June 11, 2018
In Gingrich’s sycophantic recap of President Trump’s first year in office, the former speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate argues that the achievements of the young administration have been largely overshadowed by the antics of a biased media and a frenzied opposition. Gingrich frames the country’s current state as a “cultural-political civil war,” stressing the importance of fighting for a particular vision of America’s identity against constant attacks from the political left. Citing the Trump administration’s rollback of regulations, passage of tax reform, and increased focus on illegal immigration—all happening during a strong economy—Gingrich makes a vigorous case that the administration has made progress on Trump’s campaign promises. He veers into hagiography when discussing the president’s character and political acumen, and, in agreeing with Trump’s anti-NAFTA rhetoric, even disavows his former views, which supported the passage of NAFTA in the 1990s. In the second half of the book, Gingrich goes on the attack, condemning the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian collusion in the 2016 election in a conspiratorial diatribe that ultimately undermines his argument about the administration’s success. Though Trump critics might learn about some of the administration’s accomplishments from this book, the author’s bias indicates this is clearly geared towards supporters.