8 November 2016: I attended an artist reception for Ruben Rios that night. I’d already voted during the early voting days, so the election news could wait that night while I partook in celebrating a friend. Though there was a deep dread in the air. I felt it. So did my friends/coworkers. Midway through the night, we were all checking our phones. Google News alerts kept me up to date that MAGA 4chan fanatics weren’t aware they had to register to vote. Things looked good, even though Hillary Clinton (whom we weren’t exactly enthusiastic for either) wasn’t even in the lead. 
I stayed up late that night as I normally do. I’ve said this before, actually. So let’s fast forward.
5 January 2018: A little less than a year into Trump’s presidency, Michael Wolff was slated to release a book about the first 100 days and beyond. In all true Trumpian fashion, DJT tried to keep the book from being released. This prompted Wolff and the publisher, Henry Holt and Co., to release it four days early. The Trump lawyer’s call to cease and desist gave the book added notoriety which led to it being sold out on its first day. As I entered Barnes and Noble that night, it didn’t surprise me in the least that people were being turned away. And that night, I did something against my philosophy: I paid full price for the e-book.
The book offered no surprises. If it does anything, it solidified my fears and assumptions about the Trump campaign and its presidency. It also caters to the conspiracy theorist type bullshit that lingers in the back of my mind about Trump, Pence, Ryan and the GOP at large.
It offers some insight into Trumps life. From his need to gain approval from his father, the media, and other rich people in the country and the world. How he treats his sons in very much the same manner: “[…] Don Jr., thirty-nine, and Eric, thirty-three, existed in an enforced infantile relationship to their father […] Their father took some regular pleasure in pointing out that they were in the back of the room when God handed out brains—but, then again, Trump tended to scorn anyone who might be smarter than he was.”
It touches bases with the Russian collusion. Underlines how Bannon controlled Trumpism and Trump himself. How Ivanka and Jared (happily referred to as Jarvanka) tried pulling the strings of presidency. How the Republicans in Congress had no idea what they were getting themselves into when decided to back the loose cannon candidate. And, of course, how Trump thinks of women: “Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends’ wives into bed.”
There are some things that I question about the timeline provided in the book, how much is the author’s opinion, and how certain typos go by the editors. (If the title of Stormy Daniels tell-all memoir isn’t entitled “Ferocity and Pubic Venom,” then I’m going to be upset. Michael Wolff offered up a wonderful title!)
It’s a must read for those curious enough to see the going-ons of the Trump presidency. And for those who need some evidence that Trump never actually wanted to be president: “Donald Trump and his tiny band of campaign warriors were ready to lose with fire and fury. They were not ready to win.” But I don’t see this convincing any die-hard Trump supporters to jump ship (even though, several of his staff were wise enough to do so). And if you do read it, do it cautiously. Question things before accepting it as gospel. But, to be honest, there is little about this book that I don’t disbelieve.
Until next time, keep on huntin’.
Chapin City Blues 