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Presidency of Donald Trump #2
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show
Picking up where the New York Times bestselling Front Row at the Trump Show left off, this is the explosive look at the aftermath of the election--and the events that followed Donald Trump's leaving the White House--from ABC News' chief Washington correspondent.
Nobody is in a better position to tell the story of the shocking final chapter of the Trump show than Jonathan Karl. As the reporter who has known Donald Trump longer than any other White House correspondent, Karl told the story of Trump's rise in the New York Times bestseller Front Row at the Trump Show. Now he tells the story of Trump's downfall, complete with riveting behind-the-scenes accounts of some of the darkest days in the history of the American presidency and packed with original reporting and on-the-record interviews with central figures in this drama who are telling their stories for the first time.
This is a definitive account of what was really going on during the final weeks and months of the Trump presidency and what it means for the future of the Republican Party, by a reporter who was there for it all. He has been taunted, praised, and vilified by Donald Trump, and now Jonathan Karl finds himself in a singular position to deliver the truth.
Nobody is in a better position to tell the story of the shocking final chapter of the Trump show than Jonathan Karl. As the reporter who has known Donald Trump longer than any other White House correspondent, Karl told the story of Trump's rise in the New York Times bestseller Front Row at the Trump Show. Now he tells the story of Trump's downfall, complete with riveting behind-the-scenes accounts of some of the darkest days in the history of the American presidency and packed with original reporting and on-the-record interviews with central figures in this drama who are telling their stories for the first time.
This is a definitive account of what was really going on during the final weeks and months of the Trump presidency and what it means for the future of the Republican Party, by a reporter who was there for it all. He has been taunted, praised, and vilified by Donald Trump, and now Jonathan Karl finds himself in a singular position to deliver the truth.
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First published November 16, 2021
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December 8, 2021
(In actuality, the book is really a 4 star read - I bumped it up to counteract those Rethuglicans [sic] who actually didn't read it [can any of them even read beyond the 4th grade level of their Fearless Leader?], but thought they'd be SOOO clever rating it one star.]
Had I not already read Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, this might have been more of a revelation ... only the final few chapters contained any new info that wasn't also in Wolff's book. But the more accurate documents on the treasonous actions of Mango Mussolini and his nefarious minions we have, the better - especially since a whopping 38% of the GQP (sic) still believe the election was stolen and that El Cheapo del Mar-a-Lardo is going to be reinstated by the end of the year - what are these numb-nuts smoking?
Regardless, this is a riveting and fast -paced book - I read it in less than a day. My only minor quibble is that it could have used some better editing, in particular the author's tendency to repeat info he's already stated: e.g. "Trump said, 'If you lose a lot nobody's going to follow you, because you're looked at as a loser.' and then at the end of the very next paragraph: 'As he told D'Antonio, "If you lose a lot, nobody's going to follow you." (pp. 661-2 in the ebook edition)
Had I not already read Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, this might have been more of a revelation ... only the final few chapters contained any new info that wasn't also in Wolff's book. But the more accurate documents on the treasonous actions of Mango Mussolini and his nefarious minions we have, the better - especially since a whopping 38% of the GQP (sic) still believe the election was stolen and that El Cheapo del Mar-a-Lardo is going to be reinstated by the end of the year - what are these numb-nuts smoking?
Regardless, this is a riveting and fast -paced book - I read it in less than a day. My only minor quibble is that it could have used some better editing, in particular the author's tendency to repeat info he's already stated: e.g. "Trump said, 'If you lose a lot nobody's going to follow you, because you're looked at as a loser.' and then at the end of the very next paragraph: 'As he told D'Antonio, "If you lose a lot, nobody's going to follow you." (pp. 661-2 in the ebook edition)
September 19, 2023
Why do I continue to read books about the Trump administration especially when they may cover the same topics? It's the different perspectives that make every decision made by Trump and the administration even more interesting. I didn't realize that this was the follow up to another book by Karl so I will be going back to read that.
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show is a well-documented account of the final moments of the Trump administration. As many reviewers have stated, a lot of the information that is included within this book may not be new to those who have followed the news. However, as I have stated earlier, I think that I continue to read and process these books because every perspective is unique. Karl did provide some interesting facts that I wasn't familiar with including the fact that Trump wanted to wear a Superman shirt under his suit to show to everyone after he was discharged from Walter Reed, the fact that it was McConnell who disinvited Trump to the inauguration, and some other bits of information. One thing that remains the same in all of my reads of these books is that Trump ran an administration that wasn't about morality, but loyalty. While I saw this in relationships that Trump had with many people that he encountered during his time as President, it was so clear in the final moments that he shared with Pence. While I'm not a fan of Pence, I do find it rather tragic, yet not surprising that Trump willingly threw Pence under the bus when he refused to overturn an entire election process. The manipulating, self-serving attitude that Trump held proves, to me, that he had no business being President from the beginning. He single handedly changed the face of American democracy forever.
One thing that I enjoyed about Karl's narrative of the Trump administration, is that he had unique access to key individuals during the Trump administration. It made the story more compelling for me as a reader and there were a few things that I was actively unaware of. There was a specific story related to the accusation of Italy being at the forefront of the "stolen" 2020 election that blew my mind. I won't get into the specific details here, but it involved a fake heiress who was able to get access to some pretty high ranking officials to warn them about how the election was stolen. It made me think about the amount of people who worked and continue to work in our government who are willing to do anything to perpetuate lies for their personal benefit and/or gain. And to be quite honest, it makes me quite fearful of what will come for the US in the future. One thing that Karl does at the end that I did appreciate was the acknowledgement that while everyone in the administration didn't make the right decisions, they made decisions that prevented Trump from making even more disastrous choices.
Overall, this was a nicely written non-fiction political book on the Trump administration. If you decide to check it out, I would recommend listening to it on audio as Karl includes sound bites which adds a unique feel to the book as a whole.
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show is a well-documented account of the final moments of the Trump administration. As many reviewers have stated, a lot of the information that is included within this book may not be new to those who have followed the news. However, as I have stated earlier, I think that I continue to read and process these books because every perspective is unique. Karl did provide some interesting facts that I wasn't familiar with including the fact that Trump wanted to wear a Superman shirt under his suit to show to everyone after he was discharged from Walter Reed, the fact that it was McConnell who disinvited Trump to the inauguration, and some other bits of information. One thing that remains the same in all of my reads of these books is that Trump ran an administration that wasn't about morality, but loyalty. While I saw this in relationships that Trump had with many people that he encountered during his time as President, it was so clear in the final moments that he shared with Pence. While I'm not a fan of Pence, I do find it rather tragic, yet not surprising that Trump willingly threw Pence under the bus when he refused to overturn an entire election process. The manipulating, self-serving attitude that Trump held proves, to me, that he had no business being President from the beginning. He single handedly changed the face of American democracy forever.
One thing that I enjoyed about Karl's narrative of the Trump administration, is that he had unique access to key individuals during the Trump administration. It made the story more compelling for me as a reader and there were a few things that I was actively unaware of. There was a specific story related to the accusation of Italy being at the forefront of the "stolen" 2020 election that blew my mind. I won't get into the specific details here, but it involved a fake heiress who was able to get access to some pretty high ranking officials to warn them about how the election was stolen. It made me think about the amount of people who worked and continue to work in our government who are willing to do anything to perpetuate lies for their personal benefit and/or gain. And to be quite honest, it makes me quite fearful of what will come for the US in the future. One thing that Karl does at the end that I did appreciate was the acknowledgement that while everyone in the administration didn't make the right decisions, they made decisions that prevented Trump from making even more disastrous choices.
Overall, this was a nicely written non-fiction political book on the Trump administration. If you decide to check it out, I would recommend listening to it on audio as Karl includes sound bites which adds a unique feel to the book as a whole.
November 14, 2021
Once again, Trump's flat world brigade is on the move. I'll give them one thing, they're seemingly indefatigable in the service of their transfer student and in their denial of facts and traditional values. Trump himself, an unabashed name dropper, was impressed to be interviewed by Jonathan Karl. Ask the people he introduced Karl to in the lobby of his acolyte-funded residence. Karl has a long and admirable record. I will be reading Karl's book but in the meantime, I've been impressed by the interviews I've seen. This intermediate review of the book is meant to counterbalance the FWB. [Edited to add: By 'traditional values' I mean the actual principles and standards of behavior we have a long established history of esteeming and aspiring to. For example: honesty, hard work, decency, kindness, generosity, education...to name a few. Also, I had to remove the book and repeat this review because it wasn't showing up on the book page. Consequently, a "like" was deleted. Sorry kind-fellow-GR member.][And I also fixed a typo. : ) ]
November 22, 2021
Everyone needs to read this before the 2024 primaries!
November 20, 2021
A meticulous and well-sourced account of one of the most shameful and disastrous final years of any American presidency. Karl is a major WH correspondent with great access to top figures. This is one of those Bob WOodward type books, fresh off the headlines, and a lot of it is familiar if you just followed the news; hence, my real rating is more of a 4.5. What you read it for is the clear timeline and inside details of Trump's effort to overturn the election.
Let's start with the thing right before our eyes: He tried to overturn the election and did so persistently and systematically, if not all that competently. This effort started before the election itself as he spread disinformation about vote-rigging and mail-in ballots, etc. Karl is a great guide to all of this stuff, as he explains how each of his major claims about voter fraud amounted to basically nothing or just tiny irregularities that were just user error rather than a major conspiracy. In the harrowing week between the election and Biden's victory, he literally called for the stopping of the counting of legal mail-in ballots. After the election, he assembled multiple teams of lawyers to support frivolous lawsuits based on non-existent fraud, including one ludicrous attempt by the Texas AG to throw out the votes of 4 others states. Let's be clear on what this was: it was a blatant attempt to disenfranchise tens of millions of American voters on the basis of nothing. DJT pressured Michigan and Wisconsin Republicans to certify the election for him, called the Georgia Secretary of State to ask him to "find votes" to reverse the Georgia outcome, and continued to spew falsehoods about electoral fraud. When slightly more responsible lawyers and advisers told him this was all futile and damaging, he fired them (AG Barr, for instance) or sidelined them and turned to true nutcases like Giuliani and Powell. His last gambit was to pressure Mike Pence to refuse his constitutionally mandated responsibility to count and certify the vote based on a ridiculous reading of the COnstitution by John Eastmann and other Trump lawyers. These actions, combined with his demagogic speech to the crowd outside the WH on 1/6, set the stage for the insurrection. By the way, during this event he apparently watched with glee and excitement, refused to mobilize the National Guard, and refused calls from Kevin McCarthy and others to call on his followers to stand down. His statement asking the rioters to go home was completely half-assed, full of further lies about electoral fraud, and also full of praise for the mob that had just ransacked the Capitol.
But the larger story here isn't just Trump's dereliction of duty, which was entirely predictable, but the GOP establishment's craven capitulation to him. Of course, by late 2020 the GOP had already become the TRUMP-OP, but the electoral transition showed just how low they would go to remain in his favor and entertain his delusions. Let's start with Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader at the time. McCarthy played footsie with bogus electoral fraud claims, refused to say Biden had won, all while pushing Trump behind the scenes to come to terms with his defeat. In one revealing moment, he told Karl "WHere's Jeff Flake's statue" in response to a question about doing the right thing for hte country and being a hero in the long run. McCarthy denounced January 6, but in the aftermath he still voted against certification of the election and later disciplined not Trump but Liz Cheney by removing her from her GOP leadership position. This was a cowardly, deluded set of actions by McCarthy, one of Trump's biggest enablers.
Let's turn to two figures who clearly knew better: AG Barr and Mitch McConnell. Barr had been a true lackey of Trump, but he did the right thing in refusing to use the DoJ to investigate bogus electoral fraud claims and even said so in public. This was after years of relentless defense of Trump's iniquity, insane calls for culture war against liberals at home, and baseless assaults on the Russia investigation, as well as his refusal to speak up for witnesses like Vindman who did their duty in simply saying that Trump had pressured them. In short, too little, too late. McConnell might be even worse. He has been Trump's primary enabler since Day 1, despite knowing, as Karl shows, how dangerous he is and that, in fact, he had not won the election. McConnell remained silent in the face of Trump's lies about the election, leaving space for other Republicans to build the anti-certification movement. He did eventually recognize Biden's victory and denounced Jan. 6, but he cynically opposed any effort to impeach/remove Trump after Biden's inauguration, the last chance to really hold him accountable. He also voted to oppose a bipartisan investigation of the road to Jan. 6. Mitch's strategy has always been to ride the Trump wave into power while shattering norms and waging all-out political warfare on the other side. The 2020 transition period showed how
And by the way, despite their virtually unwavering loyalty for almost his entire presidency, Trump still turned on Barr and McConnell with a vengeance. To stay in the good graces of this utterly broken, utterly depraved human being, you have to be 100% loyal to him above morality, decency, and the law.
In short, this book chronicles how institutional failures and personal cowardice combined with an unprecedentedly deluded, narcissistic, and destructive president to take the United States as close to a constitutional crisis as we have since 1877. Karl calmly refutes the unfounded claims of Trump and his followers and lawyers and concludes that we are now in a different political ballgame: trust in the integrity of our elections has now been undermined to an unprecedented degree, and it isn't clear how it will be won back.
At the end of the book, Karl asks the right questions: What if Raffensperger had gone back and "found" 11k votes for Trump in GA? What if the Michigan and other GOP legislators at the state level had challenged the votes there or sent a second slate of electors? What if the DHS Secretary had listened to Trump's idea of seizing voting machines/ballots from mostly Democratic precincts? What if the AG had used the DoJ to investigate bogus claims of fraud? Finally, what if Pence hadn't done his job and counted/certified the election? Ultimately, our laws and institutions mean nothing if people do not do the right thing, if they do not do their duties. Now, in the GOP, we are witnessing a purge of moderates and sane people and an influx of crazies and Trump loyalists. If given a chance in later elections, they might act differently, and we might be on the road to an unprecedented crisis, the actual stealing of an election. So much of this comes down to the greed, arrogance, and yes, evil, of one human being who is willing to trash every norm, institution, shred of decency, person, and finally, the truth itself in the mindless pursuit of power and glory.
But it isn't up to him. It's up to millions of primary voters for 2024, Republicans who can still act to isolate him or carve out a different vision for the party, and finally, if God forbid he is the GOP nominee in 2024, it's up to the American people to reject him decisively. Electing Trump in 2016 was a step on the road to national ruin, but it was just a step, one that is still reversible. It might not be so in 2024. For anyone with the power to stop him, please, please, do so.
Let's start with the thing right before our eyes: He tried to overturn the election and did so persistently and systematically, if not all that competently. This effort started before the election itself as he spread disinformation about vote-rigging and mail-in ballots, etc. Karl is a great guide to all of this stuff, as he explains how each of his major claims about voter fraud amounted to basically nothing or just tiny irregularities that were just user error rather than a major conspiracy. In the harrowing week between the election and Biden's victory, he literally called for the stopping of the counting of legal mail-in ballots. After the election, he assembled multiple teams of lawyers to support frivolous lawsuits based on non-existent fraud, including one ludicrous attempt by the Texas AG to throw out the votes of 4 others states. Let's be clear on what this was: it was a blatant attempt to disenfranchise tens of millions of American voters on the basis of nothing. DJT pressured Michigan and Wisconsin Republicans to certify the election for him, called the Georgia Secretary of State to ask him to "find votes" to reverse the Georgia outcome, and continued to spew falsehoods about electoral fraud. When slightly more responsible lawyers and advisers told him this was all futile and damaging, he fired them (AG Barr, for instance) or sidelined them and turned to true nutcases like Giuliani and Powell. His last gambit was to pressure Mike Pence to refuse his constitutionally mandated responsibility to count and certify the vote based on a ridiculous reading of the COnstitution by John Eastmann and other Trump lawyers. These actions, combined with his demagogic speech to the crowd outside the WH on 1/6, set the stage for the insurrection. By the way, during this event he apparently watched with glee and excitement, refused to mobilize the National Guard, and refused calls from Kevin McCarthy and others to call on his followers to stand down. His statement asking the rioters to go home was completely half-assed, full of further lies about electoral fraud, and also full of praise for the mob that had just ransacked the Capitol.
But the larger story here isn't just Trump's dereliction of duty, which was entirely predictable, but the GOP establishment's craven capitulation to him. Of course, by late 2020 the GOP had already become the TRUMP-OP, but the electoral transition showed just how low they would go to remain in his favor and entertain his delusions. Let's start with Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader at the time. McCarthy played footsie with bogus electoral fraud claims, refused to say Biden had won, all while pushing Trump behind the scenes to come to terms with his defeat. In one revealing moment, he told Karl "WHere's Jeff Flake's statue" in response to a question about doing the right thing for hte country and being a hero in the long run. McCarthy denounced January 6, but in the aftermath he still voted against certification of the election and later disciplined not Trump but Liz Cheney by removing her from her GOP leadership position. This was a cowardly, deluded set of actions by McCarthy, one of Trump's biggest enablers.
Let's turn to two figures who clearly knew better: AG Barr and Mitch McConnell. Barr had been a true lackey of Trump, but he did the right thing in refusing to use the DoJ to investigate bogus electoral fraud claims and even said so in public. This was after years of relentless defense of Trump's iniquity, insane calls for culture war against liberals at home, and baseless assaults on the Russia investigation, as well as his refusal to speak up for witnesses like Vindman who did their duty in simply saying that Trump had pressured them. In short, too little, too late. McConnell might be even worse. He has been Trump's primary enabler since Day 1, despite knowing, as Karl shows, how dangerous he is and that, in fact, he had not won the election. McConnell remained silent in the face of Trump's lies about the election, leaving space for other Republicans to build the anti-certification movement. He did eventually recognize Biden's victory and denounced Jan. 6, but he cynically opposed any effort to impeach/remove Trump after Biden's inauguration, the last chance to really hold him accountable. He also voted to oppose a bipartisan investigation of the road to Jan. 6. Mitch's strategy has always been to ride the Trump wave into power while shattering norms and waging all-out political warfare on the other side. The 2020 transition period showed how
And by the way, despite their virtually unwavering loyalty for almost his entire presidency, Trump still turned on Barr and McConnell with a vengeance. To stay in the good graces of this utterly broken, utterly depraved human being, you have to be 100% loyal to him above morality, decency, and the law.
In short, this book chronicles how institutional failures and personal cowardice combined with an unprecedentedly deluded, narcissistic, and destructive president to take the United States as close to a constitutional crisis as we have since 1877. Karl calmly refutes the unfounded claims of Trump and his followers and lawyers and concludes that we are now in a different political ballgame: trust in the integrity of our elections has now been undermined to an unprecedented degree, and it isn't clear how it will be won back.
At the end of the book, Karl asks the right questions: What if Raffensperger had gone back and "found" 11k votes for Trump in GA? What if the Michigan and other GOP legislators at the state level had challenged the votes there or sent a second slate of electors? What if the DHS Secretary had listened to Trump's idea of seizing voting machines/ballots from mostly Democratic precincts? What if the AG had used the DoJ to investigate bogus claims of fraud? Finally, what if Pence hadn't done his job and counted/certified the election? Ultimately, our laws and institutions mean nothing if people do not do the right thing, if they do not do their duties. Now, in the GOP, we are witnessing a purge of moderates and sane people and an influx of crazies and Trump loyalists. If given a chance in later elections, they might act differently, and we might be on the road to an unprecedented crisis, the actual stealing of an election. So much of this comes down to the greed, arrogance, and yes, evil, of one human being who is willing to trash every norm, institution, shred of decency, person, and finally, the truth itself in the mindless pursuit of power and glory.
But it isn't up to him. It's up to millions of primary voters for 2024, Republicans who can still act to isolate him or carve out a different vision for the party, and finally, if God forbid he is the GOP nominee in 2024, it's up to the American people to reject him decisively. Electing Trump in 2016 was a step on the road to national ruin, but it was just a step, one that is still reversible. It might not be so in 2024. For anyone with the power to stop him, please, please, do so.
January 10, 2022
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by one of our best news correspondents, Jonathan Karl, was an accurate documentation of the last days of the presidency of Donald Trump. But I have to admit that halfway through this assault on our democracy, my eyes glazed over. If you have followed the news, there is not a lot of new information here except the dread of what was happening before us on a daily basis. And what we have to keep before us is the fragility of our democracy. We cannot let it slip away because we allowed a thug to become president of the United States.
November 13, 2021
Every American, regardless of party affiliation, should want to know how we almost lost our democracy.
Waiting for my Nov. 15th copy
Waiting for my Nov. 15th copy
November 18, 2021
This book is fascinating in the way that watching a slow motion train wreck is fascinating. Donald Trump's motto of 'always winning, never losing' runs right up against the results of the 2020 election, with disastrous results. I needn't recount the story – we all lived through it. What makes this account unique is Karl's access to key individuals through his premier position as ABC's White House correspondent, and the leader of the White House Correspondents' Association during that time.
If you thought the whole interregnum period between November and January 20 was bizarre, you should read about it from the inside. It's a clown show, as many people specifically said. The White House purged anyone deemed disloyal to the president, and POTUS surrounded himself with yes-men and yes-women who told him what he wanted to hear, regardless of the reality that most mainstream Republican politicians recognized.
Karl's thesis is we came damn close to losing our democratic form of government, and the outgoing administration did much to besmirch the whole concept of fair, well-run elections so that it will be difficult in the future for the American populace to believe in the fairness of elections and peaceful transition of government.
If you thought the whole interregnum period between November and January 20 was bizarre, you should read about it from the inside. It's a clown show, as many people specifically said. The White House purged anyone deemed disloyal to the president, and POTUS surrounded himself with yes-men and yes-women who told him what he wanted to hear, regardless of the reality that most mainstream Republican politicians recognized.
Karl's thesis is we came damn close to losing our democratic form of government, and the outgoing administration did much to besmirch the whole concept of fair, well-run elections so that it will be difficult in the future for the American populace to believe in the fairness of elections and peaceful transition of government.
November 21, 2021
Must Read
I highly recommend this book an incredible insight of the final days of the trump presidency Was hard to put down
I highly recommend this book an incredible insight of the final days of the trump presidency Was hard to put down
January 24, 2022
There is not much to say about this blow-by-blow account of the final year of the Trump Presidency that has not been covered in the press and others who reviewed this book here. It has been a four-year reign of terror. I always viewed Trump as a threat to the Republic when he started his quest for the Presidency.
There is nothing about Trump that exudes leadership of a civilized people from his demeanor to his intellect. One of the scariest parts of this book was Trump's selection of his "body/bagman" to run the Presidential Personnel Office. Johnny McEntee had no business deciding who was fit to run the government. He and his young cohorts attempted to hire and fire government personnel in manner that seemed similar to bouncers standing outside a nightclub. They had no credibility other than trying to ascertain whether that person was card-carrying member of the Trump loyalty club.
Trump's attempt to use the military to maintain power was also frightening. What makes it frightening is that no one really knows the mindset of those who head the military. Michael Flynn should have been court-martialed for insubordination. His presence in the Armed Services gives indication of far those with Trump's mindset have risen in the military ranks. General Milley and Secretary Esper had their hands full with Trump. They had to deal with a commander who was temperamental, bordering on delusional, had the physical mannerisms of Benito Mussolini, had access to the military codes and had no knowledge and didn't want any knowledge of the Constitution. Trump thought the country was Trump Organization and he had every intention of running the country like it.
His attempts at overturning the 2020 election was sedition and why no one other than the head of the Oath Keepers is being charged, I have no idea. Sedition is serious so this may be why the Justice Department is taking its time.
The filing of numerous lawsuits was not an accident in my opinion. The author did not allude to this, but I believe the idea was that with enough conservative judges, they were liable to get something to stick in the courts. This mindset has been going on for years. The culmination was in 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush as President. Perhaps the Trump team thought, as I did at the time, that since SCOTUS overlooked the issue that the 2000 voter issues happened to be in the state controlled by the President elect's brother --- it stunk to high heaven. I would have thought the same if there were voting issues in Tennessee.
The Trump's selection of Rudy Guiliani as a personal attorney was an abomination. It seemed that he may have been suffering from the after effects of 9/11 and the lawyers that accompanied Guiliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, seemed of questionable legal skills and mental capacity. It is said that the White House lawyer Cippolone had to stay in his job in order the keep the house from burning down.
There is not much more to say about January 6, 2021 other than it was coup attempt that almost succeeded. As Jonathan Karl states, the country does not realize how close it came to having armed insurrectionist overturn an election ---- like a banana republic (that US likes to look down its nose). Vice President Pence, whom I consider a cold fish, is not a man that you feel sorry. He is a former governor who should have known the law before giving consideration to decertify the electoral votes of the states that Trump contested. No --- you wouldn't want him as President either. Mitch McConnell and the others just watched --- had it been successful, they would have reaped the rewards.
In my opinion, this is a book about rejection. It didn't start with Trump's quest for the White House. I believe that Trump may have started his delusions after being rejected in highest echelons of NYC society, which Trump desperately wanted to belong and be a player. They didn't want him. He could come as long as could produce the money to pay his freight.
Karl's book is pretty tight. There seems to be very little room to refute his reporting. Because there was so much activity around the Trump WH, the book reads like an action thriller.
There is nothing about Trump that exudes leadership of a civilized people from his demeanor to his intellect. One of the scariest parts of this book was Trump's selection of his "body/bagman" to run the Presidential Personnel Office. Johnny McEntee had no business deciding who was fit to run the government. He and his young cohorts attempted to hire and fire government personnel in manner that seemed similar to bouncers standing outside a nightclub. They had no credibility other than trying to ascertain whether that person was card-carrying member of the Trump loyalty club.
Trump's attempt to use the military to maintain power was also frightening. What makes it frightening is that no one really knows the mindset of those who head the military. Michael Flynn should have been court-martialed for insubordination. His presence in the Armed Services gives indication of far those with Trump's mindset have risen in the military ranks. General Milley and Secretary Esper had their hands full with Trump. They had to deal with a commander who was temperamental, bordering on delusional, had the physical mannerisms of Benito Mussolini, had access to the military codes and had no knowledge and didn't want any knowledge of the Constitution. Trump thought the country was Trump Organization and he had every intention of running the country like it.
His attempts at overturning the 2020 election was sedition and why no one other than the head of the Oath Keepers is being charged, I have no idea. Sedition is serious so this may be why the Justice Department is taking its time.
The filing of numerous lawsuits was not an accident in my opinion. The author did not allude to this, but I believe the idea was that with enough conservative judges, they were liable to get something to stick in the courts. This mindset has been going on for years. The culmination was in 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush as President. Perhaps the Trump team thought, as I did at the time, that since SCOTUS overlooked the issue that the 2000 voter issues happened to be in the state controlled by the President elect's brother --- it stunk to high heaven. I would have thought the same if there were voting issues in Tennessee.
The Trump's selection of Rudy Guiliani as a personal attorney was an abomination. It seemed that he may have been suffering from the after effects of 9/11 and the lawyers that accompanied Guiliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, seemed of questionable legal skills and mental capacity. It is said that the White House lawyer Cippolone had to stay in his job in order the keep the house from burning down.
There is not much more to say about January 6, 2021 other than it was coup attempt that almost succeeded. As Jonathan Karl states, the country does not realize how close it came to having armed insurrectionist overturn an election ---- like a banana republic (that US likes to look down its nose). Vice President Pence, whom I consider a cold fish, is not a man that you feel sorry. He is a former governor who should have known the law before giving consideration to decertify the electoral votes of the states that Trump contested. No --- you wouldn't want him as President either. Mitch McConnell and the others just watched --- had it been successful, they would have reaped the rewards.
In my opinion, this is a book about rejection. It didn't start with Trump's quest for the White House. I believe that Trump may have started his delusions after being rejected in highest echelons of NYC society, which Trump desperately wanted to belong and be a player. They didn't want him. He could come as long as could produce the money to pay his freight.
Karl's book is pretty tight. There seems to be very little room to refute his reporting. Because there was so much activity around the Trump WH, the book reads like an action thriller.
April 29, 2022
Jonathan Karl is a journalist for ABC-News and a non-
fiction writer. This was his follow-up on President
Trump from his other book "Front Row at the Trump
Show."
Trump tended to value loyalty over training/ experience/
knowledge. Trump had Johnny McEntee (J.M.) as one of
his 'bag boys' who carried his bags when the Pres. boarded
Marine One (which took him to Air Force One) for a trip.
J.M. told Trump he had disloyal staff. Even though 29 yr
old J.M. had no HR experience, Trump named him head of
the President's Personnel Office. His job entailed vetting/
hiring presidential appointees in the federal govt IE
ambassadors, cabinet secretaries & top officials in US
intelligence agencies, etc. J.M. & his minions judged current
and prospective employees loyalty to Trump by examining
their emails, voting records, and social media. Depending
on the outcome, this person was fired or hired.
Loyalty to Trump was more important than excellent job
experience & skills compatible with the particular job. BTW
certain Presidential appointees IE Cabinet secretaries, POTUS
justices, DHS & FBI & CIA chiefs required Congressional
approval.
Kevin McCarthy served as the GOP minority leader in the
US House. His ambition? to be Speaker of the House, in
the event the GOP "took back the House" in 2022 mid-term
elections. McCarthy withheld criticism of Trump's role in
the Jan. 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, in order to keep
his own ambition alive.
Attorneys Rudi Guiliani & Sydney Powell reinforced Trump's
claim that there was massive voter fraud in the 2020 POTUS
election. Powell, w/o proof, claimed voting machines in the
US were made in Venezuela & manipulated by their leader.
William Barr, US Attorney General, & Justice Dept. head
looked into alleged voter fraud.
1) The Detroit Ballot Dump. Detroit's procedure was to box
all ballots + bring them to the TCF Center to be counted,
coming in all night, if needed. Trump tried to hold Detroit
to the 8PM voting curfew. And said they should have stopped
delivering/ counting ballots. This showed his cluelessness
of Bd. of Elections procedures. Not "a very stable genius."
2) Nevada out of state voters. The truth- this included the
military, Nevada voters who received out of state medical
treatment, and students whose residence was Nevada, but
attended out of state colleges.
3) Rigged voting machines. Barr had cyber experts @
Homeland Security & the FBI investigate. They concluded:
no discrepancies in vote counting, no evidence of Venezuela
voting machines.
Barr confronted Trump in private, with witnesses and I will
summarize. Barr noted the lack of evidence of voter fraud.
He said "We at DOJ looked at this in a responsible way. But
your people keep on shoveling this shit (lies) out." And he
called Trump's attorneys on this alleged fraud " .. a clown
show" & "No respectable lawyer is going anywhere near it
(the lies.)" Trump was red in the face + the angriest anyone
had ever seen him. (44% mark). Trump then complained
Barr never prosecuted Hunter Biden! Huh?
Karl recounted how those in the House & Senate & the VP
feared for their lives on 01/06/2021. But most GOP politicos
gave Trump a 'slap on the wrist' for his Insurrection role.
On Bidens' Inauguration day, Trump in anger, informed the
head of the RNC via phone that he'd start his own political
party. He learned he'd then lose 40 million email addresses
of GOP voters! He changed his mind in a heartbeat. I cannot
admire a man w/o ethics & w/o respect for the rule of law.
History will not be kind to him.
fiction writer. This was his follow-up on President
Trump from his other book "Front Row at the Trump
Show."
Trump tended to value loyalty over training/ experience/
knowledge. Trump had Johnny McEntee (J.M.) as one of
his 'bag boys' who carried his bags when the Pres. boarded
Marine One (which took him to Air Force One) for a trip.
J.M. told Trump he had disloyal staff. Even though 29 yr
old J.M. had no HR experience, Trump named him head of
the President's Personnel Office. His job entailed vetting/
hiring presidential appointees in the federal govt IE
ambassadors, cabinet secretaries & top officials in US
intelligence agencies, etc. J.M. & his minions judged current
and prospective employees loyalty to Trump by examining
their emails, voting records, and social media. Depending
on the outcome, this person was fired or hired.
Loyalty to Trump was more important than excellent job
experience & skills compatible with the particular job. BTW
certain Presidential appointees IE Cabinet secretaries, POTUS
justices, DHS & FBI & CIA chiefs required Congressional
approval.
Kevin McCarthy served as the GOP minority leader in the
US House. His ambition? to be Speaker of the House, in
the event the GOP "took back the House" in 2022 mid-term
elections. McCarthy withheld criticism of Trump's role in
the Jan. 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, in order to keep
his own ambition alive.
Attorneys Rudi Guiliani & Sydney Powell reinforced Trump's
claim that there was massive voter fraud in the 2020 POTUS
election. Powell, w/o proof, claimed voting machines in the
US were made in Venezuela & manipulated by their leader.
William Barr, US Attorney General, & Justice Dept. head
looked into alleged voter fraud.
1) The Detroit Ballot Dump. Detroit's procedure was to box
all ballots + bring them to the TCF Center to be counted,
coming in all night, if needed. Trump tried to hold Detroit
to the 8PM voting curfew. And said they should have stopped
delivering/ counting ballots. This showed his cluelessness
of Bd. of Elections procedures. Not "a very stable genius."
2) Nevada out of state voters. The truth- this included the
military, Nevada voters who received out of state medical
treatment, and students whose residence was Nevada, but
attended out of state colleges.
3) Rigged voting machines. Barr had cyber experts @
Homeland Security & the FBI investigate. They concluded:
no discrepancies in vote counting, no evidence of Venezuela
voting machines.
Barr confronted Trump in private, with witnesses and I will
summarize. Barr noted the lack of evidence of voter fraud.
He said "We at DOJ looked at this in a responsible way. But
your people keep on shoveling this shit (lies) out." And he
called Trump's attorneys on this alleged fraud " .. a clown
show" & "No respectable lawyer is going anywhere near it
(the lies.)" Trump was red in the face + the angriest anyone
had ever seen him. (44% mark). Trump then complained
Barr never prosecuted Hunter Biden! Huh?
Karl recounted how those in the House & Senate & the VP
feared for their lives on 01/06/2021. But most GOP politicos
gave Trump a 'slap on the wrist' for his Insurrection role.
On Bidens' Inauguration day, Trump in anger, informed the
head of the RNC via phone that he'd start his own political
party. He learned he'd then lose 40 million email addresses
of GOP voters! He changed his mind in a heartbeat. I cannot
admire a man w/o ethics & w/o respect for the rule of law.
History will not be kind to him.
November 16, 2021
Unlike his last book, “Front Row at the Trump Show”, Karl makes no attempt to make an unbiased presentation with “Betrayal”. It reads like a grocery store rag and is full of the same stuff and banners that CNN & MSNBC had been touting for months on end. Karl retired his news reporter shingle and has fully embraced the infauxtainment biz, highly evident in this, the supposed “Final Act of the Trump Show”.
For a reporter that has followed Trump for so long and has been given so much access, I really expected something new and insightful. Karl’s regular incredulity comes off as false as it can hardly be naive. I found this entire read frustrating and annoying as yet another reporter succumbs to rhetoric.
No recommendation here; one giant sigh📚
For a reporter that has followed Trump for so long and has been given so much access, I really expected something new and insightful. Karl’s regular incredulity comes off as false as it can hardly be naive. I found this entire read frustrating and annoying as yet another reporter succumbs to rhetoric.
No recommendation here; one giant sigh📚
February 1, 2022
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl
“Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show” tells the story of Trump’s last year as president and how his deadly lies shook the foundation of our democracy.
ABC News' chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl takes the reader back to Trump’s tumultuous last year in office and provides an honest and fair account of what occurred. This truthful 382-page includes nineteen chapters.
Positives:
1. A well-written, honest and fair book.
2. As interesting a topic as you will find, the tumultuous last year of Trump’s presidency.
3. In a country that is so divided on the topic of politics it’s important to have an author that is respected, fair and has access, Karl checks all the boxes. Karl focuses on reporting accurately versus inserting himself into the story.
4. Right from the Introduction, Karl makes perfectly clear what this book is all about and his approach to writing it. “I knew that on January 6. We all did. But the more I learned about the events leading up to the day, the more disturbing the story became. Over the course of my research and reporting for this book, I spoke to many of Donald Trump’s top advisors and closest confidants, and several members of his cabinet. Many of those conversations came in the days before and during January 6. Others spoke to me after it was all over.”
5. Trump’s reelection strategy disclosed clearly. “The first was a reelection campaign designed to win by dividing the country, and, if that failed, to undermine the results.”
6. Describes Trump’s purge. “He wanted to finally rid his administration of people who were disloyal to him.” “McEntee became his indispensable man. He wasn’t just seeking out and firing disloyalists, he was also, as you will see later in this book, playing a role entirely invisible to the public at the time—aiding and abetting the president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”
7. Trump’s mishandling of the Coronavirus. “He made multiple statements about the virus that had absolutely no basis in fact, repeatedly comparing COVID-19 to the flu, offering what would be the first of many false statements about the virus: “In some ways it is easier, in some ways it is a little tougher.” He offered a tragically wrong prediction, saying that while there were fifteen known cases of coronavirus in the United States, “in a couple of days it’s gonna be down to close to zero.”
8. The mishandling of Floyd Protests. “The Park Police frantically cleared the area just minutes before Trump’s walk across the park, using flash-bang grenades and pepper spray—along with batons and riot shields and officers mounted on horseback—to beat back the protestors.”
9. Trump’s rallies during a pandemic. “For Trump, Tulsa was a disaster because of the empty seats, but it was much more than that. The rally was a metaphor for how Trump had mishandled the pandemic. He dismissed the warnings of public health professionals, downplayed the danger, believed he could talk his way out of it all, and showed a total disregard for the consequences of his actions.”
10. Trump mishandles the media. “But as big as the story was, it only took a few minutes for Trump to decide how to handle it. He would do what he always did with bad news: deny the story and attack the news organization and journalists that reported it. And that’s exactly what he did.”
11. Trump comes down with the virus. ““The president’s vitals over the last twenty-four hours were very concerning, and the next forty-eight hours will be critical in terms of his care,” Meadows told reporters, directly contradicting the happy talk from the doctors. “We’re still not on a path to recovery.””
12. Karl goes through and debunks the Big Lie. “The second group, a.k.a. “the crazies,” were making all kinds of outrageous and fact-free claims about election fraud, raising the specter of hundreds of thousands of dead people voting and declaring voting machines were magically switching votes for Trump into votes for Biden. Sidney Powell brought an international air of intrigue to all of this, suggesting a vast conspiracy that included elements of the CIA, the government of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez (who had been dead since 2013), and a mysterious computer server “farm” in Germany.”
13. Describes Barr’s inquiry into voter fraud. ““My attitude was it was put up or shut up time,” Barr told me. “If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullsh!t.” AP statement, “WASHINGTON (AP)—Disputing President Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.”
14. Trump’s desperate tactics exposed. “But when those efforts failed, Trump turned to a new tactic—something so brazenly anti-democratic that no losing presidential candidate—let alone an incumbent president—had ever seriously contemplated. He went directly to Republican-led state legislatures and asked them to throw out election results in their states and choose the winner themselves.”
15. Trump’s last card, Pence. “Trump’s delusions of using the Justice Department to ride to the rescue of his defeated campaign were over. And in Trump’s mind, there was really only one way left for him to stay in power. In Trump’s mind, it was now all up to Mike Pence.”
16. Tactics used to coerce Pence. “On December 29, Representative Louie Gohmert, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters in Congress, went so far as to file a bizarre lawsuit in federal court against Pence with the aim of forcing him to use his power to reject electoral votes from states Trump was contesting.”
17. Describes the day of the Insurrection in clear detail. “Their mission was the one Donald Trump had just spoken about at the rally outside the White House—preventing the counting of the electoral votes that would make Joe Biden’s victory official. For the moment, at least, the rioters had succeeded. The Senate was shut down. The counting of the electoral votes had stopped.” Bonus, “Trump, McCarthy told others, was dismissive when he told him to get out and call off the rioters. In fact, according to what McCarthy told others about the call, Trump seemed to defend the rioters. One of the people McCarthy spoke to about the call was Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA).”
18. Trump’s Second Impeachment. “Ten Republicans voted to impeach him, the highest number of House members ever to vote to impeach a member of their own party. Liz Cheney was one of the first Republicans to publicly say she would vote to impeach. In announcing her decision, she said Trump was responsible for what happened on January 6.”
19. Trump’s lack of concession. “Trump had no interest in any transfer of power. He had long been telling supporters that there was no way he could lose the election—that is, unless it was stolen from him.”
20. Trump’s view of the Insurrection. “It boggled my mind that Trump was not only callously indifferent to the threats made against the vice president, but he also seemed to be justifying them. Trump had heard the chants from his supporters—the demands that Pence be executed—and here he was calmly and coolly explaining to me why the people chanting for Pence’s death were so angry.”
Negatives:
1. No supplemental information provided. A timeline would have been welcomed.
2. If you follow politics as closely as I have there are few new things here that I would consider new.
In summary, this is a professionally written book. I’m glad that such a sensitive and important topic was tackled by a reporter that you can trust and know will handle it fairly. Karl was the right author to handle such a grand historical task. If you want a fair and honest look at what transpired during Trump’s last year in office, this is the book you want to read! I also want to let those who inquired about my whereabouts and why I’ve taken so much time to write a new review, well I retired and relocated and took a lot of time off. I’m back, and that’s all that matters. All is good!
Further suggestions: “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies” by Glenn Kessler, “The Room Where It Happened” by John Bolton, “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever” by Rick Wilson, “Fear” by Bob Woodward, “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff, and “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic” by David Frum,.
“Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show” tells the story of Trump’s last year as president and how his deadly lies shook the foundation of our democracy.
ABC News' chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl takes the reader back to Trump’s tumultuous last year in office and provides an honest and fair account of what occurred. This truthful 382-page includes nineteen chapters.
Positives:
1. A well-written, honest and fair book.
2. As interesting a topic as you will find, the tumultuous last year of Trump’s presidency.
3. In a country that is so divided on the topic of politics it’s important to have an author that is respected, fair and has access, Karl checks all the boxes. Karl focuses on reporting accurately versus inserting himself into the story.
4. Right from the Introduction, Karl makes perfectly clear what this book is all about and his approach to writing it. “I knew that on January 6. We all did. But the more I learned about the events leading up to the day, the more disturbing the story became. Over the course of my research and reporting for this book, I spoke to many of Donald Trump’s top advisors and closest confidants, and several members of his cabinet. Many of those conversations came in the days before and during January 6. Others spoke to me after it was all over.”
5. Trump’s reelection strategy disclosed clearly. “The first was a reelection campaign designed to win by dividing the country, and, if that failed, to undermine the results.”
6. Describes Trump’s purge. “He wanted to finally rid his administration of people who were disloyal to him.” “McEntee became his indispensable man. He wasn’t just seeking out and firing disloyalists, he was also, as you will see later in this book, playing a role entirely invisible to the public at the time—aiding and abetting the president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”
7. Trump’s mishandling of the Coronavirus. “He made multiple statements about the virus that had absolutely no basis in fact, repeatedly comparing COVID-19 to the flu, offering what would be the first of many false statements about the virus: “In some ways it is easier, in some ways it is a little tougher.” He offered a tragically wrong prediction, saying that while there were fifteen known cases of coronavirus in the United States, “in a couple of days it’s gonna be down to close to zero.”
8. The mishandling of Floyd Protests. “The Park Police frantically cleared the area just minutes before Trump’s walk across the park, using flash-bang grenades and pepper spray—along with batons and riot shields and officers mounted on horseback—to beat back the protestors.”
9. Trump’s rallies during a pandemic. “For Trump, Tulsa was a disaster because of the empty seats, but it was much more than that. The rally was a metaphor for how Trump had mishandled the pandemic. He dismissed the warnings of public health professionals, downplayed the danger, believed he could talk his way out of it all, and showed a total disregard for the consequences of his actions.”
10. Trump mishandles the media. “But as big as the story was, it only took a few minutes for Trump to decide how to handle it. He would do what he always did with bad news: deny the story and attack the news organization and journalists that reported it. And that’s exactly what he did.”
11. Trump comes down with the virus. ““The president’s vitals over the last twenty-four hours were very concerning, and the next forty-eight hours will be critical in terms of his care,” Meadows told reporters, directly contradicting the happy talk from the doctors. “We’re still not on a path to recovery.””
12. Karl goes through and debunks the Big Lie. “The second group, a.k.a. “the crazies,” were making all kinds of outrageous and fact-free claims about election fraud, raising the specter of hundreds of thousands of dead people voting and declaring voting machines were magically switching votes for Trump into votes for Biden. Sidney Powell brought an international air of intrigue to all of this, suggesting a vast conspiracy that included elements of the CIA, the government of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez (who had been dead since 2013), and a mysterious computer server “farm” in Germany.”
13. Describes Barr’s inquiry into voter fraud. ““My attitude was it was put up or shut up time,” Barr told me. “If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullsh!t.” AP statement, “WASHINGTON (AP)—Disputing President Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.”
14. Trump’s desperate tactics exposed. “But when those efforts failed, Trump turned to a new tactic—something so brazenly anti-democratic that no losing presidential candidate—let alone an incumbent president—had ever seriously contemplated. He went directly to Republican-led state legislatures and asked them to throw out election results in their states and choose the winner themselves.”
15. Trump’s last card, Pence. “Trump’s delusions of using the Justice Department to ride to the rescue of his defeated campaign were over. And in Trump’s mind, there was really only one way left for him to stay in power. In Trump’s mind, it was now all up to Mike Pence.”
16. Tactics used to coerce Pence. “On December 29, Representative Louie Gohmert, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters in Congress, went so far as to file a bizarre lawsuit in federal court against Pence with the aim of forcing him to use his power to reject electoral votes from states Trump was contesting.”
17. Describes the day of the Insurrection in clear detail. “Their mission was the one Donald Trump had just spoken about at the rally outside the White House—preventing the counting of the electoral votes that would make Joe Biden’s victory official. For the moment, at least, the rioters had succeeded. The Senate was shut down. The counting of the electoral votes had stopped.” Bonus, “Trump, McCarthy told others, was dismissive when he told him to get out and call off the rioters. In fact, according to what McCarthy told others about the call, Trump seemed to defend the rioters. One of the people McCarthy spoke to about the call was Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA).”
18. Trump’s Second Impeachment. “Ten Republicans voted to impeach him, the highest number of House members ever to vote to impeach a member of their own party. Liz Cheney was one of the first Republicans to publicly say she would vote to impeach. In announcing her decision, she said Trump was responsible for what happened on January 6.”
19. Trump’s lack of concession. “Trump had no interest in any transfer of power. He had long been telling supporters that there was no way he could lose the election—that is, unless it was stolen from him.”
20. Trump’s view of the Insurrection. “It boggled my mind that Trump was not only callously indifferent to the threats made against the vice president, but he also seemed to be justifying them. Trump had heard the chants from his supporters—the demands that Pence be executed—and here he was calmly and coolly explaining to me why the people chanting for Pence’s death were so angry.”
Negatives:
1. No supplemental information provided. A timeline would have been welcomed.
2. If you follow politics as closely as I have there are few new things here that I would consider new.
In summary, this is a professionally written book. I’m glad that such a sensitive and important topic was tackled by a reporter that you can trust and know will handle it fairly. Karl was the right author to handle such a grand historical task. If you want a fair and honest look at what transpired during Trump’s last year in office, this is the book you want to read! I also want to let those who inquired about my whereabouts and why I’ve taken so much time to write a new review, well I retired and relocated and took a lot of time off. I’m back, and that’s all that matters. All is good!
Further suggestions: “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies” by Glenn Kessler, “The Room Where It Happened” by John Bolton, “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever” by Rick Wilson, “Fear” by Bob Woodward, “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff, and “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic” by David Frum,.
November 19, 2021
I recently reread Steinbeck’s “Travel’s with Charley,” where he coincidentally became witness to the deplorable Ruby Bridges affair.
Just as Steinbeck’s book has become standard reference material for historians, Jonathan Karl’s “Betrayal” will be used 50 years from now. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was closer to this mess, except those who were part of the mess itself.
Forget the “breaking news” nuggets you’ve heard in this past week - that’s all very nice, but will pass into history. “Betrayal” is an evergreen historical document that also happens to be an entertaining, informative page-turner, putting the reader directly into the vortex of action.
Just as Steinbeck’s book has become standard reference material for historians, Jonathan Karl’s “Betrayal” will be used 50 years from now. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was closer to this mess, except those who were part of the mess itself.
Forget the “breaking news” nuggets you’ve heard in this past week - that’s all very nice, but will pass into history. “Betrayal” is an evergreen historical document that also happens to be an entertaining, informative page-turner, putting the reader directly into the vortex of action.
June 14, 2022
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quote feels appropriate to the events surrounding January 6. I didn't plan on reading it right before the hearings are to take place, but that's just the way it worked out. Nothing you don't already know (except maybe that Trump wasn't in fact invited to the inauguration. He tweeted he wasn't going BEFORE anyone knew he wasn't going to be invited to save face).
I think politics has become dark and twisted. Perhaps it always was, but it's only as an adult that I've lost my bright-eyed optimism that good people will prevail. It seems that we are headed in a direction that harkens back to the starting line in America. I'm not sure Trump is the reason why, but he certainly gives voice to the cynicism and insidious hate that runs through the veins of the nation's heart.
Some of those in Trump's inner circle play ignorant about the events surrounding January 6. Many say they remained close to him to prevent him from causing more disruption. Trump reminds me of more than one boss I've had. There are three people I worked with that displayed elements of cruelty, megalomanic tendencies and sociopathic displays. The way Trump behaved towards his staff and cabinet members exhibits many of these traits.
At the end of the day, I think we should have strict term limits, age limits when it comes to our politicians (I mean, really. How can an eighty year old white man possibly be in tune with an eighteen year old's reality or perspective?) and we should throw out the electoral college (hardly anyone votes anyway).
This is a quick read, so I'm glad I read it. It did give me some insight to how Trump tried to single-handedly obstruct the democratic voting process. In the end, he won: he has blindless adherants that do his will and don't listen to reason. Wow. Writing this review really has crushed my hopes for the future.
This quote feels appropriate to the events surrounding January 6. I didn't plan on reading it right before the hearings are to take place, but that's just the way it worked out. Nothing you don't already know (except maybe that Trump wasn't in fact invited to the inauguration. He tweeted he wasn't going BEFORE anyone knew he wasn't going to be invited to save face).
I think politics has become dark and twisted. Perhaps it always was, but it's only as an adult that I've lost my bright-eyed optimism that good people will prevail. It seems that we are headed in a direction that harkens back to the starting line in America. I'm not sure Trump is the reason why, but he certainly gives voice to the cynicism and insidious hate that runs through the veins of the nation's heart.
Some of those in Trump's inner circle play ignorant about the events surrounding January 6. Many say they remained close to him to prevent him from causing more disruption. Trump reminds me of more than one boss I've had. There are three people I worked with that displayed elements of cruelty, megalomanic tendencies and sociopathic displays. The way Trump behaved towards his staff and cabinet members exhibits many of these traits.
At the end of the day, I think we should have strict term limits, age limits when it comes to our politicians (I mean, really. How can an eighty year old white man possibly be in tune with an eighteen year old's reality or perspective?) and we should throw out the electoral college (hardly anyone votes anyway).
This is a quick read, so I'm glad I read it. It did give me some insight to how Trump tried to single-handedly obstruct the democratic voting process. In the end, he won: he has blindless adherants that do his will and don't listen to reason. Wow. Writing this review really has crushed my hopes for the future.
January 26, 2022
This is definitely a book worth a read. This focuses on the major events of the last year of the Trump presidency and goes behind the scenes and has info about what went on that I hadn’t seen before, both in terms of major events but also about those behind the scenes that prevented or quietly cleaned up after Trump. Gave insight into the way that trump operated more than I had seen and really showed who was important in the events that took place, for better or worse, other than Trump himself. (4/5)
January 30, 2022
This is a 3 1/2 star book. Karl brings some new revelations to Trump's pursuit to purge the government and overturn the 2020 election.
It is important to see these events in a narrative form as we just get chunks in media. It is one of the stronger Trump accounts out there.
It is important to see these events in a narrative form as we just get chunks in media. It is one of the stronger Trump accounts out there.
June 21, 2022
Karl’s book is readable and contains a good bit of original reporting. He’s no Trump fan, so the benefit of the doubt is not in play here. A good companion piece to Woodward’s Peril, but if you only have time or interest for one book about the end of the Trump administration, I’d choose this one.
November 25, 2021
Extraordinary insider account of the final act of the Trump presidency. Jonathan Karl manages to cover a lot of ground in detail and yet his account is fast-paced and so well written, it is nearly impossible to put down.
Democracy held -barely - this time, despite Trump's maniacal and ruthless attempt to hold the reigns of power without a single thought to the damage he was doing to the republic. As a result, some 75% of registered Republicans believe his lies regarding the election despite the lack of a single shred of supporting evidence. What "evidence" Trump and his crackpot zealots like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Lin Woods, Jenna Ellis cooked up in the form of ridiculous, laughable conspiracy theories, misrepresentation of facts, insults and threats to election officials, and a string of some sixty plus failed legal actions - has been completely and thoroughly debunked.
What remains are coming in election in 2022 and 2024, where the survival of American democracy is in grave danger. Republican legislatures have succeeded in passing draconian voter suppression laws in places such as Georgia backed up by penalties that result in felonies - such as offering a drink of water to a person standing in line to vote, which is virtually assured since mail-in voting has been outlawed in these same states and polling places reduced in number - particularly in areas where minorities are prevalent. In short, these are new Jim Crow laws designed to stop black Americans and other voters from participating in elections. Another ominous development is wresting election control from independent election boards and placing it in the hands of partisan Republican-controlled legislatures, which will have the power - regardless of voter will - to send electors to the Electoral College of their choosing.
Because Republicans are likely to control both the House of Representatives as well as the Senate, there is a far greater chance that the same guardrails that stopped Trump in 2020 will not be there when the 2024 election is held.
If the worst happens, and Trump is returned to power in 2024, American democracy as we know it is finished. A man who was willing to incite the kind of violence on display January 6th of 2021 and trammel on every tradition and norm in our government is not someone who should ever again be allowed near the oval office. Unfortunately, that is the road we are headed down. Let "Betrayal" serve as your warning and vote accordingly.
Democracy held -barely - this time, despite Trump's maniacal and ruthless attempt to hold the reigns of power without a single thought to the damage he was doing to the republic. As a result, some 75% of registered Republicans believe his lies regarding the election despite the lack of a single shred of supporting evidence. What "evidence" Trump and his crackpot zealots like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Lin Woods, Jenna Ellis cooked up in the form of ridiculous, laughable conspiracy theories, misrepresentation of facts, insults and threats to election officials, and a string of some sixty plus failed legal actions - has been completely and thoroughly debunked.
What remains are coming in election in 2022 and 2024, where the survival of American democracy is in grave danger. Republican legislatures have succeeded in passing draconian voter suppression laws in places such as Georgia backed up by penalties that result in felonies - such as offering a drink of water to a person standing in line to vote, which is virtually assured since mail-in voting has been outlawed in these same states and polling places reduced in number - particularly in areas where minorities are prevalent. In short, these are new Jim Crow laws designed to stop black Americans and other voters from participating in elections. Another ominous development is wresting election control from independent election boards and placing it in the hands of partisan Republican-controlled legislatures, which will have the power - regardless of voter will - to send electors to the Electoral College of their choosing.
Because Republicans are likely to control both the House of Representatives as well as the Senate, there is a far greater chance that the same guardrails that stopped Trump in 2020 will not be there when the 2024 election is held.
If the worst happens, and Trump is returned to power in 2024, American democracy as we know it is finished. A man who was willing to incite the kind of violence on display January 6th of 2021 and trammel on every tradition and norm in our government is not someone who should ever again be allowed near the oval office. Unfortunately, that is the road we are headed down. Let "Betrayal" serve as your warning and vote accordingly.
November 20, 2021
Jonathan Karl has raised the bar on books about Trump. It is an easy read about a very complex subject. I read it in two days. I was impressed with his citations and descriptions of major players, some of whom I have heard, but didn’t know what they did. There is a lot of information that isn’t mentioned in books by other authors.
November 30, 2021
Late in Jonathan Karl's "Betrayal," the author asks Kevin McCarthy, a probable future Speaker of the House, why he has not stood up to President Trump more forcefully. McCarthy scoffs at the notion, turning towards the National Mall and asking where the statues or memorials to Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and other "Never-Trumpers" stood. The absence of all of those figures from the political scene was, in McCarthy's mind, the critical factor, regardless of whether they were right or wrong on principles and morality.
McCarthy and countless Republicans pepper the pages of this book and others, certain in their belief that by staying within the Trump orbit, they are pushing the totalitarian president back towards slightly more reasonable, more safe and more secure ground. The conceit is well-worn in history, with Franz Von Papen perhaps the most infamous example, a politician of Weimar Germany who believed he could constrain the young Adolf Hitler and channel Nazi energy and fervor into a stable, governing bloc. Instead, death and destruction followed. The legacy of Trump administration officials may not become so infamous - Hitler and Nazi Germany are in exclusive territory for their malevolence, industrialized killing, and evil unleashed on their own people and others throughout the globe - but such figures as Pat Cipollone, Mike Pompeo, Steven Mnuchin, Robert O'Brien, and many, many others should beware of the selfish pull of believing that one person can pull a country back from the brink. After all, we had four years of Trump administration officials allegedly pushing him towards more "normal" behavior, culminating in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th.
Karl's book checks all the boxes of a blockbuster Trump book: juicy gossip; the obligatory post-presidential interview at Mar-a-Lago; senior figures seeking to show how right they were and how wrong Trump was in the comfort of retrospect. However, the book loses steam with the author's focus on his own perceptions and interactions with the president and other officials. While Karl's appreciation for how dangerous Trump was for American democracy is appreciated, it is sad that for years, media figures like Karl perpetuated a narrative that the media was overreacting to Trump-ism ("take him seriously, not literally"). Democracy doesn't rest upon static pillars and institutions; it only succeeds and continues if citizens push back against lies in all respects, at all times, and call out dangerous trends as they happen.
Karl's book is entertaining and a worthy addition to the Trump-era book blitz. What is still missing from the literature, though, is a penetrating portrait into the man, and why he has pursued such an authoritarian course in his political rise.
McCarthy and countless Republicans pepper the pages of this book and others, certain in their belief that by staying within the Trump orbit, they are pushing the totalitarian president back towards slightly more reasonable, more safe and more secure ground. The conceit is well-worn in history, with Franz Von Papen perhaps the most infamous example, a politician of Weimar Germany who believed he could constrain the young Adolf Hitler and channel Nazi energy and fervor into a stable, governing bloc. Instead, death and destruction followed. The legacy of Trump administration officials may not become so infamous - Hitler and Nazi Germany are in exclusive territory for their malevolence, industrialized killing, and evil unleashed on their own people and others throughout the globe - but such figures as Pat Cipollone, Mike Pompeo, Steven Mnuchin, Robert O'Brien, and many, many others should beware of the selfish pull of believing that one person can pull a country back from the brink. After all, we had four years of Trump administration officials allegedly pushing him towards more "normal" behavior, culminating in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th.
Karl's book checks all the boxes of a blockbuster Trump book: juicy gossip; the obligatory post-presidential interview at Mar-a-Lago; senior figures seeking to show how right they were and how wrong Trump was in the comfort of retrospect. However, the book loses steam with the author's focus on his own perceptions and interactions with the president and other officials. While Karl's appreciation for how dangerous Trump was for American democracy is appreciated, it is sad that for years, media figures like Karl perpetuated a narrative that the media was overreacting to Trump-ism ("take him seriously, not literally"). Democracy doesn't rest upon static pillars and institutions; it only succeeds and continues if citizens push back against lies in all respects, at all times, and call out dangerous trends as they happen.
Karl's book is entertaining and a worthy addition to the Trump-era book blitz. What is still missing from the literature, though, is a penetrating portrait into the man, and why he has pursued such an authoritarian course in his political rise.
September 7, 2025
Jonathan Karl’s Betrayal is a scathing and brutal look at the final year of the Trump presidency. We see President Trump and his key aides work through the pandemic, the election, and the controversial transition to Joe Biden. Karl lets former Trump Cabinet members and aides do the talking, with many of them painting a picture of a selfish, conceited leader focused only on what was good for himself and doing anything to maintain power. Karl’s writing is accessible and gripping, loaded with interesting insights and rich detail. This book will certainly frustrate Trump supporters and Trump critics might be upset Karl attempts to be fair to President Trump before the events of the transition and January 6th. This is certainly an important and disturbing look at the 45th and now 47th President. Rating: 4.5/5
November 26, 2021
This is the second book of Jonathan Karl's I've read concerning the Trump era and it was just as good, if not better than Front Row at the Trump Show. I listened to the audio version of this book, read by the author. Let’s just say I was so mesmerized by his story (and voice) that I carried my iPod with me everywhere I went in both my car, gym and home I’ve always felt that Mr. Karl, the ultimate professional, was extremely careful to stay impartial and just present the facts. He has done that in this book, but a little more of his personal opinions and feelings come through – which I greatly appreciated. Thanks for an excellent book Mr. Karl.
December 3, 2021
How many times can we say, "It was even worse than we thought?" Well, it was even worse than we thought. Karl has the knack of getting inside a scene, wearing his journalist's hat, and his citizen's hat. He responds to the vileness the same way we do, but he knows how to hold onto his professional face.
The last months...brought to you by a sore loser who can't admit defeat, or the truth. Karl gets into minds of those around Trump and he ferrets out the truth. Ugly as it is. Rereading the account of January 6 is painful. I think we should require every legislator who denies the seriousness of that day to read this account. Out loud. At least once a day. And then look their voters in the eyes.
Our democracy might not have survived without journalists like Karl. I am grateful for him.
The last months...brought to you by a sore loser who can't admit defeat, or the truth. Karl gets into minds of those around Trump and he ferrets out the truth. Ugly as it is. Rereading the account of January 6 is painful. I think we should require every legislator who denies the seriousness of that day to read this account. Out loud. At least once a day. And then look their voters in the eyes.
Our democracy might not have survived without journalists like Karl. I am grateful for him.
November 17, 2021
It felt alot like reading a Woodward book. I've been waiting for an insurrection book to come out and I'm not disappointed.
I just wish I could believe books changed minds in modern America.
Congratulations to the reviewers who managed to pan the book a week before it came out. Trump supporters are special!
I just wish I could believe books changed minds in modern America.
Congratulations to the reviewers who managed to pan the book a week before it came out. Trump supporters are special!
August 4, 2022
His writing is clear and concise, and the reports are alarming. “Our democracy – the one we have been taught is the greatest system of government in the history of the world – survived his downfall. But his betrayal showed just how vulnerable our democratic system is.” Watching daily news reports and the January 6 committee hearings has given me a lot of information to process. However, this book goes deep into explaining more details of how this happened and who was involved.
In 2016, he wrote how Trump could win by dividing the country and removing anyone in the administration that wasn’t loyal. While I knew that he hired John McEntee, a 29-year-old inexperienced “body guy” to be the director of the White House Personnel Office, I was shocked at the tactics taken to remove experienced high-level administrators or anyone that wasn’t 100 percent with Trump. It made me wonder how people were able to work in an environment of questionable trust levels, anger and fear.
Karl explained the background of Trump’s dishonesty with the pandemic which we all know that resulted in thousands of Americans being infected and dying. This book brings us back to remembering the news reports with Trump at the podium while the experts were mostly on the sidelines. Most people in the White House did not wear masks when the pandemic started which made it a dangerous place to work.
Other parts of the book gives the reader more details about other administrative actions. Protests across the country resulted resulting from George Floyd’s death. Trump said, “when looting starts, the shooting starts.” Also, Trump accused news reporter, Joe Scarborough, of murdering a woman 19 years ago. And then the book follows Trump’s downfall when he made accusations of voter fraud. “We now live in a nation where a large part of the population does not trust our elections. There are many reasons for this, but none greater than Donald Trump and the lies he told about the 2020 election.” Trump also influenced the Supreme Court with conservative judges making it a political team of decision makers.
There’s more in the book and it’s a must read for everyone on both sides of the aisle. As it’s been said so many times: “you can’t make this up.”
In 2016, he wrote how Trump could win by dividing the country and removing anyone in the administration that wasn’t loyal. While I knew that he hired John McEntee, a 29-year-old inexperienced “body guy” to be the director of the White House Personnel Office, I was shocked at the tactics taken to remove experienced high-level administrators or anyone that wasn’t 100 percent with Trump. It made me wonder how people were able to work in an environment of questionable trust levels, anger and fear.
Karl explained the background of Trump’s dishonesty with the pandemic which we all know that resulted in thousands of Americans being infected and dying. This book brings us back to remembering the news reports with Trump at the podium while the experts were mostly on the sidelines. Most people in the White House did not wear masks when the pandemic started which made it a dangerous place to work.
Other parts of the book gives the reader more details about other administrative actions. Protests across the country resulted resulting from George Floyd’s death. Trump said, “when looting starts, the shooting starts.” Also, Trump accused news reporter, Joe Scarborough, of murdering a woman 19 years ago. And then the book follows Trump’s downfall when he made accusations of voter fraud. “We now live in a nation where a large part of the population does not trust our elections. There are many reasons for this, but none greater than Donald Trump and the lies he told about the 2020 election.” Trump also influenced the Supreme Court with conservative judges making it a political team of decision makers.
There’s more in the book and it’s a must read for everyone on both sides of the aisle. As it’s been said so many times: “you can’t make this up.”
December 29, 2023
Karl did an extremely good job on this book. Karl did the best job here of the 4 or 5 books I have read on the last year of the Trump Administration. Karl’s examination of the election fraud claimed by Trump, Giuliani, Powell, etc. was exceptional both in actually doing the research and analysis as well explaining it in an easily comprehended writing. Karl also did an excellent job explaining the red and blue mirage concepts related to vote counting. Even if you have read several Trump presidency books, this one is worth reading for all the information it presents that other books do not including the Johnny McEntee roll. 4.75 stars.
September 13, 2024
Well researched and thoughtful account of Karl's experiences as White House correspondent during the end of Trump's term. I, a political and news junkie, even discovered new details that I don't believe were previously reported. I recommend this for anyone who has an interest in this topic.
January 17, 2022
Excellent Account on Trump’s Last Days in Office
This is really an essential book to read to read about Trump. It’s one of the best and very absorbing. A must read
This is really an essential book to read to read about Trump. It’s one of the best and very absorbing. A must read
June 22, 2022
YIKES! I have always liked Jonathan Karl and this audiobook spoken by him was chilling. I am horrified, alarmed and deeply concerned for the future of this country. We are in deep trouble and morality is fleeting.
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