American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump

"American Carnage is also a precursor book; it describes what happened to the Republican Party in the period before Trump was elected that made it possible for Trump to co-opt the party. It focuses on the leadership of John Boehner and Paul Ryan. And then it’s the description of the campaign Trump ran. American Carnage was written by a journalist who identifies as conservative and who had great access to people who I don’t think would’ve spoken so openly to mainstream reporters. The book helps you understand, from the inside, how Trump took over the Republican Party. It’s weird and it’s fascinating. And it’s a perspective that I haven’t seen represented anywhere else. Without question. Trump is addictive. We all know that to be true because we’re all preoccupied with him, whether we’re supporters or reporters or critics. Journalists are always looking for an exciting story and Trump can always create drama. As a politician, he creates drama by being utterly odious, but he remains a subject of fascination."

"Tim Alberta writes about the evolution of the Republican Party from a party motivated by conservative goals, like smaller government, to a party that’s populist in orientation and heedless of the post-World War Two conservative consensus on free market and other principles. “A civil war was underway within the Republican Party well before Trump came along” Alberta’s book contains a wealth of deeply reported detail on the clash between Tea Party Republicans, who coalesced in opposition to President Obama, and classical Republicans, like former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Alberta shows that a civil war was underway within the Republican Party well before Trump came along. I think he gives short shrift to the role of race in Trump’s Republican party. Studies have shown that racial resentment was strongly correlated with support for Trump. Racial resentments have been critical to the rise of Republicans ever since National Democrats embraced the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s, prompting a shift of culturally conservative whites towards the Republican Party. Nevertheless, Alberta nails the details of the current fracture among Republicans."