When my much-awaited copy of Mary Trump’s new book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, arrived this past Wednesday, I dropped everything and started to read. At 211 pages with large print, it is a quick read. As a lifelong Democrat who can barely stand to watch Donald Trump on the news, the book only verified what I already knew. Donald Trump is a miserable individual.
Last month when John Bolton’s greatly anticipated tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, arrived, I managed to get through 274 pages of the 494 page book before setting it aside and seeking lighter reading materials at the recently reopened Cuyahoga County Library.
But my problem was I could not get away from my fascination with the man I love to hate. As I walked into the library, there was a copy of A Very Stable Genius — Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists from the Washington Post. My tedium with Bolton and recollections of frequent references to A Stable Genius on cable news got the best of me, and I checked out a copy and started to read. It was not long before I completed all 412 pages.
Of the three books, here are my recommendations:
While I consider myself a good reader with a decent background on the presidency and current affairs, Bolton’s book is not an easy read. I found myself having to go back and re-read sections and wondering whether I should take notes to keep track of the cast of characters. The book provides excellent background information on America’s dealing in world affairs, especially relating to Turkey, Syria and Korea. But the message is clear that everything that the Obama administration did in terms of foreign affairs was wrong. The underlying theme is that Bolton is the font of all knowledge when it comes to diplomacy and world affairs. Everyone else is either incompetent, misguided or just plain stupid.
Bolton repeatedly shows how Trump refuses to listen to career professionals whose job it is to keep him informed on domestic and foreign affairs. He gives numerous examples of Trump shooting from the hip in world affairs; allowing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to have undue influence over him; and a presidential style that is anything but presidential. His day does not start until 11:00am; he spends hours watching television — his primary source of information — or talking to friends on the telephone and never reads briefing materials, even when they have been watered down.
On a stopover in Hawaii, the staff arranged for a trip to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Trump was not clear as to what the big deal was about the memorial.
Niece Mary’s account of life in the Trump family is a straightforward and gossipy account of growing up Trump. The central character of the book is Fred Trump, Sr., the patriarch of the Trump family who made millions in the New York real estate market. He comes across as an egotistical, self-centered, mean-spirited man who cloned Donald. According to Mary, when Fred Sr.’s hopes of recreating himself in his eldest son Fred Jr. failed, he focused on Donald who became the favored child and heir apparent.
Since Mary is a psychologist, the book is filled with her insights into the family dynamics, sibling rivalries and anecdotes relating to a family that defines dysfunctional. She relates how the young Donald would hide the favorite toys of his younger brother Richard, just to see him suffer. When Mary’s father Fred Jr. was on his death bed in a New York hospital, Donald and his sister went to the movies. When Fred Jr. died, Fred Sr. would not let the then sixteen-year-old Mary see her father’s body, even after repeated request. When Mary was begging her grandfather for money to go to college, Donald was complaining that he was forced to live on a measly allowance of $450,000 a month.
The final straw in terms of Mary’s relation to the Trump family, came when she and her brother challenged the will of Fred Sr. They assumed that they would get all or at least a part of what would have been their father’s share of the estate. They had been completely cut out. An enraged Donald sought revenge by cutting the health insurance that members of the family had gotten for years through the family business. This was at the time that Mary’s brother, Fred III, had an infant child with life-threatening illnesses and huge hospital bills. When Fred’s widow — Donald’s mother and Mary’s aunt — died in 1999, neither Fred Jr. nor his children were mentioned in the obituary. They were relegated to standing in the back of the church at the funeral.
If you really want to see the inner workings of the White House and how Trump operates day to day, I recommend A Very Stable Genius. It is a well-written, well-documented account of the day-to-day operations of the White House which is filled with back biting sycophants who do anything to stay in power, realizing that any difference of opinion with the President will result in a quick exit — usually with a security guard escorting the staffer out of the White House. And of course, there are numerous examples of the lackadaisical, shoot-from-the-hip style of governing by tweets.
While I have no love for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, A Very Stable Genius shows how they were booted out when the President turned on them. They were not even given a chance to remove their personal belongings from their offices. Details of the Mueller investigation are well documented, leaving an overall impression that Mueller was outfoxed. That section of the book alone is worth the read. Vignettes about the influence of Ivanka and Jared also abound.
Several of my friends castigated me for buying the Bolton book. They felt that Bolton should not profit from telling his story since he declined to testify before the impeachment hearings against Donald Trump. But on the other hand, those same friends wanted to borrow my book.
Mary Trump’s book sold almost a million copies the first day. I hope that she makes big money from this publication and media exposure. She and her brother were royally screwed out of their father’s inheritance and the lawyers that they hired did not appear to me to have done them any favors. They may have been in league with the Trump forces who totally undervalued Fred Sr.’s estate.
Trump revels in the use of superlatives. Everything he does is the greatest and the best. But there is one superlative that he surely is not happy about. And that is the plethora of books, magazine and tabloid articles attacking him and his presidency and exposing him as the unqualified, mean-spirited and vindictive man that he is. The problem is that the people reading the books and articles are the people who already know what kind of person he is. No one in the Trump base believes there is a problem, nor do they want to read about the evils that lurk in the White House that threaten our democracy. Trump remains the Teflon president. Ever since the Access Hollywood tapes it is clear that in the minds of his base, Trump can do no wrong.
There is little doubt that Trump will go down in history as the worst president in the history of the United States. My only concern is whether the United States and democracy as we know it will survive his term in office and the pandemic — which he continues to see as a hoax.
To stay informed, Americans should read. There are enough books and materials out there to know the dangers that another four years of Donald Trump will mean. Libraries are open and books are available. Pick any one of these three and start reading. You owe it to yourself as an American citizen and I would suggest starting with A Stable Genius.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.
2 Responses to “BOOKS: Reading Trump by C. Ellen Connally”
Linda M Rich
This was a great review. I have read Philip Rucker’s book as well and agree with Judge Connally that it is a must read. Well done Judge. I have not read either the Bolton or Mary trumps book yet, but they are still on my list.
John C. Fazio
Madam President: Thank you for that excellent review. I too am reading Mary Trump’s book. It is short and an easy read, which is one reason it is selling so well. There’s a lesson there for me. I also read On Tyranny (Timothy Snyder), A Warning (Anonymous) and Running Against the Devil, by former Republican strategist Rick Wilson. All preaching to the choir? Yes, but I perceive some erosion even in his base. Think of The Lincoln Project. as well as all other Republicans and conservatives who oppose him , including our own John Kasich, and I believe we have cause for optimism. It will be necessary, however, to stay the course and do nothing that will cause a precipitous drop, ala Gary Hart.
John