Book Review: “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America”
By: Dr. Thomas J. West Iii
Tags: Election 2020, Book Review, Government, Politics, Books

Book Review: “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America”

The new book from two reporters for the Washington Post reveals why history is so important in the Trump era

When I heard that there was yet another book about the Trump presidency coming out, I had to think long and hard about whether I wanted to read it. I’d already read so many exposés and investigative reports of this administration — from serious works of journalism such as Bob Woodward’s Fear to Michael Wolf’s Fire and Fury and its seedy sequel — that I was beginning to feel a bit fatigued by the whole thing. Did I really need to read more about how awful Trump was, I wondered? So, as all good readers do, I went to Goodreads, to see what others were saying.

While I was perusing the reviews, one in particular stood out to me. The reviewer noted that what they valued about this particular book was that it reminded them of just how much of the craziness of the Trump administration they’d managed to forget as the years have gone by. Indeed. Think about just how much has happened since Trump was inaugurated in 2017: there was the lying about the size of his inauguration crowd, his both-sides-ism regarding Charlottesville; the horrendous attrition rate as those who were seen as the “adults in the room” fled the administration; there was the way that he tried to obstruct the Russia investigation and the imprisoning of children at the border; there was the abrupt pull out from Syria and the placating of dictators; there was the Michael Cohen testimony.

And all of this happened before the impeachment hearings truly began and ended, with the subsequent attempts by Trump to purge the United States government of anyone deemed insufficiently loyal. All of this preceded the coronavirus outbreak and the administration’s fumbling attempts to contend with it (including Trump’s false claims on Sean Hannity’s show). All of this came about before we saw the way that he’s going to try meddle in the Democratic nominating process.

Given how increasingly chaotic our political world has become, books like A Very Stable Genius are important it is to remember, to have this era documented for posterity. We cannot let ourselves become numb to the challenges that Trump represents, the way that his narcissism and belligerence and ignorance have endangered the essential stability of our country. We must not forget or downplay the corrosive influence his degradation and demolishing of our institutions has had and will continue to have on the proper functioning of our republic. We must constantly remind ourselves — and, just as importantly, others — of how this has unfolded since Donald Trump first assumed the office.

Now, there isn’t a great deal in A Very Stable Genius that those who’ve been paying attention to the news haven’t at least heard about already. However, it’s a very useful book for those who may not be as politically obsessed. It moves along at a brisk pace, and the authors, as journalists, don’t spend too much time on rhetorical flourishes or flowery prose. Instead, they give you the facts, usually from those who were there (though, of course, many of their sources remain anonymous for obvious reasons). Through this reporting, we get an insider’s view at just how focused Trump was and is on personal loyalty, and how his administration has gradually degraded until it is comprised of nothing more than yes-men who will do little to nothing to curb his most dangerous impulses.

Though the book might seem dry to some, I would suggest that that’s just what we need in this particular era, when so many people in our fractured republic can’t seem to even agree on the facts or, sometimes, what the facts even are. This is the era in which, let us remember, Kellyanne Conway referred to “alternative facts” and in which Sean Spicer contended (despite all evidence to the contrary) that Trump’s inaugural crowd was the largest in history. This is the era of fake news and disinformation. A Very Stable Genius cuts through all of that haze with the ruthless of a knife, leaving us in no doubt as to what actually happened. We get to see, almost in real time, the ways in which Trump has sought to reshape the American government in his own image, heedless of the damage that he is doing to our republic.

Thus, I particularly valued about A Very Stable Genius was its meticulous attention to detail and to laying out a chronology. For me, as I’m sure is true for many others, these past three years have started to blur into one long slog through a nightmare, with no clear sense of what happened when. The constant barrage of news makes it all seem like some ever-present horror show, and so I found the distance provided by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig to be refreshing, a much-needed dose of perspective in these dark and troubling times.

As we head into the 2020 election, it’s more clear than ever that Trump and his enablers have absolutely shredded the institutions that we once depended on to keep the executive branch of government in check. To counter that, we must continue to elect those who will work to restore those fractured institutions to working order, so that we can get back to the hard work of making this a country that works for everyone.

With its meticulous reporting, A Very Stable Genius shows us how important it is that we continue to pay attention to the history of this moment. It isn’t enough to simply tune in to the news of the day and then go on about our business. This seems ever-more-important as we steadily lurch our way to what could very well be a public health crisis in the form of the coronavirus. We need to remember that there is a republic that’s worth fighting for, that there is a better world in the future, waiting for us, if we are but willing to claim it.