New book details the final few months of one presidency, and the beginning of another
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward is arguably one of the most important journalistic figures of our lifetimes. Back in the 1970’s, his reporting and trusted confidence in his sources resulted in award winning coverage of the Watergate scandal and the downfall of the Presidency of Richard Nixon.
Now at the age of 78, Woodward is still working for the Post as an Associate Editor, and he’s still reporting, interviewing and writing books about the various figures in our nation’s capital. In the last few years, his most recent three books have all centered around one man: former President Donald Trump. The most recent of the three, “PERIL” was co-authored by Post reporter Robert Costa and released on Sept. 21.
While his sources in these books usually aren’t directly named (Woodward uses a journalism technique called “deep background” in order to protect their identity), it’s very clear that quite a few in the Trump administration cooperated with Woodward on these projects over the years; the details found in these books are too specific for that to not be the case. Trump himself was interviewed extensively for “RAGE” over a period of 18 months; audio recordings of these meetings exist and can be found at the end of the audiobook. Trump likely regretted talking to Woodward, and thus he did not grant Woodward’s request for an interview for “PERIL.” The book doesn’t suffer from that, however.
If “FEAR” was the story of a new administration’s tumultuous beginnings, and “RAGE” was a sort of historical document with lasting negative implications on a man’s legacy, then “PERIL” is in effect a non-linear timeline of how we got to the point that we have, as well as a timeline of Trump’s accelerated descent into complete and total madness during his last few months in office, and especially after his election defeat. It also details the direct reactions of those closest to Trump during this time.
Some wild stories emerge in the pages of “PERIL,” including the fact that Mike Pence had to be convinced by former Vice President Dan Quayle, of all people, to go through with certifying the 2020 Presidential Election results. It also details Army General Mike Milley’s secret phone call to his counterpart in China, General Li Zuocheng following the events of Jan. 6, assuring Zuocheng that Trump would not be able to launch a strike on that country; Milley’s concerns over Trump’s mental state are also detailed extensively in the book, and the book’s early pages show Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the same light as well. More stories emerge on the pages of “PERIL” about various other political figures and Trump allies, and no one on that side of the story comes out unscathed.
“PERIL” also spends an extensive amount of time detailing Joe Biden’s decision to run for President, his successful campaign against President Trump and the beginnings of his own Presidency. Biden also declined a request to be interviewed for the book.
“PERIL” may not prove to be as historically significant as “FEAR” or “RAGE” but it is without question one of this year’s most important political reads, and like Woodward’s other books, provides great insights into key events that often have slipped through the public eye.
