撿起這本書，純屬偶然。11月15日是一個周日，我得知手中沒有讀完的《百年孤獨》的書不能再續借要去歸還時，在圖書館僅有的幾個開放書架上，看到一本封麵印有半邊川普臉的書，擺在醒目的位置。拿下來一看, 是一本新書，次頁還蓋有圖書館到書的日期，October 20, 2020。 衝著它的新，我把它借回了家，我想我應該是這本書(指這個圖書館收藏的這本書)的第一個讀者。
花了一星期都不到的時間就讀完了這近四百頁的書，這是我讀得最輕鬆、最快的一本書之一。書寫得淺顯易懂，語言簡單。作者是《華盛頓郵報》副主編，他和同事一起曾榮獲過兩次普利策獎，一次是因為報道水門事件，另一次是因為報道911事件。在他為華郵工作的49年生涯中，他寫過九位總統 (總共45位，20%)，從尼克鬆到川普。這本Rage是他的第20本書，之前的13本全都居全國暢銷書之首。
對於我一個不太關心，政治左右都分不太清楚的人來說，讀此書純屬是好奇，好奇作者筆下的總統到底是什麽樣的人？他到底有什麽魅力，讓這麽多人瘋狂地"粉"他。 在我看來，每一個人可以因為自身的利益，各自不同的理念來決定自己手中的那張選票，畢竟沒有一個黨的政策理念是無懈可擊的。民主黨的很多政策很奇葩，惹得民眾怨聲載道，反對聲此起彼伏。所以選擇民主黨或是共和黨，左或是右，都是可以理解的。但是，當我看到往日平靜的大學群因選舉吵得不可開交，幾乎成了川粉群時，他們的狂熱、非理性讓我十分不解。雖然選擇讀這本書從某種程度就已經表明了我的立場，但是在整理這個讀書筆記時，我也想盡量做到不添加帶有個人色彩的judgement, 就作者書中的觀點和事實羅列於此。
作者是在曆經了七個月與總統的18次訪談 （其中17次是錄音的），在獲取大量第一手資料，包括訪談、電郵、筆記、日記和秘密文件後完成的一部書籍，所以書中充斥著大量的對話，有關人員的摘錄等等。此書以回顧2016年總統剛剛就職時聘請的一些部長級人物開始說起，敘述這些大臣的任免。書的重點是2020年的疫情。書中也有不少篇幅闡述川普與北朝鮮金正日的關係，與中國習的接觸，總統的彈劾事件，中東問題等等國內國際政策的內幕。此書完稿於2020年的七月，相信對於關心政治時事的人來說，裏麵的很多內容都已經是舊聞了。我這裏也隻是概括下麵六大點，並摘抄書中的一些段落，分享給大家。
一: 川普認為全世界都在占美國的便宜，其中包括中國、韓國、歐盟、WTO等。
- Trump had his own facts: Nearly everyone was an idiot, and almost every country was ripping off the United States. (p31)
- “The world is taking advantage of us,” Trump said, “…… America was being taken advantage of. The United States was paying to keep 30,000 troops in South Korea to protect South Koreans. “We are the piggy bank that everyone wants to rob.” (p 36)
- “We’re protecting South Korea from North Korea，and they’re making a fortune with televisions and ships and everything else. Right? They make so much money. Cost us $10 billion. We’re suckers.” (p.186)
- The president brought up the European Union, which he felt had also been “ripping us off for years” and been “formed to screw the United States.” Trump said he had been waiting to take on the European Union until his trade deals with China, Mexico and Canada were done. (p225)
- Trump told me he had recently called Roberto Azevedo, the head of the World Trade Organization, which Trump believed had been “ripping us off like crazy for 25, 30 years. “ (p.224)
- “You have to understand, I just signed a massive trade deal turning everything—because China’s been ripping us off for years. Like ripping us like you’ve never seen, economically. (p.305)
川普是個生意人，他應該知道"吃小虧占大便宜"的道理。
二．川普在用人上的恣意，下麵的這些大臣很多是川普自己任命，後來又被他罷免或是自己辭職。
A． Rex Tillerson: Secretary of State, the longtime CEO of ExxonMobil . 是總統請他出山的。 總統想罷免他時， Tillerson人還在非洲訪問，消息是同事告訴他的，讓他馬上回國。後來總統答應等他回來，可是他回美飛機落地沒幾個小時，還沒有見到總統，正式的罷免就已經出現在川總的推文上了。
B． Jim Mattis: Secretary of Defense, retired from the Marines, had served in the Gulf War and in Afghanistan and Iraq before rising to CentCom commander. “A man of total action” . 他於2018年底遞交辭職信，原定是2019年二月底正式辭職，但是三天後，川總又把他的辭職日期提到2019年的一月一號，並稱Mattis是 “the world most overrated general” (Just a PR guy) (p143)
C． Dan Coats: Director of national intelligence (DNI). Indiana Republican. 他被撤職的那天正在跟總統打高爾夫球，打第六洞時（still playing with golf, on the sixth hole—a 583 yard, par-five）Coats突然讀到川普下午4：45分的推文 ： Trump’s 4;45 pm tweet: “ … the current director, will be leaving office on August 15th. Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence…
在Mattis眼裏，Coats是個表麵看上去很溫和，但骨子裏有著鋼鐵般堅硬脊梁的人。
“Mattis was immediately taken with Coats’s gentlemanly demeanour, soft on the outside but with a spine of steel on the inside—what Mattis called “vertebrate.” (p69)
D．Rod Rosenstein：Deputy Attorney General, a Harvard law graduate, had been a law-and-order, by-the-book career federal prosecutor for nearly 30 years. 他任命Mueller調查川普通俄事件，後來主動請辭。
E． 書中還提到James Comey, FBI director也被川普撤職，川普還說大家一定都很高興他被撤職。 而事實上， McCabe believed that Comey was a beloved and revered figure in FBI, and people were upset, not delighted. He wrote that many at the FBI were in tears and compared the firing to “a death in the family. The death of a patriarch, a protector.”
作者摘錄了不少金正日和川普之間的通信，並指出他們之間的談話不是國與國之間傳統的外交辭令，尤其是金正日在信中的措辭時而奉承，時而情意綿綿，散文體的敘舊，一口一個Your Excellency, 灌迷魂湯似，讓川普十分受用。用川普的話，他們之間的通信像川普自己說的是"情書"，金正日對川的敬仰讓川普更加相信這世上隻有川普他才能搞定金正日。“Because they don’t know. They have no idea. I’m the only one that knows. I’m the only one he deals with. He won’t deal with anybody else.” (183)
Trump has personally said they are “love letters.” (p106)
部分書信內容摘錄：
“It has been 200 days since the historic DPRK-US summit in Singapore this past June, and the year is now almost coming an end. Even now I cannot forget the moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day. … (P173)
“…… as we enter the new year the whole world will certainly once again come to see, not so far in the future, another historic meeting between myself and Your Excellency reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.” (p174)
Trump replied on December 28: “…….Like you, I have no doubt that a great result will be accomplished between our two countries, and that the only two leaders who can do it are you and me.” (p. 174)
“On June 10, Kim wrote Trump another letter of verbose flattery.
“Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory.” (p176)
Two days later, on June 12, Trump wrote back…… “You and I have a unique style and a special friendship. Only you and I, working together, can resolve the issues between our two countries and end nearly 70 years of hostility……” (p. 177)
書中對信件的評論：
The language is not out of the traditional diplomatic playbook. They resemble declarations of personal fealty that might be uttered by the Knights of the Round Table, or perhaps suitors. (p107)
The CIA never figured out conclusively who wrote and crafted Kim’s letters to Trump. They were masterpieces. The analysts marveled at the skill someone brought to finding the exact mixture of flattery while appealing to Trump’s sense of grandiosity and being center stage in history. (p. 181)
四. 18次訪談的印象
作者在書中說到，和川普訪談，川普常常答非所問，任意改變話題。其中也有人說與川普談話，有時感覺不在一個頻道，甚者不在一個星球。川普喜歡吹噓自己任職期間的成績，如史無前例的經濟繁榮，股市的節節攀升，就業的穩定等等，標榜自己在黑人問題上是僅次於林肯的最偉大總統。這些話他有時會像祥林嫂似喋喋不休地重複著，反複強調自己的偉大，同時不停地抱怨媒體對他的不公和抹黑，揪住他通俄的嫌疑不放，不給他credit,不承認他的政績。川普常用的詞匯比較簡單，出現頻率較高的詞比如，good, great, bad，tremendous, many many, best, beautiful, perfect......
“I was presiding over the greatest economy in the world.” (p.324)
“I’ve done a good job for Black people. I’ve done the best job of any president since Lincoln.” (P.362)
“I have done more for the black community than any other president other than Abraham Lincoln.” (p.375)
五. 與川普共事和對為人的評價
作者和其他官員眼中的川普是個恣意妄為，狂妄自大的一個人。他多變，思維跳躍，自相矛盾，不按常理出牌，很多決定不跟官員商量通氣，直接在twitter上發出，讓人很被動，很難堪。有時甚至連官員的任免也是通過推文通知的，這張做法喪失了最起碼的尊重，讓人心寒，同時也讓很多人失去了對他的信任。
書中形容川普的詞匯句子: arrogance, ambivalence ，mercurial, capricious tweeting ，imbecilic, Paranoid (p. 120, Coats)
Trump’s orders were so random, impulsive and unthoughtful.
Because of the president’s preemptive, impetuous decision making. (p.132)
Coats agreed. “To him (Trump), a lie is not a lie. It’s just what he thinks. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie.” (p. 69)
“The president has no moral compass,” Mattis replied. (p69)
“This can be a very mean-spirited town,” he (Tillerson) said. (p. 97) 這裏雖然沒有明說川普，指的就是川普。
Trump’s attitude was: “I can solve all these problems.” (p116)
Here’s the thing: I’m never wrong. Okay.
Trump lived in his own head and if he wanted, out came an idea or a decision. It did not matter what anybody else thought. (p.139)
President Trump can be a handful, but he’s a smart guy. (p.349)
“The president is on a separate channel,” Fauci later told others. Trump’s leadership was “rudderless.” (p354)
Often when Fauci challenged Trump on something he had said, Trump would jump in and change the subject. Fauci marveled at Trump, who would hopscotch from one topic to another. “His attention span is like a minus number,” Fauci said privately. (p. 354)
Trump is a living paradox, capable of being friendly and appealing. He can also be savage and his treatment of people is often almost unbelievable.(p390) （作者的評述）
但是即便川普身上有這樣那樣的問題，有一點值得一提的是，川普確實不是一個喜歡打仗的總統，在他任職期間沒有發動戰爭，反而在平息北朝鮮戰爭陰霾，改善與金正日的關係上邁出了曆史性的第一步。他指責布什總統的過度反恐，和對金正日的態度：
There is too much emphasis on terrorism and fighting the old Bush wars, Trump said. (p110)
“And you know what? That attitude got him nothing，“Trump said. “In the meantime, they built a huge nuclear force during the last two administrations.” (p. 92)
這裏的attitude指的是Bush 曾經說過的“I loathe Kim Jong II.”
在Syria撤軍問題上，雖然川普獨斷專行，不與當時的國防部長通氣，擅自發推文做決定，他的撤軍決定可能不符合軍方或集團利益的立場，但在我一個普通老百姓眼裏，客觀地說，此舉值得肯定，進一步證明了川普不喜歡戰爭，不喜歡長期駐軍的這樣一個立場。
六. 川普真正的對手不是拜登，是疫情
書中至少兩次提到，川普的真正對手不是拜登，是疫情。川普也承認這一點是largely true (p381)。 川普反複強調自己2020一月底關閉中國航班的正確決定。但是後來麵對疫情的居高不下，他開始轉嫁矛盾，甩鍋，指責中國，繼而downplay疫情的嚴重性。但是欲蓋彌彰，疫情的失控恰恰暴露了他的領導無方。
這本書起名Rage是緣於2016年大選時，川普自己說的一句話：
“I bring out rage in people. I bring rage out. I always have. I don’t know if it’s an asset or a liability. But whatever it is, I do.” （p369）
當作者再一次問他，“Is it true?”
“Yes, “Trump said.
川普確實是個能造勢的一個人，他能煽動民眾情緒，甚至拉仇恨。但是我想作者在此借用，更多的是貶義的，他想表達的是民眾因為疫情產生的一種憤怒情緒。
作者在結語裏指責川普的失職，說川普自己就是他所說的炸藥包：
…… But now, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “dynamite behind the door” was in plain sight. It was Trump himself. The oversized personality. The failure to organize. The lack of discipline. The lack of trust in others he had picked, in experts. The undermining or the attempted undermining of so many American institutions. The failure to be a calming, healing voice. The unwillingness to acknowledge error. The failure to do his homework. To extend the olive branch. To listen carefully to others. To craft a plan. (p386)
文章最後還提到小羅斯福總統當年處理危機的做法，並暗示，如果川普能效仿羅斯福總統，告訴民眾真相，讓民眾參與到危機中，號召他們犧牲，分擔責任，共度難關，那麽或許就不會有民眾的不滿和憤慨，也就不會有今日敗給拜登的局麵。
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最後貼一點書中結語部分作者寫的一些英語：
Epilogue
After I finished reporting for this book on President Trump, I felt weariness. The country was in real turmoil. The virus was out of control. The economy was in crisis with more than 40 million out of work. A powerful reckoning on racism and inequality was upon us. There seemed to be no end in sight, and certainly no clear path to get there.
。。。 But now, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “dynamite behind the door” was in plain sight. It was Trump himself. The oversized personality. The failure to organize. The lack of discipline. The lack of trust in others he had picked, in experts. The undermining or the attempted undermining of so many American institutions. The failure to be a calming, healing voice. The unwillingness to acknowledge error. The failure to do his homework. To extend the olive branch. To listen carefully to others. To craft a plan. (p386)
But the interviews show he vacillated, prevaricated and at times dodged his role as leader of the country despite his “I alone can fix it” rhetoric. (p390)
As America and the world know, Trump is an overpowering presence. He loves spectacle.
Trump is a living paradox, capable of being friendly and appealing. He can also be savage and his treatment of people is often almost unbelievable.(p390)
The model was Franklin D. Roosevelt. Over his 12 years as president, FDR gave 30 fireside chats.(p390)
The evening radio addresses concerned the toughest issues facing the country. In a calm and reassuring voice, he explained what the problem was, what the government was doing about it, and what was expected of the people.
Often the message was grim. Two days after Japan’s December 7, 1941, surprise bombing attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR spoke to the nation. “ We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories—the changing fortunes of war. So far, the news has been all bad. We have suffered a serious setback. “ He added. “It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war.” It was a question of survival. “We are now fighting to maintain our right to live among our world neighbors in freedom and common decency.”
FDR invited the American people in. “We are all in it—all the way. Every single man, woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history.”
“On the road ahead there lies hard work—grueling work—day and night, every hour and every minute.” And sacrifice, which was a “privilege.”
A president must be willing to share the worst with the people, the bad news with the good. All presidents have a large obligation to inform, warm, protect, to define goals and the true national interest. It should be a truth-telling response to the world, especially in crisis. Trump has, instead, enshrined personal impulse as a governing principle of his presidency. (p391-392)
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