Donald Trump v. The United States

Inside the Struggle to Stop a President

By: Michael S. Schmidt

Narrated by: Michael S. Schmidt

Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • With unparalleled reporting, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter chronicles the clash between a president and the officials of his own government who tried to stop him.

“A meticulously reported volume that clearly benefits from the author’s extraordinary access . . . [a] startling dissection of the Trump presidency.”—The New York Times

Donald Trump v. The United States tells the dramatic, high-stakes story of those who felt compelled to confront and try to contain the most powerful man in the world as he shredded norms and sought to expand his power. Michael S. Schmidt takes listeners inside the defining events of the presidency, chronicles them up close, and records the clash between an increasingly emboldened president and those around him, who find themselves trying to thwart the president they had pledged to serve, unsure whether he is acting in the interest of the country, his ego, his family business, or Russia. Through their eyes and ears, we observe an epic struggle.

Drawing on secret FBI and White House documents and confidential sources inside federal law enforcement and the West Wing, Donald Trump v. The United States is vital journalism from a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter that records the shocking reality of a presidency like no other. It is a riveting contemporary history and a lasting account of just how fragile and vulnerable the institutions of American democracy really are.

©2020 Michael Schmidt (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Michael S.] Schmidt chronicles how the professionals around the president tried to bring order to the White House and to keep Trump within the bounds of the law.... A powerful accounting of ... lawlessness and chaos.” (The Washington Post)

the worst president this country has ever had

although the sick of fans believe everything Donald Trump said American people who are educated and have a brain to think with no that Donald Trump only wanted to be president for his own self interest. the reason he wanted to be president + 20 20 election s to avoid Bing tried by they 6th District Court of new York. and possibly Internal Revenue getting hold of him also. he is a traitor 2 this country. the worst president that ever got into office and positively could not do it without the help of the Russians.

Up Close at the White House

Michael Schmidt had extraordinary access to events in the early Trump administration. He reports on the facts of the West Wing workings and the President as the personality that governed the country took hold. The book does a wonderful job of juxtaposing these visible events against the invisible events and revelations of the special prosecutor’s team who are investigating and building the Muller Report at the same time. The interplay of forces in the parallel universes are especially gripping and well told.

Excellent play-by-play of Trump’s Malfeasance in Office.

Schmidt did an excellent job of investigative reporting of the critical moments of the Trump Administration’s attempts to trample almost all of the Norms and Laws governing the behavior of a President of the United States. His book documents in stunning detail every moment of his work.

There are times, though, that Trump vs US seems to be a biography of Don McGann, The President’s Counsel. The day to day account gets a little taxing to the Reader but probably necessary. It was good to hear how the often mundane work of investigative reporting is done.

As a relatively attentive follower of the activities in Washington since 2015 I can’t say I learned much but I was glad to see it all so thoroughly documented.

As an Audible listener, though, I wish Schmidt would have turned his book over to a more nuanced narrator. His flat documentary tone was difficult to listen to for many hours.

Incredible Detail

As painful as it was to relive Trump's first three years as president, the events reported and written by Michael Schmidt were gripping. The read went quickly for me, perhaps because I had read the entire public version of the Mueller report, which I also felt was riveting.

These events are worth memorializing because Trump is exactly the kind of man our forefathers did not want to ever occupy the White House. Michael Schmidt describes, event after event, the personality of Trump and those who believed they could work with him. One after another, they found they could not.

Michael Schmidt limits his story to Trump and those who worked with him or investigated him. There is another huge part of the story of how Trump was not removed from Office though he ought to have been. That concerns Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate. That story should be told, but it is not part of this book.

Schmidt himself reads the audible version. His reading style is dispassionate and factual. It suits this account and does not detract from the impact of the events.

I hope many people read this book before November 3, 2020. Whatever people know about Trump's unfitness for office, the reality is exponentially worse. In his detailed account of Trump's first three years, Schmidt clearly illustrates that fact.

Great story,terrible narration

The book was well-written and very riveting. However, I struggled with the tone of the narrating. Unfortunately, as great as his reporting is, his voice does not do any justice to the writing. He should have checked his ego at the door and let someone else do the narrating. Honestly, if I had
the time to actually read the book, I would have done so

OMG THE NARRATOR

I haven’t finished this book, and although I want to, I don’t know if I will because I DO NOT like the way he reads this book. I have nothing bad to say about the content of the book, but OMG I wish somebody else had narrated.

A different angle

Interesting to hear the views of how a reporter works. A different angle on a story that everyone is writing about.

Amazing

I thought I knew everything about the Trump presidency. This book by the Pulitzer Prize winning Mike Schmidt gives you insight into how reporters get a story, and the abuse of power which has gone unchecked. Although I have read many books on Trump and thought I was “trumped out,”this book is a must read

Behind the headlines

Fascinating recitation of the stories inside the story of perhaps the most corrupt administration as it bullies its way through the legal system.

Very interesting new info

Lots of new tidbits of information and interesting insight on the former White House Counsel, Dan McGahn, during highly chaotic Trump administration. Enjoyed the fact-finding story, but the delivery by the reader was choppy and a bit annoying—but not enough that I stopped listening!