捡起这本书，纯属偶然。11月15日是一个周日，我得知手中没有读完的《百年孤独》的书不能再续借要去归还时，在图书馆仅有的几个开放书架上，看到一本封面印有半边川普脸的书，摆在醒目的位置。拿下来一看, 是一本新书，次页还盖有图书馆到书的日期，October 20, 2020。 冲着它的新，我把它借回了家，我想我应该是这本书(指这个图书馆收藏的这本书)的第一个读者。
花了一星期都不到的时间就读完了这近四百页的书，这是我读得最轻松、最快的一本书之一。书写得浅显易懂，语言简单。作者是《华盛顿邮报》副主编，他和同事一起曾荣获过两次普利策奖，一次是因为报道水门事件，另一次是因为报道911事件。在他为华邮工作的49年生涯中，他写过九位总统 (总共45位，20%)，从尼克松到川普。这本Rage是他的第20本书，之前的13本全都居全国畅销书之首。
对于我一个不太关心，政治左右都分不太清楚的人来说，读此书纯属是好奇，好奇作者笔下的总统到底是什么样的人？他到底有什么魅力，让这么多人疯狂地"粉"他。 在我看来，每一个人可以因为自身的利益，各自不同的理念来决定自己手中的那张选票，毕竟没有一个党的政策理念是无懈可击的。民主党的很多政策很奇葩，惹得民众怨声载道，反对声此起彼伏。所以选择民主党或是共和党，左或是右，都是可以理解的。但是，当我看到往日平静的大学群因选举吵得不可开交，几乎成了川粉群时，他们的狂热、非理性让我十分不解。虽然选择读这本书从某种程度就已经表明了我的立场，但是在整理这个读书笔记时，我也想尽量做到不添加带有个人色彩的judgement, 就作者书中的观点和事实罗列于此。
作者是在历经了七个月与总统的18次访谈 （其中17次是录音的），在获取大量第一手资料，包括访谈、电邮、笔记、日记和秘密文件后完成的一部书籍，所以书中充斥着大量的对话，有关人员的摘录等等。此书以回顾2016年总统刚刚就职时聘请的一些部长级人物开始说起，叙述这些大臣的任免。书的重点是2020年的疫情。书中也有不少篇幅阐述川普与北朝鲜金正日的关系，与中国习的接触，总统的弹劾事件，中东问题等等国内国际政策的内幕。此书完稿于2020年的七月，相信对于关心政治时事的人来说，里面的很多内容都已经是旧闻了。我这里也只是概括下面六大点，并摘抄书中的一些段落，分享给大家。
一: 川普认为全世界都在占美国的便宜，其中包括中国、韩国、欧盟、WTO等。
- Trump had his own facts: Nearly everyone was an idiot, and almost every country was ripping off the United States. (p31)
- “The world is taking advantage of us,” Trump said, “…… America was being taken advantage of. The United States was paying to keep 30,000 troops in South Korea to protect South Koreans. “We are the piggy bank that everyone wants to rob.” (p 36)
- “We’re protecting South Korea from North Korea，and they’re making a fortune with televisions and ships and everything else. Right? They make so much money. Cost us $10 billion. We’re suckers.” (p.186)
- The president brought up the European Union, which he felt had also been “ripping us off for years” and been “formed to screw the United States.” Trump said he had been waiting to take on the European Union until his trade deals with China, Mexico and Canada were done. (p225)
- Trump told me he had recently called Roberto Azevedo, the head of the World Trade Organization, which Trump believed had been “ripping us off like crazy for 25, 30 years. “ (p.224)
- “You have to understand, I just signed a massive trade deal turning everything—because China’s been ripping us off for years. Like ripping us like you’ve never seen, economically. (p.305)
川普是个生意人，他应该知道"吃小亏占大便宜"的道理。
二．川普在用人上的恣意，下面的这些大臣很多是川普自己任命，后来又被他罢免或是自己辞职。
A． Rex Tillerson: Secretary of State, the longtime CEO of ExxonMobil . 是总统请他出山的。 总统想罢免他时， Tillerson人还在非洲访问，消息是同事告诉他的，让他马上回国。后来总统答应等他回来，可是他回美飞机落地没几个小时，还没有见到总统，正式的罢免就已经出现在川总的推文上了。
B． Jim Mattis: Secretary of Defense, retired from the Marines, had served in the Gulf War and in Afghanistan and Iraq before rising to CentCom commander. “A man of total action” . 他于2018年底递交辞职信，原定是2019年二月底正式辞职，但是三天后，川总又把他的辞职日期提到2019年的一月一号，并称Mattis是 “the world most overrated general” (Just a PR guy) (p143)
C． Dan Coats: Director of national intelligence (DNI). Indiana Republican. 他被撤职的那天正在跟总统打高尔夫球，打第六洞时（still playing with golf, on the sixth hole—a 583 yard, par-five）Coats突然读到川普下午4：45分的推文 ： Trump’s 4;45 pm tweet: “ … the current director, will be leaving office on August 15th. Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence…
在Mattis眼里，Coats是个表面看上去很温和，但骨子里有着钢铁般坚硬脊梁的人。
“Mattis was immediately taken with Coats’s gentlemanly demeanour, soft on the outside but with a spine of steel on the inside—what Mattis called “vertebrate.” (p69)
D．Rod Rosenstein：Deputy Attorney General, a Harvard law graduate, had been a law-and-order, by-the-book career federal prosecutor for nearly 30 years. 他任命Mueller调查川普通俄事件，后来主动请辞。
E． 书中还提到James Comey, FBI director也被川普撤职，川普还说大家一定都很高兴他被撤职。 而事实上， McCabe believed that Comey was a beloved and revered figure in FBI, and people were upset, not delighted. He wrote that many at the FBI were in tears and compared the firing to “a death in the family. The death of a patriarch, a protector.”
三.与朝鲜金正日的交往
作者摘录了不少金正日和川普之间的通信，并指出他们之间的谈话不是国与国之间传统的外交辞令，尤其是金正日在信中的措辞时而奉承，时而情意绵绵，散文体的叙旧，一口一个Your Excellency, 灌迷魂汤似，让川普十分受用。用川普的话，他们之间的通信像川普自己说的是"情书"，金正日对川的敬仰让川普更加相信这世上只有川普他才能搞定金正日。“Because they don’t know. They have no idea. I’m the only one that knows. I’m the only one he deals with. He won’t deal with anybody else.” (183)
Trump has personally said they are “love letters.” (p106)
部分书信内容摘录：
“It has been 200 days since the historic DPRK-US summit in Singapore this past June, and the year is now almost coming an end. Even now I cannot forget the moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day. … (P173)
“…… as we enter the new year the whole world will certainly once again come to see, not so far in the future, another historic meeting between myself and Your Excellency reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.” (p174)
Trump replied on December 28: “…….Like you, I have no doubt that a great result will be accomplished between our two countries, and that the only two leaders who can do it are you and me.” (p. 174)
“On June 10, Kim wrote Trump another letter of verbose flattery.
“Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory.” (p176)
Two days later, on June 12, Trump wrote back…… “You and I have a unique style and a special friendship. Only you and I, working together, can resolve the issues between our two countries and end nearly 70 years of hostility……” (p. 177)
书中对信件的评论：
The language is not out of the traditional diplomatic playbook. They resemble declarations of personal fealty that might be uttered by the Knights of the Round Table, or perhaps suitors. (p107)
The CIA never figured out conclusively who wrote and crafted Kim’s letters to Trump. They were masterpieces. The analysts marveled at the skill someone brought to finding the exact mixture of flattery while appealing to Trump’s sense of grandiosity and being center stage in history. (p. 181)
四. 18次访谈的印象
作者在书中说到，和川普访谈，川普常常答非所问，任意改变话题。其中也有人说与川普谈话，有时感觉不在一个频道，甚者不在一个星球。川普喜欢吹嘘自己任职期间的成绩，如史无前例的经济繁荣，股市的节节攀升，就业的稳定等等，标榜自己在黑人问题上是仅次于林肯的最伟大总统。这些话他有时会像祥林嫂似喋喋不休地重复着，反复强调自己的伟大，同时不停地抱怨媒体对他的不公和抹黑，揪住他通俄的嫌疑不放，不给他credit,不承认他的政绩。川普常用的词汇比较简单，出现频率较高的词比如，good, great, bad，tremendous, many many, best, beautiful, perfect......
“I was presiding over the greatest economy in the world.” (p.324)
“I’ve done a good job for Black people. I’ve done the best job of any president since Lincoln.” (P.362)
“I have done more for the black community than any other president other than Abraham Lincoln.” (p.375)
五. 与川普共事和对为人的评价
作者和其他官员眼中的川普是个恣意妄为，狂妄自大的一个人。他多变，思维跳跃，自相矛盾，不按常理出牌，很多决定不跟官员商量通气，直接在twitter上发出，让人很被动，很难堪。有时甚至连官员的任免也是通过推文通知的，这张做法丧失了最起码的尊重，让人心寒，同时也让很多人失去了对他的信任。
书中形容川普的词汇句子: arrogance, ambivalence ，mercurial, capricious tweeting ，imbecilic, Paranoid (p. 120, Coats)
Trump’s orders were so random, impulsive and unthoughtful.
Because of the president’s preemptive, impetuous decision making. (p.132)
Coats agreed. “To him (Trump), a lie is not a lie. It’s just what he thinks. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie.” (p. 69)
“The president has no moral compass,” Mattis replied. (p69)
“This can be a very mean-spirited town,” he (Tillerson) said. (p. 97) 这里虽然没有明说川普，指的就是川普。
Trump’s attitude was: “I can solve all these problems.” (p116)
Here’s the thing: I’m never wrong. Okay.
Trump lived in his own head and if he wanted, out came an idea or a decision. It did not matter what anybody else thought. (p.139)
President Trump can be a handful, but he’s a smart guy. (p.349)
“The president is on a separate channel,” Fauci later told others. Trump’s leadership was “rudderless.” (p354)
Often when Fauci challenged Trump on something he had said, Trump would jump in and change the subject. Fauci marveled at Trump, who would hopscotch from one topic to another. “His attention span is like a minus number,” Fauci said privately. (p. 354)
Trump is a living paradox, capable of being friendly and appealing. He can also be savage and his treatment of people is often almost unbelievable.(p390) （作者的评述）
但是即便川普身上有这样那样的问题，有一点值得一提的是，川普确实不是一个喜欢打仗的总统，在他任职期间没有发动战争，反而在平息北朝鲜战争阴霾，改善与金正日的关系上迈出了历史性的第一步。他指责布什总统的过度反恐，和对金正日的态度：
There is too much emphasis on terrorism and fighting the old Bush wars, Trump said. (p110)
“And you know what? That attitude got him nothing，“Trump said. “In the meantime, they built a huge nuclear force during the last two administrations.” (p. 92)
这里的attitude指的是Bush 曾经说过的“I loathe Kim Jong II.”
在Syria撤军问题上，虽然川普独断专行，不与当时的国防部长通气，擅自发推文做决定，他的撤军决定可能不符合军方或集团利益的立场，但在我一个普通老百姓眼里，客观地说，此举值得肯定，进一步证明了川普不喜欢战争，不喜欢长期驻军的这样一个立场。
六. 川普真正的对手不是拜登，是疫情
书中至少两次提到，川普的真正对手不是拜登，是疫情。川普也承认这一点是largely true (p381)。 川普反复强调自己2020一月底关闭中国航班的正确决定。但是后来面对疫情的居高不下，他开始转嫁矛盾，甩锅，指责中国，继而downplay疫情的严重性。但是欲盖弥彰，疫情的失控恰恰暴露了他的领导无方。
这本书起名Rage是缘于2016年大选时，川普自己说的一句话：
“I bring out rage in people. I bring rage out. I always have. I don’t know if it’s an asset or a liability. But whatever it is, I do.” （p369）
当作者再一次问他，“Is it true?”
“Yes, “Trump said.
川普确实是个能造势的一个人，他能煽动民众情绪，甚至拉仇恨。但是我想作者在此借用，更多的是贬义的，他想表达的是民众因为疫情产生的一种愤怒情绪。
作者在结语里指责川普的失职，说川普自己就是他所说的炸药包：
…… But now, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “dynamite behind the door” was in plain sight. It was Trump himself. The oversized personality. The failure to organize. The lack of discipline. The lack of trust in others he had picked, in experts. The undermining or the attempted undermining of so many American institutions. The failure to be a calming, healing voice. The unwillingness to acknowledge error. The failure to do his homework. To extend the olive branch. To listen carefully to others. To craft a plan. (p386)
文章最后还提到小罗斯福总统当年处理危机的做法，并暗示，如果川普能效仿罗斯福总统，告诉民众真相，让民众参与到危机中，号召他们牺牲，分担责任，共度难关，那么或许就不会有民众的不满和愤慨，也就不会有今日败给拜登的局面。
************************************************************
最后贴一点书中结语部分作者写的一些英语：
Epilogue
After I finished reporting for this book on President Trump, I felt weariness. The country was in real turmoil. The virus was out of control. The economy was in crisis with more than 40 million out of work. A powerful reckoning on racism and inequality was upon us. There seemed to be no end in sight, and certainly no clear path to get there.
。。。 But now, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “dynamite behind the door” was in plain sight. It was Trump himself. The oversized personality. The failure to organize. The lack of discipline. The lack of trust in others he had picked, in experts. The undermining or the attempted undermining of so many American institutions. The failure to be a calming, healing voice. The unwillingness to acknowledge error. The failure to do his homework. To extend the olive branch. To listen carefully to others. To craft a plan. (p386)
But the interviews show he vacillated, prevaricated and at times dodged his role as leader of the country despite his “I alone can fix it” rhetoric. (p390)
As America and the world know, Trump is an overpowering presence. He loves spectacle.
Trump is a living paradox, capable of being friendly and appealing. He can also be savage and his treatment of people is often almost unbelievable.(p390)
The model was Franklin D. Roosevelt. Over his 12 years as president, FDR gave 30 fireside chats.(p390)
The evening radio addresses concerned the toughest issues facing the country. In a calm and reassuring voice, he explained what the problem was, what the government was doing about it, and what was expected of the people.
Often the message was grim. Two days after Japan’s December 7, 1941, surprise bombing attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR spoke to the nation. “ We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories—the changing fortunes of war. So far, the news has been all bad. We have suffered a serious setback. “ He added. “It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war.” It was a question of survival. “We are now fighting to maintain our right to live among our world neighbors in freedom and common decency.”
FDR invited the American people in. “We are all in it—all the way. Every single man, woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history.”
“On the road ahead there lies hard work—grueling work—day and night, every hour and every minute.” And sacrifice, which was a “privilege.”
A president must be willing to share the worst with the people, the bad news with the good. All presidents have a large obligation to inform, warm, protect, to define goals and the true national interest. It should be a truth-telling response to the world, especially in crisis. Trump has, instead, enshrined personal impulse as a governing principle of his presidency. (p391-392)
