Title: Donald J. Trump: Four Toxic Years at the White House
Author: Ron Ziegler
Publisher: European Free Press
ISBN: 978-9464772920
Genre: Politics, Biographies
Availability: Paperback or eBook
Language: English
Paperback: 474 pages
Item Weight: 1.59 pounds
Dimensions:
6.14 x 1.06 x 9.21 inches
Review:
Chronicler. Definition: A person who writes accounts of important or historical events.
No one is more powerful than a chronicler. Because from the moment the event starts to the moment it ends, they are there to record every instance and every connection this singular event has touched and changed, whether good or bad.
Author Ron Ziegler has taken on the monumental task of being that chronicler by documenting every critical moment of the 45th President of the United States of America’s presidency from his inauguration to his inglorious exit, as well as the ramifications of his 2016 victory for not only the United States but for the entire world at large in Donald J. Trump: Four Toxic Years at the White House.
To preface, I don’t read anything about politics nor comment on them. I tend to enjoy that subject more in media such as television shows or movies.
However, when this book was brought to my attention, I wanted to see if it lined up with the facts that I already knew regarding this controversial figure and his seemingly unending reign in American politics.
What this book chronicles is far more shocking than I could ever imagine.
From January 26th, 2017, mere days after his January 19th inauguration until January 20th, 2021, The author takes great pains in breaking down Trump’s presidency and the effects of each controversy that builds upon the last that many can see in the year of 2023.
Even from the first one hundred days of his presidency, you can make the connection between many moments where Trump used his twisted art form in delivering Fake News, (Or Alternative Facts, which was coined by then Whtie House Counselor, Kellyanne Conway), from silly factoids like the attendance of his inauguration to stirring up the fears and bigotry of the average American citizen that republican politicians in the year 2023 to radicalize his base into a frenzy that could send the country of the United States into a backslide that will take decades to rectify, if it even can be at this point.
There are also moments where the author points out the ill-advised decisions that Donald Trump made throughout his presidency that cost him the support of many voters, the support of his own party, and eventually, his reelection against then-challenger Joe Biden.
Such as his inaction and then twisting of facts regarding COVID-19, his many draconic executive orders, which began with the unearned banning of seven Muslim countries barred entry into the US, his attempt to do away with DACA (which he then handed off to Congress when it proved difficult), making an enemy of the Press, Trump’s outspoken appreciation for President Putin and Kim Jong-un, and his constant attacks on women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community.
The author also goes to great lengths to explain that he favors no party over the other and shows this by explaining where the Democratic party failed to prevent Trump from becoming president, the shortcomings of the Obama administration, his preference for Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter, and would have voted for a tenure extension of George H.W. Bush, but not George W. Bush.
And this lack of favoritism adds further weight to his chronicling of this never-ending saga that was/is the Trump Administration.
The author makes a point about the coinage of “Fake News” that can also be attributed to the former president himself. Like Fake News, Donald Trump is similar to a poison that affects, little by little, every part of the body and causes immense pain and havoc.
While the author offers a compelling narrative of President Trump’s presidency, he also takes time to write extensively about his travels abroad as well as the political ramifications Trump’s presidency had outside of the United States, which was very compelling and offers more insight into how foreign politics works that I wasn’t aware of.
Donald J. Trump: Four Toxic Years at the White House is a pretty long read with a near five hundred pages to its name but the combination of fact-checking (which is notated), the top-notch writing, and the sheer dedication of the author compiling every incident from 2017 to 2021 for both inside and outside the United States will keep readers, regardless of political leanings, unable to put it down. This book earns an emphatic recommendation from me. ★★★★★ – Elijah B. (Explore Authors Magazine