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Two new books devoted to the first couple portray Donald Trump as a rampaging dimwit and Melania as an enigma
To begin with, journalists exposing the mayhem of the Trump administration sounded a shrill alarm: the incendiary slogan of Michael Wolff’s book was Fire and Fury, after which Bob Woodward’s Fear disseminated creepy dread. Since then, the mood has changed. Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, reporters for the Washington Post, remain aghast, but they also respond to Trump’s manic or even maniacal behaviour with a kind of nihilistic glee. As we hurtle through the daily crises he incites, can’t we at least enjoy the ride?
At one point in A Very Stable Genius, the conservative lawyer George Conway – the husband of Trump’s acid-tongued apologist Kellyanne Conway – doubles over in incredulous mirth at the man’s idiocy. Then the joke palls, as Conway realises with a shudder that “the object of his ridicule was the president of the United States”. We’re lucky that it’s only Trump’s hissy fits that are “thermonuclear”; instead of launching missiles, he childishly makes war by weaponising sweets. At a summit he tosses two Starburst candies at Angela Merkel and grunts: “Don’t say I never give you anything.” I wonder what flavour he chose for this undiplomatic exchange: sour or summer blast? Continue reading...