Your World As I See It

Dr. Mary L. Trump divides her book into sections, with several chapters in each. Note: for the sake of clarity, for the rest of this review I will refer to the author as Dr. Trump and to her uncle as Donald or the president. Let's dig in! Part One: "The Cruelty Is The Point" Of course, one of the leading perceptions of the Trump Administration is the cruel and inhumane policies that it pursues, from the petty, bizarre, and self-defeating callousness towards veterans and intelligence officials (as noted in John Bolton's book and countless journalists), to tone-deaf social policies (e.g., everything Betsy DeVos puts forward on education, confederate paraphernalia, healthcare, etc.), to authoritarian brutality as seen on the southern border and in dealing with protestors. In this section, Dr. Mary Trump claims that her uncle's character traits in this regard are in part due to the circumstances of his formative years. Chapter 1: "The House" Quick Hits: in t...

In addition to my interest in American politics, I also enjoy taking a look at how things work behind the scenes, which is explanation for my summer reading choices. Both Dr. Mary Trump and Ambassador John Bolton are in unique positions to provide these insights that I find fascinating (not to mention, informative in this critical juncture). Of course, there are clear differences between their styles, which I will get into more thoroughly at the end of this review series. However, just a first, basic comparison is in order before I get into her book.  First, while both are focused on President Trump, the framing is quite different: Bolton addresses his actions in the administration through the lens of foreign policy decisions; Dr. Mary Trump examines the forces that shaped the man. So, if you are imagining another book full of current(ish) criticism of the administration, be prepared for something completely different. Second, there is the matter of purpose and perspective. One of ...

The Epilogue: "Yeah, I Could Have Testified, But It Wouldn't Have Made A Difference (and also: $$$)" Hey, thanks for taking this little journey with me, I'm sure we're all glad it's finally at an end. Next week I'll be diving into Dr. Mary Trump's book, so stay tuned for that if you dare, haha. Today I'll be wrapping up with final thoughts on the book and the epilogue section. But first, here what you're actually interested in: my recommendations! Q: Should I read this book? A: Well, it depends. If you think Trump is doing a good (or even ok) job as president, you should definitely read it. If you think you think it's fine to vote 3rd party or sit out this election, you should read this book. Otherwise, I'd say you'd be fine skipping it. It isn't particularly fun in a literary sense, though I suppose it might be useful for showing people anti-Trump quotes from a conservative republican, though you could just ask me to send you t...

Chapters 12-14: "Bolton's Exit Strategy" There is, of course, the epilogue to deal with, but here we are at the end of the book proper. While there are certainly more salacious lines from Bolton in this section, honestly, it is tiring to turn this pages while daily new travesties are being visited upon us and constant demonstrations of self-dealing and willful deceit and ignorance abound. However, let's get into it, I guess... Quick hits: Bolton finally gives up. He took on the job of National Security Advisor with the dream of transforming the inner workings of the American foreign policy and intelligence apparatus, or at least of enacting clear, hardline positions against those he believes to be our enemies or rivals. However, he at last came to realize that he was working for a president that in his judgment does not have the temperament to lead a nation, one more interested in his own accomplishments than the needs of the country, one that lacked any sense of focu...

Chapters 10 ("Thunder Out of China") and 11 ("Checking Into the Hanoi Hilton, Then Checking Out, and the Panmunjom Playtime") Quick Hits: these chapters highlight Bolton's view (again) of Trump's foreign policy problems of personal relationships vs. the country, inconsistency and lack of resolve, and discord in the administration. We are presented with a cabinet that squabbles with itself while also trying to prevent the president from pursuing disastrous and uniformed decisions. I will relate the information in these chapters by expansive commentary around some of the more interesting lines from Bolton's prose. Let's start with the headliner that basically every journalist put out to the raised eyebrows of the public: [Trump] then stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming US presidential election, alluding to China's economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win. He stressed the importance o...

Chapter 9: "Venezuela Libre" or "We Can Make A Mess of Foreign Policy Anywhere" Quick Hits: Bolton spends this chapter discussing the failed attempt by the opposition in Venezuela to topple Maduro. He notes that while there were no guarantees of success, the president's characteristic lack of resolve and focus basically ensured its failure. Naturally, he has criticisms for other administration officials as well, but, as we all know, only one man is ultimately responsible (even if he tries to not take any responsibility for anything): "Perhaps Trump forget he made the actual decision on policy, except when he said he was the only one who made decisions" (Bolton 276). 1. President Trump: as always, the president constantly changes his positions on the foreign policy decision. Bolton again implies that the issue stems from from Trump's obvious lack of experience in and knowledge of American policy. As constantly demonstrated throughout the administra...

Chapter 8 - "Chaos As A Way Of Life"  or "Actually Bolton's Title for this Chapter is Fine as is" While there are certainly many criticisms of the president present today (even more so in the short but already overflowing 2020 life), I feel like this chapter points at the central failing of the Trump administration: a complete lack of order and professionalism, which both influences and is influenced by Trump's own inconsistent and self-centered style. Quick Hits: John Bolton tackles the theme of chaos and disorder of this White House, especially compared to previous administrations that he has served in. He portrays an administration constantly scrambling to put out fires started by the president and to take the gasoline out of his hands as he moves into another room. He talks about the vindictive pettiness in the treatment of friends and foes alike, the constant undermining of administration officials and cabinet members, and frustration of the nepotistic ...

Chapters 5-7 largely deal with Russia, though also detail the end of Gen. Mattis' tenure as Secretary of Defense. It has taken me a bit to get this down, due to the 4th of July and also the fact that every time I pick up this book and look at the title, I usually just go "I'd rather just go down and watch Hamilton  again." Quick Hits: John Bolton discusses negotiations with Russia & Putin, keying in on his evaluation of the dangers inherent in putting a master manipulator in Putin and a naïve egotist in Trump together. This comes out in the well-published Helsinki press conference snafu. He also covers the spiral of the disastrous lack of clear thinking about Syria (and Afghanistan) that also leads Mattis' demise in the administration. Leading up to the summit in Helsinki (the location settled on despite, as Bolton highlights, Trump's severe lack of geographical and historical knowledge), Bolton discusses the president's NATO issues; in brief, you woul...

Chapter 4: "The Singapore Sling" or "Maybe Having An Ill-Informed Narcissist As President Is Bad For US Foreign Relations" Note: before getting into this, it seems timely for this discussion that President Trump's ability to "read" has been touted by the press secretary, who has also argued that Trump is the most informed person on the planet; many officials in a place to comment on this have pushed back against this notion, and the details presented by Bolton in this chapter also question Trump's commitment to knowledge. Quick Hits: this chapter quickly pivots from Bolton's joy at the end of the Iran Nuclear Deal to his disgust at the events leading up to the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore. Here he paints a picture of Trump as unprepared and willfully ignorant of history and general points of foreign policy, as a man driven not by deeply-held beliefs, but by personal image and feelings, a man consumed with himself over country. Critical as I am...

Chapter 3: "America Breaks Free" or "Maybe Bolton Should See His Doctor About that 30-Year 'Bomb Iran' Erection" Quick Hits: John Bolton achieves one of his big goals in getting the US to ditch the Iran deal. That this is his goal is hardly surprising, as a simple word association with "John Bolton" results in 90% "Preemptive Bombing of Iran" and 10% "Mustache" (although I'm sure "Self-Serving Sellout" is now creeping up the charts). This turns out to be one of his easier lifts, considering the only thing he needed to say to get Trump on board was to remind him that this was something Obama did. If there is anything that John Bolton loves more than talking about how smart and right he is, it is talking about how much he wants to foment conflict with Iran. In the third chapter of his White House memoir, he can hardly contain his glee at trashing the Iran Anti-Nuclear deal from the previous administration. He casts h...

Chapter 2: "Cry 'Havoc!' and Let Slip the Dogs of War" or "That Time That General Mattis Played Me For A Fool" Brief summary for those with limited time for this stuff: in this chapter, Bolton details the behind-the-scenes decision-making that went into the 2018 military strike against Syria in response to Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people (not to be confused with the 2017 military strike against Syria in response to Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people). He goes into how General Mattis outmaneuvered him in influencing President Trump's final decision, how useless Steve Mnuchin and Nikki Haley's contributions were, and, naturally, Trump's characteristic lack of focus. When we last left our self-styled hero, JB had just come on board as the National Security Advisor. In this second installment, he hops right into the fire (some might call it a dumpster fire) with the administration gearing up to react to B...

Finally back to blog! In the interests of reading this so other don't have to, here we go with John Bolton's The Room Where it Happened . In this series I will post my thoughts and reactions to reading the formal National Security Advisor's memoir of his time in the Trump White House. Naturally, I have a great number of thoughts on JB and his mustache, but I'll get to those after the focus on the book itself. Dig in to chapter 1! Chapter 1: "The Long March to a West Wing Corner Office" (or "Let Me Tell You Why I, John Bolton, am such an astute and amazing fellow!") The first chapter of the book deals basically with the preamble to Bolton becoming the NSA. For my purposes, this section of the book wanders around three basic threads: 1. Bolton confirming what any modestly-informed follower of American politics suspects: that Trump and his campaign/administration were woefully unprepared to win the election and to understand how the government works in ...