Pisaries Creator

Publication Date: 2017

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Page Number: 360

Before I discuss this book, let me say despite a large portion of it covering Donald Trump, but there are other parts that are generic in nature.  Yes, as in 2016 it appears that half the country supports Donald Trump where the other half does not.  I recently posted a list of past presidents and their ranking of narcissism based on when the poll was conducted in 2013 and all presidents are narcissistic because they are human.  We all have a need for recognition and while many of us have a decent amount of self-worth and awareness, some don’t keep it in check and resistance happens.  I’m sure there will be another poll conducted later about recent presidents not already on the list.  Where Obama and Trump fit into it, that is not for me to decide.

In addition to narcissism, every president has done things the general public sees as controversial, un-presidential, if you will.  Obama and Trump are not excluded from this list in terms of recent presidents.  Some of Trump’s un-presidential actions is covered and while it took me a year to finish this suggested book, it has valuable information in it.  The chapters I found most interesting were from those who knew Trump intimately  and those who wrote about Trump from a point of view very different from their families and friends.  The book is broken into three parts: his phenomenon, his dilemma, and his effect.

I recently saw something on FB post comparing a presidential candidate to taking a bus ride.  If s/he gets you closest to where you want to be, this is the person for you.  The chances of this person dropping you off at the perfect location doesn’t exist.  The best anyone can hope for after being dropped off is having the tools necessary to get where you need to go.  This is what we all want, but what tools are necessary and how much is what differs.  There is no denying Trump is able to reach a wide gamut of society: atheists, evangelicals, female and male Caucasians, acculturated Latinos, high school educated people, and many more.  He isn’t the first and won’t be the last president to have uninvited criticism, but how he handles it does matter. 

To see this book as an attack on Donald Trump solely is missing the point, because it discusses valid questions surrounding any presidency.  Right now the qualifications to be president is threefold: be a natural born citizen, be over the age of 35, and have 14 years residency.  Should there not be a rigorous testing phase?  Some of the contributing writers believe there should be and that is how the book ended.  With that being said, I was persuaded on some levels to think differently about Donald Trump or his presidency, but others remained the same.  I have a greater understanding of how he came to the person he is today, but as the U.S. heads closer to nominating a Democratic presidential nominee, I find myself confused as to who can challenge him.  If I was a gambler, it would not be a sure bet and the same goes for the election in November 2020.  The best I can offer is this: whatever happens will happen and no matter what the outcome, I will still exist and be alive and so will you.