Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America

by John Nichols

Overview

A line-up of the dirty dealers and defenders of the indefensible who are definitely not "making America great again"

Donald Trump has assembled a rogue's gallery of alt-right hatemongers, crony capitalists, immigrant bashers, and climate-change deniers to run the American government. To survive the next four years, we the people need to know whose hands are on the levers of power. And we need to know how to challenge their abuses. John Nichols, veteran political correspondent at the Nation, has been covering many of these deplorables for decades. Sticking to the hard facts and unafraid to dig deep into the histories and ideologies of the people who make up Trump's inner circle, Nichols delivers a clear-eyed and complete guide to this wrecking-crew administration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568587806
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Edition description:	New
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Nichols is the national affairs writer for the Nation magazine and a contributing writer for the Progressive and In These Times. He is also the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin, and a cofounder of the media-reform group Free Press. A frequent commentator on American politics and media, he has appeared often on MSNBC, NPR, BBC and regularly lectures at major universities on presidential administrations and executive power. The author of ten books and has earned numerous awards for his investigative reports, including groundbreaking examinations (in collaboration with the Center for Media and Democracy) of the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Table of Contents

A Note on How to Use This Book xi

Betsy DeVos and the Malice Domestic: An Introduction to the Trumpocalypse 1

Part 1 Wicked Messengers 11

1 The Investors Robert Rebekah Mercer 16

2 The Jacksonian Democrat Stephen Bannon, White House Senior Strategist 21

3 The Spinster Kellyanne Conway, White House Counselor 29

4 He Who Will Not Be Questioned Stephen Miller, Senior Advisor to the President 36

5 The Jihad-Whisperer with the Anti-Semitism Badge Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President 45

6 The Leopard That Did Not Change His Spots Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, Attorney General of the United States 52

7 The Lawman Who Forgot Which Side He Was On Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General 64

8 "The King of Voter Suppression" Kris Kobach, Vice Chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity 71

Part 2 Generals and CEOs Searching for Monsters to Destroy 75

9 The "Mad Dog" General James Mattis (ret.), Secretary of Defense 81

10 The Deputy Secretary for Boeing Patrick Shanahan, Deputy Secretary of Defense Designee 88

11 Director of the Office of the Military-Industrial Complex Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget 91

12 The Absolutist Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster, National Security Advisor 102

13 The Koch Brother Mike Pompeo, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency 109

14 The U.S. Ambassador to the American Anti-Choice Movement Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 114

15 "Part and Parcel of an Organized Army of Hatred" David Friedman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel 123

16 With the Russians, Too? Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce 131

17 The Fossil-Fuel-Powered Dollar Diplomat Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State 136

Part 3 The Hacks 143

18 Secretariat Stumbling Reince Priebus, White House Chief of Staff 152

19 Spicerfacts Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary 160

20 The Trumplican Omarosa Manigault, Assistant to the President 165

21 The Hypocrite Who Made His Party of Lincoln the Party of Trump Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader 171

22 Party Boy Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House 175

23 Complicit Ivanka Trump, First Daughter Jared Kushner, First Son-in-Law 181

24 The Secretary of Trump Is Always Right John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security 192

25 The Captain of the Wrecking Crew Alexander Acosta, Labor Secretary 199

26 Putt-Head Andrew Giuliani, Associate Director for the Office of Public Liaison 205

27 The Product of a Judicial Coup Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 208

28 Donald Trump's Very Own Milhous Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States 215

Part 4 Privateers 223

29 "I've Got a Bridge to Sell You" Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation 229

30 The Kingfish of the Quagmire Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services 241

31 The Health Care Profiteer Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 249

32 The Investor Who Got a High Return Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education 252

33 Mr. Secrets and Lies Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator 258

34 Pristine Wilderness for Sale, Lease or Hire Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior 264

35 Mars Incorporated Newt Gingrich Robert Walker, Trump Space Advisors 277

36 The Secretary of Gentrification Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 277

37 The Oopsing of Nuclear Waste Disposal Rick Perry, Secretary of Energy 284

38 The Secretary of Corporate Agribusiness Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture 291

39 The Weed Whacker Ajit Pai, Federal Communications Commission Chairman 298

40 The Foreclosure King Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury 302

41 The Fox Guarding the Henhouse Jay Clayton, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission 308

42 Swimming in the Government Sachs Swamp Gary Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council 310

Afterword: Averting the Trumpocalypse 314

Source Notes 323

Acknowledgments 354

Index 355

About the Author 367

Editorial Reviews

"John plays an extraordinarily important role... He is everywhere. He is an incredible writer. I try to write sometimes and I can't believe how fast he writes and how well he writes."—Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont

"The great threat posed by Donald Trump's presidency does not begin or end with him. Trump's appointees have the power to privatize, to deregulate and to rip apart the American dream. They are already attacking our liberties, our social-safety net and our planet. With this deeply reported and profoundly honest book, John Nichols exposes them all. For citizens who seek to resist not just Trump but Trumpism, this is the essential book."—Thom Hartmann

"This is the real story of the Trump administration — not what Trump is tweeting but what his appointees are doing to undermine civil rights, economic security and the environment. John Nichols gets behind the scenes, finds the truth and reveals it all. If you want to go beyond the 'alternative facts,' the 'fake news' and the media spin, you must read this book."—Rev. Jesse Jackson

"Nichols provides all rationally outraged Americans with factually insightful portraits of the corporatist managers of Trump's giant wrecking machine.... The unprecedented cruelty, greed, ignorance and abuses of power over the laws of the land are revealed in the pages of this fast-paced, well documented book. ... Nichols shows that the fate of our society's health and safety, justice and democracy, freedom and opportunity are being sacrificed on the anvil of giant corporatism — unless 'we the people' stop them."—Ralph Nader

"John Nichols always speaks truth to power. But in this book he shouts the truth we all need to hear."—Nina Turner, Our Revolution

"The Trump horror show is overshadowing the gang of kleptocrats propping him up. They're waging a methodical war on the vast majority of Americans and on the planet we share. This is a crucial guide to get ready to stop them."—Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough and This Changes Everything

"In a timely volume, [Nichols] enlightens the labyrinthine corridors of governmental power...Written with typical flair and an erudite grasp of history, this is more than a handy reference work....He is to be thanked for offering citizens an accessible work to help guide us through these dark and dangerous times."—Real Change News

"You may have thought you knew who's working for this president, but you'll discover what you know is only the tip of the iceberg."—The Capital Times

From the Publisher