THE MAN WHO SOLD AMERICA

Another heated examination of the
current president, who “seems ripped right out of [a] comic book supervillain
universe.”

MSNBC political analyst Reid (Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and
the Racial Divide, 2015, etc.), the host of AM Joy, serves up an impassioned exposé of Donald Trump, from his
early adult years as an ethically challenged businessman through his first two years
as president. As part of the big picture, the author also skewers the
corruption of the Republican Party. In fiery prose, Reid delivers a
well-researched narrative about how Trump methodically overcame establishment
Republican opponents to dominate a political party he had shunned for most of
his life. The author terms the new partisan reality the “Trump Republican
Party.” She explains how Trump managed to divide the country into factions that
constantly battle over both politics and culture. She scrutinizes Trump’s
dealings with nations both friendly and hostile, delineating the president’s
ugly attraction to “strongmen” in other nations. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is the
most prominent example, but others include the dictators of the Philippines,
Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Hungary, and Poland. The chapter in the book containing
the least amount of rehashed material is titled “What America Can Learn From
South Africa.” Reid’s father is Congolese but spent much of his life working in
South Africa, and she explains how Nelson Mandela instituted racial
reconciliation as a national imperative, despite the persecution he faced for
decades. The “frankness about race, from black and white South Africans, felt
refreshing and surprisingly healthy,” she writes. Reid contrasts the
selflessness she saw in South Africa with Trump’s self-centered approach of
dividing and conquering, especially along racial and cultural faults. Another
chapter that moves beyond relating oft-repeated allegations about Trump highlights
the author’s frustration at the news media for more or less normalizing his
unique cruelty as president.