Rage Unleashed Today
Bob Woodward's new book, Rage is out today. It's going to dominate a news cycle or two.
Last week's big news from the book, of course, was that Donald Trump admitted, on tape, that he downplayed the threat posed by COVID-19. This was, if you believe the President, to keep people from panicking. Of course, few people believe the President. The biggest news on Monday, the eve of the book's publication, was that in Trump's final phone call to Woodward, the President expressed concern that "the virus totally supersedes the economy." Woodward opined that yes, the virus does supersede the economy.
Taken together with last week's news, this just underscores that Trump sees COVID-19 entirely in terms of how it affects him and his reelection chances. Abraham Lincoln, who Trump is fond of comparing himself to, once said: "If I could save the union without freeing any slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." That quote might be adapted to Trump: "If I could get reelected with nobody dying from COVID-19 I would do it; and if I could get reelected with millions dying I would do it; and if I could get reelected with more than zero but less than millions dying I would also do that."
Here are some of the other revelations from the book:
Former DNI Dan Coats is absolutely convinced the Russians have kompromat on Trump.
Coats and James Mattis considered going public with how "dangerous" they think Trump is (though neither did).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) acknowledges that Trump always wants the credit, but never any culpability.
The President constantly bragged to Woodward about how smart he is, how nice his houses are, etc.
Speaking of Lincoln, Trump is angry that he's not getting more praise from Black people.
Jared Kushner admits that Trump lies a lot, but says "controversy elevates message."
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson found Kushner's kowtowing to Benjamin Netanyahu "nauseating."
Anthony Fauci disdains Trump, and says his attention span "is like a minus number."
Consistent with the article in The Atlantic, Trump regularly denigrates the military, especially top brass.
Trump admits an affinity for strongmen: "The tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them."
Trump says he took an instant liking to Kim Jong-Un, comparing it to when "you meet a woman, in one second you know whether or not it's all going to happen."
The general consensus is that Trump comes off very badly in the book, especially since it is his own words that are being used most of the time. Further, in all of his past books (including All the President's Men), Woodward has contented himself to be a chronicler. He himself admits that he's not much of an analyst, so he collects information, lays it out in a readable fashion, and leaves it to the readers (or to other writers) to draw conclusions. That is not the case here, however. Breaking with past precedent, Woodward's own opinions find their way into the book with some frequency, including his final conclusion that "the President is the wrong man for the job."
And now, it is time to sit back and see if Rage pierces Trump's seemingly invulnerable armor. We doubt that the book will do the trick, since none of the other books about Trump have moved the needle, and it's likely this one will only find its way into the hands of people who are already voting for Joe Biden. However, the audio clips that Woodward has been happy to share, incorporated into a commercial or ten airing in heavy rotation in October? That might just have an impact.