He seems to be the Rasputin of the Trump administration, dealing with any and all problems no matter what his experience or lack of experience in a particular area. The amount of influence that son-in-law Jared Kushner has over the President is startling. My level of respect for him went down after reading Woodward. Anthony Fauci comes across as somewhat weak and spineless, and either unwilling or unable to stand up to Trump.

I could spend a lot of time itemizing the specifics of the boondoggle that has been labeled the government’s response to the virus, but it is easier to say that more than 200,000 Americans are dead, and we are still counting.

The balance of the book deals with Trump’s mishandling of the government’s response to the coronavirus. As for Mattis and Coats, they just were not allowed to do their jobs. Woodward infers that Tillerson got the appointment because of his alleged close relationship with Putin, something Trump saw as a great asset. Although he had worked in international business and interacted with many foreign leaders, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin, he had no experience in government and diplomacy. All failed because Trump would not listen to their advice.Īs for Tillerson, he was probably in over his head. In a nutshell, Woodward tells the story of three well-intentioned men who thought they could work in the Trump administration and do what they thought was in the best interest of their country. “Former” is the operative word in each description. Much of the first part of Rage deals with Trump’s relations with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Defense Secretary James Mattis, and former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Since the interviews were all recorded, it is difficult to claim that Woodward twisted Trump’s words, but even actual recordings of his voice do not prevent Trump and his supporters from claiming that Trump was misquoted.

He insisted on being interviewed, consenting to 18 interviews, demonstrating each time his proclivity to insert his foot into his mouth, twist facts and turn every situation into an occasion to heap praise on himself. This time, Trump should have taken his aides’ advice. Apparently, Trump aides felt it would be better if the president did not talk directly to Woodward. One of the major differences between the two is that first time around, Woodward worked from outside sources, never talking to the president. Woodward’s first book on Donald Trump, Fear - Trump in the White House, was released almost a year to the date of Woodward’s current book. Mass media and the public eagerly awaited the recent publication of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage.

Rage bob woodward review