First published 2019
Victor Davis Hanson argues that Donald Trump's rise from celebrity businessman to president represents a crucial correction in American politics. The award-winning historian examines how Trump defeated sixteen Republican rivals and a well-funded Democratic opponent despite having no political or military background. Hanson contends that Trump uniquely recognized the abandonment of working-class Americans by coastal elites from both parties. According to the author, Trump possessed the instincts and drive to capitalize on this political opening, tear down entrenched corruption, and implement overdue reforms domestically and internationally. While acknowledging that America cannot endure multiple presidencies with Trump's volatility, Hanson maintains that decades of political drift required an outsider willing to take actions that conventional politicians would avoid. The book presents Trump as both highly successful and politically necessary for addressing problems that traditional leadership had ignored.
Genres: history, american, political-science, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: outsider-perspective, political-necessity
Period: 21st-Century
400 pages · Hardcover · Basic Books