One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General
William P. Barr (HarperCollins)
5.0 out of 5.0 starsA fascinating and important read
In my opinion, everyone should read this book. It’s not just about the Trump Administration; Barr carefully highlights some of the most vital contemporary issues that are central to the future success and prosperity of the United States. Even if you don’t usually read political books, absolutely read this one.
What’s it about?
If you want to understand the Trump phenomenon, you absolutely have to read this book. The book is written by Bill Barr, for whom I already had a high regard. Barr served as attorney general two times: once under President George H.W. Bush, then under President Donald Trump.
The earlier commentary on the Bush Administration is interesting but it was the Trump material that was fascinating. Barr works methodically through a number of critical issues and developments, from the Mueller report through to the January 6 debacle. Everything Barr says leads me to the belief that Trump accomplished some great things, completely lacked discipline, and engaged in self-destructive behavior.
Mueller report
Like everyone, I wondered whether Trump could adjust to life as a president in contrast to the outside rebel persona he had built. I admit that I found it encouraging that he didn’t follow through on the “Lock her up” promises of his campaign. Ultimately, that seemed a very presidential decision to me. Interestingly, Barr also brings out this point, noting Trump’s comments that: “Even if she were guilty, he said, for the election winner to seek prosecution of the loser would make the country look like a ‘banana republic.‘”
Regrettably, Trump’s many opponents took a different view, and this has no doubt caused enormous damage to the American political system. I found Barr’s comments on the Mueller work to be informative because he highlights that Mueller pursued “an almost two-year investigation based on an esoteric, untenable obstruction theory. Mueller never seems to have paused to consider the sheer injustice of it all.” In essence, Trump was subjected to false accusations and a media frenzy that severely impeded the ability of his administration to function. This is not the type of behavior that one expects in the world’s leading democracy.
Decision-making
The book sheds great light on the way in which the president functioned. Although he often had great ideas, it was concerning, but not surprising, to read that he “tended to shop around for legal advice until he found someone who told him what he wanted to hear.” Throughout the book there is a common theme: to his detriment, Trump listened to Trump, and frequently ignored the experts around him whose advice would have prevented many of the self-inflicted wounds he incurred.
People
I found it really interesting to read Barr’s insights on Trump’s views on his supporters. Barr makes clear that Trump was genuinely committed to the American workers whom he believed had been ignored by the political elites. Ironically, as Barr notes, this commitment to prioritizing his base likely caused him to lose the 2020 election because he failed to engage in the necessary efforts to win back the moderate voters.
Conversely, it’s quite shocking to see how Trump treated his own team. Any book on good leadership will tell you the importance of building a team. Trump seems to have taken the approach that his team was there to serve him and that they were all expendable. One of Barr’s comments is particularly damning. He states that “People are worthwhile to Trump only as a means to his ends. When they don’t helm him get what he wants, they are useless.” My observations on the way Trump treated his loyal VP Mike Pence lead me to believe Barr’s assertion.
Religious freedom
One of the most powerful chapters of the book is Barr’s discussion of the importance of religious freedom. He notes the attack on religion that has been carried out by the progressive movement. Perhaps most compelling is his argument that the progressive movement, having removed religion, has sought to impose its own non-religious belief system, which is a form of religion in itself. His comments here are both insightful and warrant greater consideration both by political and legal leaders. In fact, this may be the most important comment he makes in the entire book:
“The objective is no longer secularization by subtraction. Now we see a mounting effort to affirmatively indoctrinate children with the secular progressive belief system – a new official secular ideology. … But secular values are not religiously neutral ones. On the contrary, today’s progressive secular ideology is premised on ideas about the nature of man, the universe, man’s duties, and the purpose of life that are a substitute for, and subversive of, a religious outlooks, especially the traditional Judeo-Christian worldview.”
China
Another crucial chapter is the one that focuses on the rise of China. In this regard, Barr notes the major but often understated threat that China presents to the US. Notably, Barr points out that it will take bipartisan commitment to resolve this issue. He highlights that Americans are going to have to work together or watch China become the dominant power in the world. I think this is a vital point and one that our current political leadership seems unable and unwilling to address.
Big Tech and the media
Barr makes great comments on the role of Big Tech, particularly the way in which our system supported their rise to “hegemonic power.” It is this power, he notes, that they now employ to censor political views with which they disagree. In this regard, I believe Barr has highlighted one of the most crucial issues of our day. Until we have a more balanced press again, we are mere steps away from becoming another political system in which there is only one acceptable view to which all citizens must adhere.
Barr’s subsequent chapters on the COVID pandemic, and the role of race in police shootings, serve as examples of the biased media reporting that now characterizes America. In particular, Barr points out the media hypocrisy in fueling the narrative that police had unfairly shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. In actuality, he notes, Blake had a knife and was the subject of a felony warrant for sexual assault. His wife had called the police on him because Blake was attempting to steal her car and had the three children in the car. Blake had been tasered, he had overpowered police, and was attempting to get into the car and drive away – as Barr notes, the police were in the impossible position of having to stop him. Nonetheless, the media wanted to sell clicks by creating an alternate narrative. It’s hard to read this and not feel a deep distrust of our media, which seems to have sold out all ethics for the sake of immediate profit.
Final thoughts
Barr concludes the book with the election loss and its aftermath. Most notably, Barr asserts that Trump was his own worst enemy with his pettiness, egotism, unwillingness to listen and adjust, and the fact that his behavior repelled moderate voters. I am convinced that Barr is absolutely right.
Despite Trump’s many personal failures, I agree with Barr’s assessment that Trump was unfairly treated by the media and political elites who collectively undermined his presidency. Accordingly, I will close this review with Barr’s comments on one of Trump’s major accomplishments:
“Trump exposed the media and the cultural elites as the outright partisans they have long been – mere extensions of the Democratic Party.”