How Bob Woodward’s Rage proved to be lethal for Trump

 

“This is deadly stuff,” no I am not saying that, this is what US President Donald Trump said to the world renowned journalist Bob Woodward during an interview for his book ‘Rage’, with regard to the world-wrecking pandemic outbreak, coronavirus. Rage is a sensational piece of work, not only because it revolves one of the most controversial and intriguing figures of the world, but also because it was the first time Trump agreed to be interviewed and tapped for a book. Probably he regretted declining Woodward’s interview offer for his previous book, Fear. So let’s see what Trump’s words told us about Trump through Rage.

 Brings outrage in people

While going through just the first 20 pages of this The 450-page book you would know why Trump brings outrage in people. He told the writer, “I do more things than other people are able to get done. And that, sometimes, can make my opponents unhappy... A lot of other presidents that you’ve covered didn’t get a lot done, Bob.” As we proceed we gather what Trump has done, what he has undone and what he has not done at all. Though his doing and undoing caused enough troubles in America, Middle East, Europe, and the world beyond, what shook the country most was his not doing enough to combat Covid-19. In one of the 17 interviewees, he gave to Woodward Trump said, “I wanted to always play it down, I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Don’t know about panic but his attitude towards the virus definitely created rage for the Trump administration’s mismanagement of the crisis.

 Tougher, meaner, and dangerous

Rage unveils not only Trump’s penchant for absolute power but also his love for those with absolute power including dictators and strongmen. Trump’s bromance with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un made quite a headline when Woodward shared few details of the love-filled letters shared between the two.

Woodward quotes Trump discussing his rapport with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, and others.

“It’s funny the relationships I have,” Trump says. “The tougher and the meaner they are, the better I get along with them … Explain that to me someday.” It would be easier if he got the answer from Trump himself.

 Two of the president’s top officials called him a dangerous man. Gen. Jim Mattis, Trump’s former defense secretary, in conversation with Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence at the time, said that Trump was “dangerous” and “unfit” for the presidency. A man who posts on twitter before disclosing it to his own aides and advisors could be very dangerous for a country. Mattis said that the most sinister aspect of Trump’s tenure was his gentle approach towards Russia as if Moscow had “something” on the president. According to the book, in May 2019, Mattis told Coats, “Maybe at some point, we’re going to have to stand up and speak out. There may be a time when we have to take collective action.”

 An uninvolved bystander

In a polarised world, as we are in, people need a more peace-leaving, conflict-resolving, unity-driven leader than a mere bystander. But unfortunately, Trump did not display any of these qualities especially when his country needed it the most. Instead, he pulled a nice bible waving stunt, for which peaceful protesters had been cleared with teargas.  Protestors were enraged due to racial indiscrimination prevalent in the country, triggered by the death of George Floyd, a 45- year old black guy who was killed in police custody.

Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican Senator, who was a friendly critic to Trump, told Woodward, that that he has “never been more worried”. South Carolina’s senior senator explained that Trump could have responded to the racial unrest differently, instead of using armed forces to control riots or rather as some may say to suppress the rekindled movement -‘Black Lives Matter’

 In Woodward’s book, Trump came across as an uninvolved bystander, who could have done more to soothe his hurting population but preferred to stay at a distance and flash a book of religion.

 I, me, myself

These three words define Trump and basically sum up all his programs, decisions, plans, and actions. More than a credit seeker, Rage makes it clear that the US President is a credit snatcher. Woodward mentioned an interesting episode wherein Trump finally adopted the plan of implementing a ban (partial) on travel to and from China, after persistent suggestions from his advisors due to the deadly contagious virus but Trump said that he was the only person who came up with this plan. He said, “I had 21 people in my office,” he said. But only “one person had said we have to close it down. That was me.”

 Wrong man for the job

In Woodward’s opinion, a “president must be willing to share the worst with the people, the bad the news with the good”. Instead of “truth-telling”, Woodward contesting Trump’s ways of working said that he “enshrined personal impulse as a governing principle”. Woodward concludes that when Trump’s “performance is taken in its entirety”, it would appear as a lesson learned from the mistake, because Trump was “the wrong man for the job”.

 Woodward-Bernstein’s team at the Washington Post exposed the Watergate Scandal reportage that led to President Nixon’s resignation, now let’s see what this expose does to Trump’s presidency.