by Dan Pfeiffer
First published 2020
Dan Pfeiffer argues that Donald Trump represents not an anomaly but the predictable outcome of modern Republican strategy. The former Obama White House communications director and Pod Save America cohost presents his case across three fronts: how Democrats can win against Trump in 2020, why Trump emerged as the natural extension of GOP politics, and what structural changes democracy needs to prevent future Trumps. Pfeiffer traces how Mitch McConnell, Koch funding, and Fox News created a system that amplifies powerful voices while silencing ordinary Americans. He contends that without bold Democratic responses, a shrinking white conservative minority will control the country for generations. The book calls for aggressive solutions including court reform, electoral college abolition, and filibuster elimination. Pfeiffer draws on twenty years in Democratic politics, from campaigns to Capitol Hill to the Obama administration, but says Trump's victory radicalized his thinking. He urges progressives to become smarter and tougher in fighting the platform of racism, authoritarianism, and plutocracy that defines modern Republicanism. The book offers Democrats a roadmap for making America more democratic while avoiding the tactics they oppose.
Genres: american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: call-to-action, political-commentary
Setting: United States
Period: 21st Century
273 pages · Hardcover · Twelve