Donald Trump: A President Like No Other, by Conrad Black (February 2018)

They, (the learned political pundits) claimed Trump could not win the 2016 Presidential Election.  They thought that Hillary Clinton had it all wrapped up prior to Trump's nomination as the Republican Party's candidate.

Mr. Black,  or should I call him Lord Black, thought differently. Why? He writes about American's place in world affairs and its status with the lower and middle class of American citizenry. Did Barack Obama raise the bar on either issue? He thought not. Most importantly he knew that Trump had the pulse of the people who had lost their jobs due to Globalization and Free Trade issues wherein millions of jobs had migrated to Asia and Mexico where hourly rates for routine labour was well below the minimum hourly rate for North Americans. With this mantra he led his charge, "Make America Great Again." Trump claimed he would toss out the Trade Agreements with most countries who have been "ripping off Americans for years." He claimed that Immigration from the souther border was creating chaos for America in Education and Jobs for the legitimate citizens with the continuous chant, "I will build a wall and the Mexicans will pay for it." He claimed that many of the Institutions like the FBI, Department of Justice and Environment to name a few where run by incompetent and even corrupt individuals, and he was going to clean house if elected. The lead in the constant poles continued to decrease when Trump declared that he was going to win without a doubt.  

He was right; the Electoral College made the difference for Trump when the popular vote went in favour of "Crooked Clinton" (a familiar name coined by Trump and used every day), but the one that mattered put him into the Presidency.

Trump is clumsy and erratic and not what most Americans traditionally expect from their President. He has selected social media's Twitter to rile up his followers and keep them in an argumentative state of mind. The traditional media, disseminators of 'Fake News' and the 'Enemy of the People,"  are phrases continually uttered by Trump. The CNN's of the America news media pull out all the stops to belittle him, but Trump seems to revel in these body slams and bounces back with more of the same.

Black writes that, "His successors will emulate these tactics if he succeeds. Donald Trump is not a blundering reactionary but a battle-hardened veteran of difficult businesses filled with unethical personalties." Black goes on relating positive attributes about the man that the haters hate more than any other who made it to the top in business or politics.

Like so much of Black's work he has coined some wonderful sentences describing his targets. The one I liked above all others is when he is describing Hollywood heavy-weights who deign to speak on Moral issues to the public from a non-professional non-acting scenario. Black writes, "Hollywood is a moral and intellectual pigsty, an asylum for the stupid, the corrupt and the vocally shallow who possess Thespian aptitude or a saleable appearance and manner."

I gave this book four out of five stars, but then, I give all of Black's work big numbers because his eloquence is unmatched.