizarre events that were an almost daily occurrence of the Trump White House. There’s a general feeling that Sopel can’t quite believe some of the things he witnessed, there’s a general feeling of wry amusement, very occasionally punctured with cold fury.
What strikes me throughout (as it did with his previous book) is that he is much more free to set out his own feelings about Trump, and whilst you still feel the hand of BBC impartiality on his shoulder, you are left in no doubt what he thinks of Trump.
The book ends on the ‘happy ending’ of Biden winning the election, however whether that means the end of Trump as a force I’m really not sure. I desperately hope to see him in an Orange Jumpsuit by 2024 rather than in the White House.
This is Jon Sopel’s third book about his time as as the BBC’s North American Editor, and this one is a campaign diary about the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Sopel had a ring side seat and he documents the increasingly bizarre events that were an almost daily occurrence of the Trump White House. There’s a general feeling that Sopel can’t quite believe some of the things he witnessed, there’s a general feeling of wry amusement, very occasionally punctured with cold fury.
What strikes me throughout (as it did with his previous book) is that he is much more free to set out his own feelings about Trump, and whilst you still feel the hand of BBC impartiality on his shoulder, you are left in no doubt what he thinks of Trump.
The book ends on the ‘happy ending’ of Biden winning the election, however whether that means the end of Trump as a force I’m really not sure. I desperately hope to see him in an Orange Jumpsuit by 2024 rather than in the White House.
September 12, 2021
I really enjoyed Jon Sopel's book about the run-up to the 2020 US Presidential election. It was written in a diary format and took the reader through the, often bizarre, twists and turns of the election campaign, with the extra curve-ball of a pandemic thrown in. It was good to be reminded of many of the events and although I followed the US election pretty closely there were still things that were new to me.
As a journalist, Sopel would be used to quickly interpreting and putting perspective on events, sometimes as they are actually unfolding. So, given the diary format of the book, I would be interested to know how much of the book was based on the contemporary account and how much of it was finessed with the benefit of hindsight. But that doesn't detract from the book itself.
This is the second of Sopel's books that I've read - the other being A Year at the Circus. The previous book, also about Trump's time in office, was in part based around various themes and was also a really fascinating read. I hope there is more to come from Jon Sopel.
As a journalist, Sopel would be used to quickly interpreting and putting perspective on events, sometimes as they are actually unfolding. So, given the diary format of the book, I would be interested to know how much of the book was based on the contemporary account and how much of it was finessed with the benefit of hindsight. But that doesn't detract from the book itself.
This is the second of Sopel's books that I've read - the other being A Year at the Circus. The previous book, also about Trump's time in office, was in part based around various themes and was also a really fascinating read. I hope there is more to come from Jon Sopel.
October 9, 2021
Just brilliant.
A thrillingly personal but extraordinarily well written look into Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign in the form of the diary of Jon Sopel, one of BBC North America’s main editors.
He takes you through the highs and lows (both personally and politically) of the 503 days between the start of the presidential campaign trail in Florida and November 3rd 2020 in incredible detail.
I followed a significant part of this book’s events in real time, and even then i was blown away by the sheer detail i had missed- or the conversations he revealed had taken place between politicians or journalists only a select few had been privy too.
An incredible read, that grips you right up until the end with its commentary and doesn’t let go.
I didn’t know very much about Jon Sopel- I’d only heard his name in passing before- but rest assured i will be following him and his journalism much more closely now.
A thrillingly personal but extraordinarily well written look into Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign in the form of the diary of Jon Sopel, one of BBC North America’s main editors.
He takes you through the highs and lows (both personally and politically) of the 503 days between the start of the presidential campaign trail in Florida and November 3rd 2020 in incredible detail.
I followed a significant part of this book’s events in real time, and even then i was blown away by the sheer detail i had missed- or the conversations he revealed had taken place between politicians or journalists only a select few had been privy too.
An incredible read, that grips you right up until the end with its commentary and doesn’t let go.
I didn’t know very much about Jon Sopel- I’d only heard his name in passing before- but rest assured i will be following him and his journalism much more closely now.
January 13, 2021
I have just finished “Unpresidented” which has taken over my life for the last week or so. What a rollercoaster of a read. it provides a forensic close up view of the US election written by the BBC's eminent Washington correspondent who is always close to the action - sometimes a bit too close at times given the COVID scares. If it was fiction it would be laughed out of court given how totally incredible what has transpired over the past few months. You really could not make much of this up.
This is the third of a trilogy of books by Jon Sopel and it completes a truly important body of work. it is extremely prescient in how it predicts that Trump will respond in the face of defeat and I just hope and pray there isn’t a final chapter still to be written given last week's storming of the Capital.
This is the third of a trilogy of books by Jon Sopel and it completes a truly important body of work. it is extremely prescient in how it predicts that Trump will respond in the face of defeat and I just hope and pray there isn’t a final chapter still to be written given last week's storming of the Capital.
April 20, 2022
This is the third of Jon Sopel's books covering Trump in office, as the BBC's White House correspondent.
Yes, that's right. YET ANOTHER Trump book for this sub-genre that has taken on a life of it's own and bookshelves all over the world.
UNPRESIDENTED covers the 45th President's truly masterful handling of the Covid pandemic and his front row view of the Liar-in-Cheif's absolutely bizarre press conferences and many rallies across the country, right up to election day itself. Frustratingly (for at least the author, at least), the book comes to an end before the Jan 6th attempted coup, which would have succeded were it not for it being organised and attended solely by idiots.
Maybe they let him do it in the paperback, but then the farce is still going on. So perhaps more books for Jon. Fascinating read it is though.
Yes, that's right. YET ANOTHER Trump book for this sub-genre that has taken on a life of it's own and bookshelves all over the world.
UNPRESIDENTED covers the 45th President's truly masterful handling of the Covid pandemic and his front row view of the Liar-in-Cheif's absolutely bizarre press conferences and many rallies across the country, right up to election day itself. Frustratingly (for at least the author, at least), the book comes to an end before the Jan 6th attempted coup, which would have succeded were it not for it being organised and attended solely by idiots.
Maybe they let him do it in the paperback, but then the farce is still going on. So perhaps more books for Jon. Fascinating read it is though.
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