Fire and Fury: A Review

by Pa Rock
Reader

I have recently finished reading Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury, an account of the Trump administration which spans a period of time from before the election of 2016 up through early October of 2017.   It is a comprehensive look into a presidential administration torn apart by in-fighting and a constant struggle to just survive, much less accomplish anything of great import.  At the center of this swirling mess is a petulant man-child who is deliberately under-informed, easily bored, and prone to sudden tantrums.

Wolff’s accounting of life in the Trump administration is so heavy with details and facts, that it has to be the product of someone who was very close to the center of the storm.    His vignettes are so specific that one must suppose much of what he witnessed was actually recorded.  Perhaps that is why he has yet to be sued over the content of his book.

Fire and Fury gives an overlay of the functioning of the Executive Branch of our government under Trump..  Wolff describes three distinct camps within the White House that fought for Trump’s ear and control of the agenda.  One of those factions was headed by the odious Steve Bannon, a man whose personal agenda was  to forge a path of destruction across the federal landscape by eliminating agencies and programs and using executive orders to erase much of the legacy of the Obama administration. 

A second faction was the standard political types as represented by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.  Priebus was Trump's connection with the leaders of Congress, and he functioned as the GOP's point man in the Trump White House.

The third faction was what has come to be called “Jarvanka” by the popular press – and it refers to Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka and Jared Kushner,  who literally moved into the White House on inauguration day.  Both functioned as representatives of more progressive ideas – and Bannon snidely referred to them as “New York Democrats” and “the geniuses.”  Wolff acknowledges Ivanka as the “defacto” First Lady.

Leaks are not uncommon in porous institutions, such as the White House, and every administration has had to ferret out leakers and deal with them.  The leaks that occurred in the early months of the Trump presidency appeared to be far more numerous than those that Trump’s predecessor had to endure, and they often served to fuel Trump’s rages and erratic behaviors.  Wolff credits most of the leaks to Bannon and Jarvanka, as each jockeyed to make the other look incompetent.  Priebus, who was steadfastly trying to advance the Republican wish list, did not  seem to engage in the same level of subterfuge as the other two factions within the White House.,

Eventually Priebus aligned more-or-less with Bannon, and eventually both of those players lost their positions of influence in the White House.  Priebus was replaced by General John Kelly who came in with three goals:  to oust Bannon (which he did), to  oust, or at least limit the influence of Jarvanka  (a task at which he had only limited success - but is still pursuing), and to reign –in  Trump (a task at which he failed miserably).

The value of this book to me is that it gives a framework which seems to explain Trump’s behavior - even up through the present.    Something bites him in the butt or just irritates him, and he heads to Twitter.  Then, as often as not, the reader can refer back to Wolff’s book and see the genesis of the latest outrage.    Fire and Fury is not a comprehensive atlas of Trump’s mind, but the book does serve as a quick-reference travel guide to anyone wondering what in Trump’s history or character led to the latest outburst.

As a former history teacher and as a concerned citizen, I heartily recommend this book to anyone seeking to have a clearer understanding of what motivates Donald Trump and where his erratic behaviors are likely going to lead.  It is a spell-binding read.

(One caution:  I kept my copy by my bed for evening reading.  The paper cover, featuring a red-faced portrait of an angry Trump, is most unsettling, and I finally removed it.  That made for a better night’s sleep!)