Donald Trump memoir ‘Our Journey Together’ book review

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Images are the perfect lexicon for Trump to articulate a fantastical revision of his four chaotic years in office. Freed from the complexities of language or the context of history, the former president spins a dreamscape of adulation and triumph. A shot of his inauguration crowd spread out across the Mall doesn’t have to contend with his administration’s first official alternative fact.

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It’s remarkable how effectively this presentation captures Trump’s wandering mind and self-sabotaging bitterness. Early in the book, there’s a two-page spread showing men repairing a grandfather clock: “After eight years of President Obama,” Trump writes, “we needed to make the White House GREAT again.” No moment, no matter how celebratory, can calm this author’s need to lash out at his perceived enemies. Another spread shows Trump talking from a podium about his historic tax cut with “some conservative patriots and some weak RINOs.” Even death can’t quell the man’s bile: A photo in the Oval Office of Trump speaking to John and Cindy McCain says, “John McCain visited me in the White House, asking for a job for his wife. I am smiling, but I didn’t like him even a little bit. ” Below a photo of an intimate dinner party that includes Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Mark Zuckerberg, Trump writes, “Mark Zuckerberg would come to the White House and kiss my ass.” Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, shown negotiating in a conference room, is “f — ing CRAZY-hence the name Crazy Nancy!” (That is one of the few captions written in Sharpie, and it hovers over an image of the presidential seal.)

In short, this is a memoir spun from the thin gruel of musty propaganda and cherished grudges. Turning these pages is like watching an old man dust his Hummel figurines and whine about the neighbors.

The book is published by Winning Team Publishing, which describes itself as “the nation’s premier conservative publishing house.” It was launched last year by Donald Trump Jr. and former Trump campaign aide Sergio Gor. “Our Journey Together” was supposed to be ready for Christmas. But Winning Team’s printer ran into supply problems. Trump told Fox News: “They have no paper, they have no glue, they have no leather.” Make that pleather, but that’s no matter. The man who once hawked vodka, real estate classes, spring water and steaks is on a roll.

Appropriately, his nominations of Supreme Court justices are highlighted, but for some reason, the book includes four pages of Japanese sumo wrestlers, a nod to Trump bankrolling the United States President’s Cup, awarded to “the number one sumo wrestler in the world.” The omissions elsewhere are breathtaking. Trump says little about his two impeachments, except for a photo of him holding up a copy of The Washington Post with the headline “Trump acquitted.” The deaths of 400,000 Americans from covid during his administration goes unmentioned, aside from noting that he enjoyed “a quick recovery” after he caught the virus. The assault on the Capitol that he inspired and his multiple attempts to subvert the election of Joe Biden are elided altogether.

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Presidential scholars of the future will also be perplexed by the ordering of these photos. Weirdly, the first White House official to be featured in the book is Ronny L. Jackson, the physician who was accused of creating a hostile work environment, drinking on the job and passing out drugs like candy. Soon after comes a photo of Fox News opinion host and Trump cheerleader Sean Hannity, whose relevance to the administration needs no explanation. On page 61, there’s a happy picture of Trump walking with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who, according to the CIA, approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The chilling logic of these selections is surely more revealing than Trump realizes.

Some of the captions are merely recycled campaign talking points. As for insights drawn from his time in office, while touring the Churchill War Rooms in London, Trump observes that Churchill was “a real HERO.” He reveals that “Israel’s capital, Jerusalem” is “a very holy place.”

What’s most striking, though, is the book’s sterility, its determined lack of intimacy. Although many photos feature his family, the majority of pictures appear to have been drawn from official ceremonies, public appearances and work duties. Only a handful of photos across more than 300 pages show Trump without a tie. He notes a celebration of his birthday by showing a full-page photo of the official dinner menu. Trump closes the book with three double-spreads in a row of large crowds of fans. The last photo is a close-up of Trump alone, looking solemnly to the side. Then there’s a Sharpie note: “America, our journey continues. Together we will take our country back. We will WIN! ”

The publisher claims to have already sold more than 200,000 copies – not many compared to memoirs by the Obamas, but still lucrative, considering the book required little more than rifling through publicity photos and burping up MAGA catchphrases. Fittingly, “Our Journey Together” is dedicated to “the Deplorables” because, Trump writes, “You got me here!” But one closes this political brochure wondering exactly where here is.

Winning Team Publishing. 319 pp. $ 74.99

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