“All Americans were rightly sickened”: “Statement by the President,” Rose Garden, June 1, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
“Is that your Bible?”: Zach Montague, “Holding It Aloft, He Incited a Backlash. What Does the Bible Mean to Trump?,” The New York Times, June 2, 2020.
“I am outraged”: Michelle Boorstein and Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “Episcopal Bishop on President Trump: ‘Everything He Has Said and Done Is to Inflame Violence,’ ” The Washington Post, June 1, 2020.
“This evening,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop: “Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s statement on President Trump’s Use of St. John’s, Holy Bible,” Episcopal News Service, June 1, 2020, EpiscopalNewsService.org.
“When I joined the military, some 50 years ago”: Jeffrey Goldbert, “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution,” The Atlantic, June 3, 2020.
“I didn’t like his ‘leadership’ ”: @RealDonaldTrump, “… His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom ‘brought home the bacon.’ I didn’t like his ‘leadership’ style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!,” 9:02 p.m., June 3, 2020, Twitter.com.
News reports said he had been rushed: Michael D. Shear and Katie Rogers, “Trump and Aides Try to Change the Narrative of the White House Protests,” The New York Times, June 3, 2020.
“Things were so bad that the Secret Service”: Chris Strohm, “Barr Says Secret Service Told Trump to Go to White House Bunker,” Bloomberg News, June 8, 2020.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Graham had refused publicly: Andrew Desiderio, “Graham Shoots Down Trump’s Call for Obama’s Testimony on Russia Probe Origins,” Politico, May 14, 2020.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on June 19, 2020.
Then on April 7 Trump said: “Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing,” April 7, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
On April 17, in the middle of: @RealDonaldTrump, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!,” 11:21 a.m., “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!,” 11:22 a.m., “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!,” 11:25 a.m., April 17, 2020, Twitter.com.
Fauci gave an interview: Jon Cohen, “ ‘I’m Going to Keep Pushing.’ Anthony Fauci Tries to Make the White House Listen to Facts of the Pandemic,” Science, March 22, 2020.
Fauci publicly said China: “Threats to Global Health and Bio Security,” Council on Foreign Relations, February 18, 2020, CFR.org.
In it, Bolton wrote of a meeting: John Bolton, “John Bolton: The Scandal of Trump’s China Policy,” The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2020.
“I’ve done more for the Black community”: Trump’s claim that he has done more for the Black community than any president other than Abraham Lincoln has been widely refuted by historians. See Linda Qiu, “Trump’s False Claim That ‘Nobody Has Ever Done’ More for the Black Community than He Has,” The New York Times, June 5, 2020.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on June 22, 2020.
“It just came out, that the headline, quote”: See Brian Flood, “Trump Rally Gives Fox News Largest Saturday Night Audience in Its History,” Fox News, June 22, 2020.
Tulsa’s top public health official: Stetson Payne, “Tulsa Health Department Director ‘Wishes’ Trump Rally Would Be Postponed as Local COVID Cases Surge,” Tulsa World, June 13, 2020.
Trump seemed to be referring to the June 5 jobs numbers: Employment Situation News Release, “The Employment Situation—May 2020,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 5, 2020, BLS.gov.
“You remember when Bob Costa and I came”: See Bob Woodward, Fear: Trump in the White House (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018); and Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, “Transcript: Donald Trump Interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa,” The Washington Post, April 2, 2016.
In 2016, he said, “I had a poll”: An ABC News tracking poll released October 23, 2016, two weeks before election day in 2016, showed Clinton had a 12-point lead over Trump. The Washington Post was not involved in the poll. See: Gary Langer et al., “Clinton Vaults to a Double-Digit Lead, Boosted by Broad Disapproval of Trump,” ABC News, October 23, 2016.
In 2016, I had said Trump could win: See “Bob Woodward on the Final Stretch of Election 2016,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, October 19, 2016. Available on YouTube.com.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on July 8, 2020.
Both painted divisive portraits: See “The Inaugural Address,” U.S. Capitol, January 20, 2017, WhiteHouse.gov.
He had said there was “a merciless”: “Remarks by President Trump at South Dakota’s 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration,” July 4, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
The next day, in the White House: “Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 Salute to America,” July 5, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
One of the cofounders: Yaron Steinbuch, “BLM Co-founder Describes Herself as ‘Trained Marxist,’ ” New York Post, June 25, 2020.
It was not, however: BlackLivesMatter.com, July 8, 2020.
I reminded Trump that Fauci: Orion Rummler, “Fauci: ‘False Narrative’ to Take Comfort in Lower Coronavirus Death Rate,” Axios, July 7, 2020.
EPILOGUE
Trump has some real accomplishments that are not understood. The NAFTA replacement, called the USMCA, fully is a success. Robert Lighthizer, the trade representative, negotiated a middle path between globalism and Trump’s protectionism with Canada and Mexico. The trade agreement passed in 2019 with the votes of 90 percent of both the House and Senate. It is full of progressive pro-worker and pro-environmental provisions. Jared Kushner played a key role in the endless negotiations.
Trump has a compelling case that the trade deficit of some $500 billion with China is a ripoff. Trump’s view is supported by no less a financial authority than Warren Buffett, the most successful investor of all time and one of the richest people in the world. In a November 10, 2003, Fortune magazine article called “America’s Growing Trade Deficit Is Selling the Nation Out from Under Us,” Buffett and Fortune editor-at-large Carol J. Loomis demonstrated how a continuing, large trade deficit with another country is a wealth transfer that could drain all the financial assets from a country that allows the deficit to persist year after year.
“We must share together the bad news”: Transcript, “Fireside Chat 19: On the War with Japan,” UVA Miller Center, December 9, 1941.
“Your government has unmistakable confidence”: Transcript, “Fireside Chat 20: On the Progress of the War,” UVA Miller Center, February 23, 1942.
Index
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Insert photos are indicated by Plate number. Terms beginning with numbers are alphabetized as if spelt-out; 3M, for instance, is listed in the Ts.
Abbas, Mahmoud, 66–67
ABC News, 370
Abe, Shinzo, 192
Access Hollywood tape, 26, 206, 372
Adams, Nick, 344
Adams, Scott, 258–59
Afghanistan/Afghanistan war, 2, 3, 18, 32, 69, 97, 110, 121, 124, 135, 140, 143, 194, 309, 314
African Americans. See protests against police brutality and racial inequality; race/racism
AIDS/HIV, 211–12, 274, 276
Air Force, 20, 77, 96, 130, 132, 155
Air Force One, 157, 158, 246, 248, 251
airlines and air travel, xix, xxi, 233, 303–4, 316
; al Qaeda, 4
Albright, Madeleine, 19–20
Alexander, Lamar, 240
Alexander, Peter, 254
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), 258, 387
Amazon, 226, 302
anger. See rage
Antifa, 344
The Apprentice, 19
approval ratings and polls, 222, 223, 248–49, 259–60, 307, 328, 362, 370, 376, 378, 379
Arab League, 140
Army, U.S., 5, 16, 75, 85, 87, 121, 131–32, 142, 196
Army Special Operations Command, 16
The Art of Her Deal (Jordan), 365
The Art of The Deal (Trump), 413
al-Assad, Bashar, 34
Associated Press, 227
asymptomatic infection/spread of COVID-19, xv, 220, 235, 244, 245, 250, 325, 335
Azar, Alex, 213, 230–31, 233–34, 235, 236, 237, 252, 254, 291
Azevêdo, Roberto, 224–25
B-1 bombers, 80
Baker, James A., III, 14
Baker, Peter, 379
Baltimore, MD, Trump’s comments about, 266–67
Bank of America, 301
Bannon, Steve, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12
Barr, William (Bill), 154–57, 159, 160–64, 169, 246–48, 338, 343, 388, Plate 10b
basketball, 278–79
Bastille, key to, 124
bats, as virus carriers, 212, 214
“Beachhead Team,” 32
Beirut, bombing of Marine Barracks in, 133
Benioff, Marc, 277
Berger, Sandy, 10–20
Bezos, Jeff, 226, 228
Bible, Trump’s use of, 338, 339, 342, 346, 351
Biden, Hunter, 168–69, 170, 190, 199, 201, 205, 231, 241
Biden, Joseph R. (Joe), 168–70, 190, 199–201, 205, 231, 241, 309, 318, 324, 347, 348, 370, 371, 378, 379
biography, art of, 256
bioweapon, COVID-19 as, 333
bipartisanship, 103, 142, 208, 350, 351
Birx, Deborah, 276–77, 280–81, 296, 303–4, 315, 317, 319, 352, Plate 13a
Black Lives Matter movement, 336, 366, 367, 375
Black Lives Matter mural, Washington, DC, 340
Bloomberg News, 218
Boeing and 737-MAX plane, xxi, 316
Bolsonaro, Jair, 274–75
Bolton, John, 231, 357
Booker, Cory, 103
border wall with Mexico, 145
Bosnia, 131
Bowser, Muriel, 336, 337, 340
Branswell, Helen, 244–45
Brennan, John O., 113, 163, 166
Britain, 69, 138, 311, 335, 356
Broadway, closure of, 279
Brooks, Vincent, 75–76, 79, 83–87, 110
Budde, Mariann Edgar, 338–39
Buffett, Warren, 422
Burisma, 168, 201
Burr, Richard, 149
Bush, George H. W., 14, 154, 228
Bush, George W., 14, 26, 52, 92, 95, 109, 110, 161, 188, 196, 208, 260, 314, 316, 332, 349, 350
Bush, Jeb, 7
Byers, Bradley, 32–35, 37–38
Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 83–84
Canada, 2, 127, 137, 145, 225, 421
Carter, Jimmy, 188, 228, 268
cash payments and unemployment benefits due to COVID-19, 300–301, 308, 309
CBP (Customs and Border Protection), 265–66
CBS News, xvii
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and COVID-19. See also Redfield, Robert China, efforts to get investigative team into, xv, 216, 242, 250
early alarm over, xvi
first community transmissions and, 252–53
first daily report (January 1, 2020), 213–14, Plate 1
Incident Management Structure, 218
mask-wearing guidelines, 297
Messonnier warning, 251–52
situational reports, 214, 215, 217–20, Plates 1–2
Trump’s tour of, 274
CentCom (U.S. Central Command), 2, 4, 18, 130, 131
chemical weapons, 9, 34, 139, 337
Cheshire Cat, 258
China. See also COVID-19, and China; Xi Jinping electoral interference by, 116
Huawei, U.S. restrictions on, 232
Nixon’s opening of, 124, 186
North Korea policy and, 93–94
nuclear weapons and, 123
“One China” policy, 261–62
Putin on, 318
Russia and, 148
social media in, xv, 218, 220, 334
South China Sea, expansion into, 125–26
Tillerson and, 10–11
trade war/trade deal with, xix, 64, 125, 145, 194, 223–24, 225, 229, 243, 314, 332, 357, 421–22
as U.S. national security threat, 231–32
Vietnam and, 128
Wei Fenghe and Mattis, relationship between, 123–28
wet markets in, 211–12, 214, 305
“wolf warrior” diplomacy in, 333–34
Chinese CDC, xvi, 215
Chinese New Year celebrations, 218
“Chinese virus,” as Trump name for COVID-19, 283–84, 290, 291, 293, 295, 368
Choe Son Hui, 107
Christians/Christianity Coats and, 24–25, 27, 28
Easter, Trump’s desire to re-open country for, 281, 295–96
essential businesses, churches as, 303
Fauci and, 295
Graham and, 351
Mattis at National Cathedral, 71, 73, 74, 81, Plate 5
Pence and, 24
prayers for Trump, 188, 213
Redfield and, 213
St. John’s Church photo-op and, 338–39, 351
“Christmas gift” threatened by North Korea, 191, 321
Chung Eui Yong, 90–91
Churchill, Winston, 344
CIA, 22, 27, 39–42, 60, 68, 93–94, 96, 98, 112–17, 121, 133, 137, 162–63, 183, 306, 314
Civil Rights Act, 369
Civil Rights Movement, 336, 346
Civil War, U.S., 73
Clapper, James, 163
Clinton, Bill, 19–20, 53, 57, 58, 59, 94–95, 160, 188, 191, 199, 228
Clinton, Hillary, 49, 50, 61, 156, 166, 192–93, 222, 223, 368, 370, 371
CNN, 256, 312, 343
Coats, Dan on Barr’s proposed intelligence agency investigation, 162–63
firing and replacement of, 169–70
image of, Plate 7
on impeachment of Trump, 241
Mattis and, 69–70, 133, 165–67
National Intelligence Strategy (2019) and Worldwide Threat Assessment, 148–49
on North Korea, 82
Pence and, 24–25, 26–30, 70
principal deputy hired by, 68–70
recruitment and confirmation as DNI, 24–31
resignation attempt of, 150–52, 165
on Russian security threat, 112–22, 148
souring of relationship with Trump, 115, 118–19, 121–22, 149–50, 165, 166, 247, Plate 7
on Trump character, 387
Coats, Marsha, 24–25, 27–31, 68, 70, 116, 119, 150, 151, 169, 170
Cohen, Michael, 164
Cohen, William, 19–20
Cohn, Gary, 36, 264, 292
Cohn, Roy, 19
Cold War, 3, 9, 124, 231
Comey, James, 45–54, 55–57, 58, 62, 156, 249
community spread of COVID-19, 252–53
Congressional Medal of Honor Society, 33
Constitutional government under Trump, state of, 388
controversy elevating message, 259, 288
Conway, Kellyanne, 262, Plate 16
Coons, Chris, 103
coronavirus. See COVID-19
Costa, Robert (Bob), xi, 369
coughing and sneezing etiquette, 278, 281, 315
Council on Foreign Relations, 201, 245
COVID-19. See also Birx, Deborah; CDC; Fauci, Anthony; Redfield, Robert as bioweapon, 333
declared a national emergency, 279
first community transmission cases, 252–53
first notices of outbreak, 211–20, Plate 1
first U.S. case of, 223
first U.S. death from, 255
14 critical areas, 298–308, 313
intelligence community on, 230, 306
international coordination of, 302
in New York, 253, 277, 279, 290, 298–99, 306
North Korea/Kim Jong Un and, 246, 295, 321–22
as pandemic, 273, 277, 285–86, 380, 381
public health emergency declaration, 237
racial disparities in infection rates, 311
shift in public consciousness regarding, 278–79
shortages related to, 279, 281, 289–90, 300, 301–2, 307, 313, 317, 334
COVID-19, and China Chinese New Year celebrations and spread of virus, 218
“Chinese virus” as term for COVID, 283–84, 290, 291, 293, 295, 368, 384
Fauci on, 355
genome, publication of, 219, 333
intentional release, rumors of/beliefs about, xvi, 332, 333–34, 356–57, 372, Plate 15
international travel restrictions, failure to impose, 276, 334–35, 356–57
medical equipment from China, 292–93, 302, 334
North Korea shutting border with China, 246
refusal to admit U.S. disease detectives, xvi, 216–17, 230–31, 241–43, 250, 331
response to/lack of transparency on virus, xiv–xvi, 216–20, 229–31, 250–51, 317–18, 330–31, 333–35, 355, 356, 372–73, Plate 15
Trump blaming China for spread of virus, 284–85, 290, 317–18, 365, 372, 384
U.S. restrictions imposed on Chinese travelers, xvii, 232–38, 242–43, 276, 286, 315, 324, 325, 352, Plate 4a