Book Review: A Very Stable Genius

I have just plowed through, and plowed is an accurate verb, A Very Stable Genius  by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig.  My overall feeling is that it is an effective depiction of Donald Trump’s approach to managing the office of President of the United States.  

There is nothing in the book that should surprise anyone who has even marginally followed the news in the past three years. Your own take on the events of the Trump presidency might differ depending on which news sources you frequent, but the events themselves are basically not in dispute.

The book is organized chronologically and takes you from the beginning of his presidency to the Mueller Report. The formal impeachment inquiry is not treated. My sense is that the authors wanted to zero in on the revolving door of presidential staffing.  We get detail after detail on how the president chooses his underlings, how he treats them, how he uses social media platforms and public rallies to steer public response to his actions, and in particular how he disposes of those who displease him.

As I write this the Covid-19 pandemic has taken over the news and the Trump approach to this challenge seems to me to mirror the management philosophy that this book chronicles.

Trump initially underplays the significance of potential difficulties. He will also attempt to distract by putting some other alternate event into the atmosphere. Think here of things like, “What about Hilary’s e-mails?” or “Why haven’t those FBI agents been prosecuted?”  His conservative echo chamber will then reliably reinforce what he says or tweets. He gives himself ten out of ten ratings while Jeff Sessions, James Comey, China, or the media are dependable villains to be excoriated at will. 

The authors show that time after time Trump does not read briefing material prepared for him in advance of meetings and does not pay much attention to daily intelligence briefings.  He prefers to enter meetings without careful preparation and will either avoid or belittle the opinions of anyone who offers material he does not like. He does this according to Rucker and Leonnig because he thinks he already has all the  knowledge he needs in his own head.  When he does listen it is often only to his cronies or his immediate family.  He seems particularly suspicious of people in the military or intelligence areas and apparently now in the council of public health officials.

Trump, the authors conclude, remains mired in political blame, self-aggrandizement, lack of empathy, rampant nepotism, and gut based decision making. These traits, they say, have consistently put the country at odds with itself and our friends and allies.

Unfortunately, Trump’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis up to this time appears to be following the same patterns outlined in the book. The Trumpian toolbox just seems ill equipped to handle a health pandemic. He remains faced with addressing a scourge that knows no walls, no borders, no economic philosophy, and no partisan political affiliation.

All we can do now is hope for some changes in the established pattern.