Showing posts with label Unhinged. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unhinged. Show all posts

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

📚Book Review: Unhinged

Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House, by Omarosa Manigault Newman. Gallery Books. 334 pp. $28

Hubby bought this for me, on a trek into Ottawa. I've read Fire and Fury, we are going to read Fear, by Woodward. I was game for it. There've been a lot of books written about Trump (see below). It's the common threads that are interesting.

This is an excellent read. Omarosa is a well-educated, hard-working woman, rising out of poverty to the upper echelons of society, rubbing shoulders with the elites. She has faced much racism and abuse for taking the job with the Administration. For me, as a white woman, it is important to read autobiographies of people from varied backgrounds.

 How else could she make a difference, other than being a part of it? I can see how she would have taken the job with Trump, at $15,000 a month, what could go wrong? She organized meetings with Trump and various marginalized groups. She gave him briefings, intended to educate him. The problem was she estimates he reads at a gr. 6 level, as doesn't retain anything told to him. In meeting after meeting, presenting talking points, he totally waivers from his staff's briefings. He cannot read well from the teleprompters. He fudged the word 'anonymous' most recently.

What I found surprising, is that she was originally working for Hillary Clinton's black caucus group. She anticipated being hired for it later, but was replaced by someone from whom Clinton wanted a favour. That's politics for you.

Another aspect of this, is Omarosa's notion that Trump was NOT racist. In her work with him during The Apprentice days, she did not face outright racism from him. It shows he can control his attitudes. when it serves him. It was only when he was in the Whitehouse that his values were clear to her. So she says.

If you are interested in politics, and the behind-the-scenes of an election, it's a good read.
Here are some of her points:

Trump the misogynist Trump wanted to be sworn in on The Art of the Deal
Stephen Miller proposed separating kids from their parents at the border right away
 Pence’s staff refers to him as the president
 Betsy DeVos thinks she’s doing a great job Trump called
Kellyanne Conway’s husband racial slurs (he's of Filipino descent)
Trump considers Don Jr. “stupid”
 Trump is a reality-challenged narcissist
 Charlottesville opened Omarosa’s eyes to Trump’s flaws


  • Understanding Trump, by Newt Gingrich. Center Street. 347 pp. $27. 
  • Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency, by Corey R. Lewandowski and David N. Bossie. Center Street. 278 pp. $27. 
  • Trump’s America: The Truth About Our Nation’s Great Comeback, by Newt Gingrich. Center Street. 339 pp. $27 
  • Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy, by Judge Jeanine Pirro. Center Street. 274 pp. $27 
  • The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump, by Gregg Jarrett. Broadside. 332 pp. $28.99 
  • The Briefing: Politics, The Press, and the President, by Sean Spicer. Regnery. 278 pp. $28.99 

Click icon for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy