The history of the Trump presidency will not be written by the likes of Omarosa Manigault. Nor will the likes of Cliff Sims give us the real story of this presidency. Both were early hangers-on who got jettisoned and have tried to cash in.
Michael Wolff, author of the gossipy and pretentious Fire and Fury, also will not tell the story of the Trump presidency. His book, blasted by many who were there, only covers part of 2017 — year one. That’s like claiming to cover World War II but only stopping in the spring of 1941. Much of consequence happened afterward.
The real story of Donald J. Trump’s first administration has been written by Doug Wead, author of the upcoming Trump’s Triumphs: The Real Story of Donald J. Trump’s Presidency.
Doug Wead is not new to the tumultuous lives of presidents. He served in the George H. W. Bush White House and has interviewed six U.S. presidents, seven first ladies, and more than a dozen presidential children. This experience gives Wead more insight and perspective than most other presidential biographers. Wead has been there, done that, and understands the obstacles and the stakes.
Think about this: Most presidential biographies considered “great” are written decades or even centuries after the president and his time. David McCullough’s John Adams, for instance, is generally regarded as the best presidential biography of recent times. But Adams died in 1826; McCullough’s book was released in 2001 — a gap of 175 years. Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life debuted in 2011. Washington died in 1799 — a gap of 212 years.
On the other hand, many presidents have written (or had ghost-written) autobiographies meant to either preserve their version of their years in office, or to rehabilitate their image after scandal. Some, such as Bill Clinton’s My Life, hit the bestseller list despite being so long or tedious that no one actually reads them — and it debuted three years after his presidency.
Some presidential biographies and autobiographies stand the test of time, such as the stirring Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant lived an incredibly compelling life full of comebacks and victories that changed the world, and he entrusted none other than Mark Twain to publish his memoirs. Twain did shortly after Grant died in 1885. By that time, Mark Twain was already an American legend with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) both in his catalog.
Love him or despise him, it’s fair to say that Donald Trump doesn’t think or do anything small. He has always been a visionary businessman, a peerless self-promoter, and a fearless media figure. But what kind of president would he make and who would he trust to tell his side of the story?
Based on the treatment he received from the first day of his run for the White House, Trump realized he could not count on anyone outside his White House to tell his story fairly. The Trump family brought Doug Wead inside before Day One of his presidency. They and many of Trump’s closest advisers confided in him and granted him unprecedented access.
How did Trump set out to fulfill his promise to be the “greatest jobs president God ever created”? How did he change American strategy to defeat ISIS? What toll does media bias really take on Trump and his family? Wead was there and reveals these aspects and more of the Trump White House. What did they do during their first night in the White House? How do they keep each other strong in the face of fake news and incessant attacks? What does Trump really think of the other world leaders he interacts with? Who does President Trump believe was behind the Russian collusion farce?
Doug Wead’s book, Trump’s Triumphs: The Real Story of Donald J. Trump’s Presidency, debuts November 26 from Center Street Publishing. Wead answers these questions and more. It won’t be a boring read.
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