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by Robin Sharma
Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year
I Alone Can Fix It by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker is a gripping account of Donald Trump's final year as president. The book reveals chaotic moments and Trump's own role in inciting the Capitol attack.
December 31, 2019. Donald Trump is celebrating New Year’s Eve in the unofficial “Southern” White House – Mar-a-Lago, his private social club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The president is in a good mood. A band plays Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and guests mingle. Trump makes a toast, promising that it’s going to be a “fantastic” year.
Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, isn’t so sure.
He’s just read an email from the Centers’ outpost in China. It says local staff are monitoring an outbreak of an unidentified, pneumonia-like virus in the port city of Wuhan.
The key message here is: Trump was slow to appreciate the threat posed by COVID-19.
Respiratory diseases had long been the likeliest source of a global pandemic.
A century earlier, after World War I, a deadly influenza known as the “Spanish flu” claimed millions of lives. There were more recent cases, too. In the 2000s and 2010s, outbreaks of SARS – a coronavirus – and H7N9 – a strain of “bird flu” – were contained, but public health experts like Redfield were convinced they’d be back. As he told United States senators in 2019, it was only a matter of time before another respiratory disease crossed from animals to humans.
The email in Redfield’s inbox suggested that had already happened. But this virus turned out to be more infectious than anything seen in a long time. By the end of the first week of January, there were hundreds of cases in China.
Lung scans confirmed it was a novel – or new – coronavirus. COVID-19 had arrived.
New cases started popping up outside China – first in Thailand, then in France. By the time COVID-19 appeared in the president’s daily briefing, infected patients had already entered the United States.
Redfield sounded the alarm. Alex Azar, the secretary of health, responded. On January 10, 2020, he spoke to the president.
But Trump was distracted by upcoming impeachment hearings. He was also angry with Azar, who had helped ban flavored e-cigarettes known as vapes. Protestors were displaying signs at Trump’s rallies with slogans like, “I vape, I vote,” and he was worried about losing this demographic. So, having ranted at Azar about vaping, Trump only half-listened to him talk about COVID-19. He soon hung up. He wanted to try on a new tuxedo. The president had a party to attend.
I Alone Can Fix It (2021) is the definitive behind-the-scenes account of Donald Trump’s final 12 months in the White House. Drawing on in-depth interviews with participants in the drama, it charts how a president who was on course for reelection ended up presiding over a doomed and bloody attempt to cling on to power. Along the way, it reveals the thinking behind Trump’s dysfunctional responses to the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement.
I Alone Can Fix It (2021) is a gripping account of the tumultuous final year of the Trump presidency. Here's why this book is worth reading:
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Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trialBlink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
What is the main message of I Alone Can Fix It?
The main message of I Alone Can Fix It explores the dangers of an unchecked presidency and the importance of democracy.
How long does it take to read I Alone Can Fix It?
The reading time for I Alone Can Fix It varies, but it generally takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is I Alone Can Fix It a good book? Is it worth reading?
I Alone Can Fix It is a compelling read that sheds light on recent political events. It provides valuable insights and is definitely worth reading.
Who is the author of I Alone Can Fix It?
The authors of I Alone Can Fix It are Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker.