Saturday, January 26th, 2019
My Dear America:
I just finished reading Bob Woodward's book, "Fear" today. The book is an incredibly disturbing portrait of the man who presently occupies the White House and those people who occupied it with him until he fired most of them or they ran screaming out of the White House Doors after resigning.
The book is unfortunately sadly out of date and was so on the date it was published in 2018. This is Donald Trump's White House, after all. Bob Woodward is an excellent political writer and as political non-fiction this book is as responsibly and factually written as a book like this can be. Clearly, as in his other political histories, Woodward has done his research well and there are copious notes listed at the back of the book.
There are very few heroes in this book. Certainly if you are not a Neo Nazi or a Klan member you will probably not see Donald Trump as a positive figure in this book. He is in this book, as in real life, a revolting Megalomaniac who listens to reason from almost no one, except "his Generals" before he fired them or pushed them out the door. Donald Trump, despite the overwhelming lack of evidence to prove it, thinks of himself as, not only the smartest man in the room, but also the smartest man in the world. What Woodward reveals is that he is neither.
Certainly those of us living in America who get to watch Television and read a newspaper or book now and then know what Bob Woodward reveals in "Fear." That Donald Trump is an idiot. What is really hard for me to understand is why so many of his staffers, who were generally treated like crap day after day stayed with Trump for as long as they did.
There are very few heroes in this book but there are a few and some of those who stuck it out with Trump and showed at least some degree of courage and responsible behavior were some that were surprising to me. Clearly, Reince Priebus, former head of the Republican Party and Chief of Staff for Trump as long as he felt he could take it, according to Woodward, tried to do a responsible job in an impossible position. Trump cruelly dumped on Priebus constantly but Priebus continued to try to act like a Chief of Staff would in a normal Administration, impossible as that was to do.
Former Wall Street Goldman Sachs President, Gary Cohn who was Trump's top financial adviser stayed with Trump long enough to give the average American the shockingly unfair Trump Tax Bill so I would certainly not put him in the hero category. Cohn did, however, according to Woodward, have the backbone and courage to stand up to Trump and get away with it when he felt that Trump was heading off the rails. Finally, of course, Cohn had enough and got out of Trump's White House.
Rex Tillerson also comes off pretty well in Woodward's estimation. Tillerson, Trump's Secretary of State, who famously called Donald Trump an "Idiot" tried to do his job responsibly but was cut off at the knees time after time before being fired by Trump.
H.R. McMaster also seemed to try to do a good job also but was often times doubled teamed by Tillerson and one of Trump's other favorite Generals, Former Marine General, James Mattis.
Although calling James Mattis a Hero might be a stretch, Jim "Mad Dog" Mattis, Trumps Defense Secretary, was probably the person in Trump's Cabinet who was most adept at handling Trump. That was at least until this past December, when Trump announced by Tweet that he was pulling all troops out of both Syria and Afghanistan. Trump had not consulted with Mattis before his announcement and James Mattis submitted his resignation immediately and made it clear in his resignation letter that he did not agree with Trump's decision to get out of Syria and Afghanistan and didn't appreciate being left out of this important decision. Although Trump, at first said Mattis would be staying until Febuary of 2019 he apparently changed his mind when the word got out to the public about Mattis's resignation letter. Trump then changed his mind and told the country that he was firing Mattis as of the end of December 2018.
So in December 2018 Trump not only fired Mattis but he shut down the United States Government until he got Congress to fund his border wall.
Now, on January 26th, 2019 Donald Trump has finally agreed to open up the government, probably as a result of danger in the skies and hold ups at every airport and outcries from those government workers severely affected by the shutdown.
Mattis was the last of "Trump's Generals" to be tossed out of the Trump Administration upper echelon like human garbage. Trump is still threatening to shut down the government in 3 weeks if he doesn't get his border wall, that no one except him and Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, seem to want.
Although Trump does not seen to recognize it, 2019 will not be like 2017 and 2018, when Congress always bowed to Trump at all times. It is a new day in the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi is not Paul Ryan. Trump should know that by now but time will tell if Trump is ever going to wise up.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
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