The United States of Trump

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The United States of Trump Page 25

by Bill O'Reilly


  Chapter 24

  1.  Sadly, Charles Krauthammer passed away due to complications from cancer on June 21, 2018. He is missed.

  Chapter 27

  1.  In May 2019, executives from the Disney and Comcast corporations threatened to boycott the state of Georgia because it passed a strong anti-abortion law. Conservative CEOs never would have done that.

  Chapter 29

  1.  That meeting was discovered by a local Arizona reporter.

  Chapter 34

  1.  Democrat Gary Hart was forced to withdraw from the presidential campaign in 1988 after he was found to be having an extramarital affair.

  2.  The actor telling Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca that he was shocked gambling was allowed in Rick’s Café.

  Chapter 43

  1.  President Trump has little use for the German chancellor. He believes she does not pay her fair share of NATO expenses and is foolish for cooperating with Russia on a natural gas pipeline, among other things.

  2.  After interviewing President Obama at the White House, he was kind enough to walk me up to the Lincoln Bedroom and show me the address. Having written Killing Lincoln, I found this a very special moment in my life.

  Chapter 46

  1.  In April 2019, black unemployment stood at 6.7 percent. Until Donald Trump took office, this statistic had never been below 7 percent in the forty-five years since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began separating unemployment numbers by race.

  AFTERWORD

  MANHASSET, NEW YORK

  MAY 29, 2019

  LATE MORNING

  Special Counsel Robert Mueller looks tense. He is reading an eight-minute statement reiterating that his two-year investigation has not produced evidence of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia during the 2016 election. Mueller says his report does not rule out that President Trump might have done something wrong in the obstruction of justice area, but he is not allowed to bring charges against a sitting president under the Constitution.

  True, but Mr. Mueller is certainly able to cite criminal activity if he can prove it. Judge Kenneth Starr did that eleven times in his investigation of President Clinton in 1998. But there is no proof in Mueller’s report that crimes were committed by President Trump.

  Nevertheless, Robert Mueller is emphasizing that his investigators cannot say Donald Trump did NOT violate the law. Mueller then goes on to imply that Congress should resolve the question since the Justice Department, citing lack of evidence, has declined to take the case any further.

  Is that fair of Mueller?

  Individual Americans will have to decide for themselves. But it is clear today on television screens all over the world that Mr. Mueller has absolutely no use for Donald Trump and would not object to impeachment proceedings.

  * * *

  APPROXIMATELY TWELVE HOURS after Robert Mueller finishes his short dissertation, the phone rings in my house. The White House operator asks me if I can speak with the president of the United States.

  Uh, yes, I believe I can.

  It has been nearly five months since I spoke with President Trump aboard Air Force One. Since that time, I have conversed with him three times about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—mostly his happiness.

  But now the time has come to get down to it. Has Donald Trump’s view of America changed considering all that has happened in the past three years? Does he see his country the same way he did before he began his presidential odyssey?

  That’s where we begin.

  O’REILLY: Has this Mueller situation changed your view of America?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: It’s made me more circumspect. It’s changed my life. What I am going through, no other president has gone through and it’s evil. But it’s also made me stronger because I have to get through it.

  O’REILLY: Why is the campaign against you happening, in your opinion?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: Let’s take Mueller. He’s my enemy. I turned him down after he asked me to head the FBI (after James Comey was fired). I said no. And years ago, he was a member of a golf club I owned on the Potomac. He called me asking for his deposit back. He said he was leaving the area. I think it was $15,000. But I said no because then I’d have to do that for all members. And the conversation got heated, it was nasty if you want to know the truth.

  O’REILLY: So you think it was personal with Mueller?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: This was an attempted overthrow, Bill. And if I didn’t fire Comey we would have never known about it. It’s wrong. This should never happen to another president.

  O’REILLY: Has your love for your country changed?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’ve learned a lot. I think this Mueller investigation will go down as one of my great achievements.

  O’REILLY: What?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: Because the corruption would have never been uncovered. All these powerful people trying to subvert an election, people wouldn’t have known about it.

  O’REILLY: Why do you think some powerful people want to hurt you?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don’t know why they hate me. I guess it’s because I’m an outsider. I did something no one else had ever done. It’s about power. In New York, it’s money, but the New York guys are babies by comparison. I’ve never seen anything like it. You think you can trust people and they turn around and hurt you. You can’t trust anyone.

  O’REILLY: Do you think the federal system is corrupt?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: The media is more corrupt. How can you win Pulitzer Prizes writing about stories that aren’t true, using anonymous sources that tell lies? Shouldn’t they have to give those prizes back? It’s horrible. I mean I’ve rebuilt the military, we have the best economy, women and minorities are doing much better and still all I get are bad stories.

  O’REILLY: Why do you think things are so devious?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think about it all the time. The Washington Post and the New York Times are the worst. Local news has actually been good to me. I think it comes from the top. Jeff Bezos (owner of the Washington Post) uses the paper to lobby. It’s a business thing for him.

  O’REILLY: What about the fake news branding?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: A big success because I have exposed them as corrupt. It used to be people trusted the media but they are so far down in the polls.

  O’REILLY: How has the media hatred affected you?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: In one way it’s positive. It shows that I can take it. Not many people could get through what I’ve had to take. Rudy Giuliani’s a tough guy but he told me he doesn’t think he could handle all the hate.

  O’REILLY: What do you tell your thirteen-year-old son about America in the face of all this?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: You know he sometimes comes to me and says, “Dad, they are really coming after you. It’s sad.”

  O’REILLY: What do you say to that?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: I always say: we just keep going forward, that’s what we do. You know, the media doesn’t care if they hurt families. They are the meanest people. But when I leave office, I’ll have my revenge. Because many of them will go out of business. Without Trump, what have they got?

  O’REILLY: So your love for America hasn’t changed?

  PRESIDENT TRUMP: I love my country but many things in it should not be happening and I hope no other president goes through this. It’s bad for America.

  * * *

  DONALD TRUMP IS not going to change. He will not modify his behavior, stop tweeting, or begin wearing jeans. He’ll stay the way he is until the grave.

  Many of the 63 million Americans who voted for Trump in 2016 will not change, either. They have too much emotion invested in Mr. Trump. And they generally loathe his detractors.

  Despite the almost daily controversies, citizens see how the president is governing and close to half the country approves of his job performance in any given polling week.

  This is based on the healthy economy, I believe, not on ideology. If you study the president you will not
see much promotion of conservative principles. Vice President Pence is much more on the right than his boss is.

  However, the president understands his base support comes from conservative Americans, therefore he will not alienate them. He will continue to choose traditional Supreme Court justices, back stronger laws against abortion, and defend the Second Amendment.

  This is essentially why the American left hates Donald Trump. Some liberals make assertions about character and such but that’s mostly bull. Liberal America, in general, supported President Clinton to the end of his administration.

  No, the anti-Trump “Resistance” is mostly about social policy. And there are many ingredients in that stew. But the primary flavor is a belief on the committed left that America is an unjust country and Donald Trump is a major part of that injustice. That core anti-Trump belief is what spawned Robert Mueller and the ongoing attempts to oust Donald Trump from power.

  However, the raw hatred that is on vivid display may actually work in President Trump’s favor as he seeks reelection. Independent voters will decide who wins in 2020 and any overreach, say, a flimsy impeachment attempt by House Democrats, could well bolster the Republicans.

  The most important question for the nation right now is this: Can President Trump win another term after all that has happened? It would be another stunning political story if he did—especially because he has the establishment media lined up against him in a way never seen before in this country. He is also facing a hostile House of Representatives that will continue to oppose him on all fronts.

  And so it is that a man from Queens has achieved incredible power through guile, determination, and immense ambition.

  But Donald Trump has paid a price for that power—a price he could never have foreseen.

  Nor could any of us.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As I wrote in the beginning of the book, getting the truth about Donald Trump was difficult. So, a very special thank-you to Martin Dugard and Makeda Wubneh, who helped me separate fact from propaganda.

  Also, I owe a debt of gratitude to Bill Shine for primary source material, including access to the president himself. And thanks to Charles Lachman, executive producer of Inside Edition, for his help.

  Finally, my team at Henry Holt led by Steve Rubin and Serena Jones is both professional and perspicacious. We’ve made history together.

  ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

  here: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

  here: Mirrorpix

  here: Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times/Redux

  here: Barton Silverman/The New York Times/Redux

  here: Barton Silverman/The New York Times/Redux

  here: Piero Oliosi/Polaris/Newscom

  here: AP Photo/Mel Evans

  here: Louis Liotta/New York Post Archives/Getty Images

  here: J. Scott Applewhite/Pool via CNP/MediaPunch

  here: New York Daily News/Getty Images

  here: Nancy Moran /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

  here: Ted Thai/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

  here: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

  here: John Barrett/Photolink/MediaPunch

  here: AP Photo/Marc Serota

  here: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

  here: Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection

  here: The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

  here: Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times/Redux

  here: Olivier Douliery/White House Pool (ISP Pool Images)/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

  here: Christy Bowe/Corbis via Getty Images

  here: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux

  here: David Becker/Getty Images

  here: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire (Press Association via AP Images)

  here: James Atoa/Everett Collection

  here: James Atoa/Everett Collection

  here: Danny Wilcox Frazier/VII/Redux

  here: Steven Ferdman/Everett Collection

  here: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

  here: Brian Snyder/Reuters/Newscom

  here: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

  here: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

  here: Xinhua/Yin Bogu via Getty Images

  here: Reuters Staff/Reuters/Newscom

  here: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

  here: dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo

  here: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

  ALSO BY BILL O’REILLY

  Killing Lincoln

  Killing Kennedy

  Killing Jesus

  Killing Patton

  Killing Reagan

  Killing the Rising Sun

  Killing England

  Killing the SS

  Old School

  Legends and Lies: The Civil War

  Legends and Lies: The Patriots

  Legends and Lies: The Real West

  Pinheads and Patriots

  A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

  Culture Warrior

  The O’Reilly Factor

  Who’s Looking Out for You?

  Keep It Pithy

  Those Who Trespass

  The No Spin Zone

  Hitler’s Last Days

  Lincoln’s Last Days

  The Day the World Went Nuclear

  The Day the President Was Shot

  Kennedy’s Last Days

  The Last Days of Jesus

  Give Please a Chance

  Kids Are Americans Too

  The O’Reilly Factor for Kids

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BILL O’REILLY is a trailblazing TV journalist who has experienced unprecedented success on cable news and in writing fifteen national number one bestselling nonfiction books. (There are currently more than seventeen million books in the Killing series in print.) Mr. O’Reilly does a daily podcast on BillOReilly.com. Also, his daily radio program, The O’Reilly Update, is heard on hundreds of stations across the country. He lives on Long Island. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Part II

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Part III

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Notes

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  Illustration Credits

  Also by Bill O’Reilly

  About the Author

  Copy
right

  THE UNITED STATES OF TRUMP: HOW THE PRESIDENT REALLY SEES AMERICA. Copyright © 2019 by Bill O’Reilly. All rights reserved. For information, address Henry Holt and Co., 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

  www.henryholt.com

  Cover design by Rick Pracher

  Cover photograph © Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2019948930

  e-ISBN 9781250237217

  First Edition: September 2019

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

 

 

 


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