Potus Geeks Book Review: This Will Not Pass by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns
In the words of a New York Times movie reviewer, "history belongs to those who tell it." How will history remember the 2020 Presidential election and the first year of the Biden presidency? Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns tell it as they saw it in their 2022 book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future. The authors pick up the history of American politics in the middle of the an unprecedented pandemic, through one of the most unusual presidential campaigns and conventions, and into one of the most controversial elections, leading to a riot at the US Capitol that leaves legislators fearing for their safety. The book carries on through to the inauguration of the man who will become the first octogenarian President of the United States, amidst an avalance of claims that his victory is a stolen one, claims accompanied by a loud echo in social media chambers, unaccompanied by much in the way of supporting evidence.
The authors go on to describe how, at first, many Republican legislators vowed to punish President Donald Trump for encouraging the insurrection of January 6th that caused them to fear for their lives, only to later resile from that position as political expediency triumphed over principle, and as the opportunity to purge their party of Trump through impeachment, fizzled out. The authors do little to conceal their disdain for President Trump as they describe the last days of his presidency, as governors of states suffering the economic and social devastation that a pandemic brings approach the President on bended knee, seeking financial aid. According to the authors, how their pleas are responded to will depend on how nicely they ask, and how obsequious they are to the man who can grant their wishes. The authors describe other incident of presidential pettiness and petulance, and also chronicle Trumps abilities as a political Lazarus, seemingly abandoned by the leaders in his party following the Capitol riots, only to have those who shunned him once again lining up to kiss his ring (among other things) as they realize how closely their political fortunes allign with his.
The authors present a much more admiring picture of President Joe Biden, who accepts the role of an aging white knight in the style of Don Quixote, coming to save his countrymen following Trump's response to Charlottesville's "unite the right" rally and its attendant racism. Martin and Burns follow the new President through the challenges to his legitimacy, his inauguration, and the trials and tribulations of attempting to lead a nation that is severely polarized. They also take the reader up close and personal into the worlds of legislative leaders from the two parties, including Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy and Chuck Schumer. For me some of the more interesting parts of the book were in reading about how McConnell walked the tightrope of wanting to distance himself from the bellicose outgoing President, while seeking to maintain control of and unity among those he is commanding, and how he wrestles with justifying his vote against impeachment. The authors also offer a look behind closed doors at Biden's selection of Kamala Harris, a woman who cruelly attacked Biden during the Democrats' nomination race, and at Biden's disappointment over her weak and ineffective performance in the role of the person who is one heartbeat away from the oval office. Both parties try to patch cracks in their plaster, as Republican are assaulted from the far right and Democrats from the far left within their respective caucuses.
The authors have an impressive portfolio of sources that take them inside private meetings from within both parties and this makes the book more fascinating. Writing a history of a recent election is difficult at the best of times, and even more so when political divisions are so intense. Have the authors succeeded in writing an fair and balanced account of what took place in American politics in 2020-22? Biden supporters will agree enthusuastically, while Trump supporters will cry "fake news." As for those of us in the minority who try to look at history objectively, it's probably too early to tell. But it does make for an interesting read.
The authors go on to describe how, at first, many Republican legislators vowed to punish President Donald Trump for encouraging the insurrection of January 6th that caused them to fear for their lives, only to later resile from that position as political expediency triumphed over principle, and as the opportunity to purge their party of Trump through impeachment, fizzled out. The authors do little to conceal their disdain for President Trump as they describe the last days of his presidency, as governors of states suffering the economic and social devastation that a pandemic brings approach the President on bended knee, seeking financial aid. According to the authors, how their pleas are responded to will depend on how nicely they ask, and how obsequious they are to the man who can grant their wishes. The authors describe other incident of presidential pettiness and petulance, and also chronicle Trumps abilities as a political Lazarus, seemingly abandoned by the leaders in his party following the Capitol riots, only to have those who shunned him once again lining up to kiss his ring (among other things) as they realize how closely their political fortunes allign with his.
The authors present a much more admiring picture of President Joe Biden, who accepts the role of an aging white knight in the style of Don Quixote, coming to save his countrymen following Trump's response to Charlottesville's "unite the right" rally and its attendant racism. Martin and Burns follow the new President through the challenges to his legitimacy, his inauguration, and the trials and tribulations of attempting to lead a nation that is severely polarized. They also take the reader up close and personal into the worlds of legislative leaders from the two parties, including Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy and Chuck Schumer. For me some of the more interesting parts of the book were in reading about how McConnell walked the tightrope of wanting to distance himself from the bellicose outgoing President, while seeking to maintain control of and unity among those he is commanding, and how he wrestles with justifying his vote against impeachment. The authors also offer a look behind closed doors at Biden's selection of Kamala Harris, a woman who cruelly attacked Biden during the Democrats' nomination race, and at Biden's disappointment over her weak and ineffective performance in the role of the person who is one heartbeat away from the oval office. Both parties try to patch cracks in their plaster, as Republican are assaulted from the far right and Democrats from the far left within their respective caucuses.
The authors have an impressive portfolio of sources that take them inside private meetings from within both parties and this makes the book more fascinating. Writing a history of a recent election is difficult at the best of times, and even more so when political divisions are so intense. Have the authors succeeded in writing an fair and balanced account of what took place in American politics in 2020-22? Biden supporters will agree enthusuastically, while Trump supporters will cry "fake news." As for those of us in the minority who try to look at history objectively, it's probably too early to tell. But it does make for an interesting read.