Choosing Donald Trump

By: Stephen Mansfield

Narrated by: Stephen Mansfield

Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

The 2016 election of Donald J. Trump exposed a deep divide in American politics and culture, one that pollsters and pundits didn't seem to realize was there. But Trump did, and he used it to his advantage in ways that surprised nearly everyone, even those who voted for him. Perhaps the biggest question on many people's minds is how, exactly, did a crass, unrepentant reality TV star and cutthroat business tycoon secure the majority of the religious conservative vote?

Now the New York Times best-selling author of The Faith of George W. Bush and The Faith of Barack Obama turns his pen toward the Trump phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews, Stephen Mansfield uncovers who Trump's spiritual influences have been and explains why Christian conservatives were attracted to this unlikely candidate. The book ends with a reflection on the vital role of prophetic distance, both historically and now.

©2017 Mission Audio (P)2017 Mission Audio

Not at all what I was expecting - Better

I assumed this book would have the typical Evangelical perspective & allowances given to President Trump by those who voted for him. Praising him for upsetting the apple cart while giving a "pass" on his obvious shortcomings. What I did not expect was the fair and confrontational questions presented to both Evangelical leaders and followers regarding the support of a political candidate (and the responsibilities of where they posture themselves) in the political process. Why did the right endorsed a candidate with such seemingly compromising values? How will they address the fall out of that decision? And what is their responsibility to hold accountable those politicians that they have supported or endorsed? It's not an angry "blast" of Trump, nor an open ended endorsement. This book presents the full story that hopefully history will reflect. It addresses the questions that have divided a nation with fairness and integrity without becoming partisan & not losing sight of the biblical values of the christians who the book seems to be written about in the title ... Great read! I'm impressed!

A interesting read but one that is extreme in its bias towards evangelicals and Trump.

The book was an interesting read. There is some history of Trump in the story, but it absolutely strains credulity in the assertion that Trump has any kind of a serious faith. Nothing so far in this administration demonstrates that point and nothing in the life of the president prior to his time in office demonstrates that point.

The author goes on to talk about how there are "competent" people around the president who could help steer the president in the right direction. This is also bunk. The Trump administration has been plagued by incompetence, self dealing and disregard for any sort of standardized procedure.

I would recommend this book for those who want to hear an apologists stance on the Trump administration and white Christians broadly. The author has a tendency to conflate "Christian" with white conservative Christians". The white Christian thought leaders that the author talks of, along with the rank and file go out of their way to question the faith of Obama but grasp for any hint that Trump is born again. The author mentions this but spends no time interrogating what that says about these people as Christians.

An interesting aspect would have been how this decision to back Trump more ferociously than any other republican in modern history will have ramifications in the future for white evangelicals. The author makes clear that evangelicals now own Trump, but not what that means for their standing in the broader society.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

A conservative perspective on Donald Trump

I found it revealing how Donald Trump is viewed from a conservative perspective and how conservatives justify supporting him. However this is far from an honest and accurate history of how Donald Trump became US president.

It narrates the story from the perspective of its final outcome, the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president, while neglecting the chance events that played a crucial role in this story. It therefore reads like this outcome was always predestined to happen. This of course is consistent with the conservative outlook of the author.

It also papers over the racism and misogyny of Donald Trump. It doesn't even mention two of the most important aspects of Donald Trump's campaign to become president: his role in the Birther conspiracy theory and his bragging about sexually assaulting women.

The author is probably right that the Christian conservatives now 'own' Donald Trump, but he doesn't explore the consequences if this.

1 of 4 people found this review helpful